Feeling like the proverbial "redheaded step child".........

[John Schmidt]

Still no Stimulus payment, I don't check every day....usually just a couple times a week. Always the same BS answer; will be direct deposited in the acc't. of record listed below. And....below is the last few numbers of my checking account. I've tried calling a couple times but that's an exercise in futility, they're absolutely useless. They have no information to share and offer nothing other than to "be patient." I'm close to buying a place 900+ miles away and that $2400 sure would come in handy, especially at closing. I was going over the estimated list of charges due at closing, seems everybody is getting a piece of that cake....rather needlessly it would seem. Maybe it's their way of getting back some extra $$ due to the 2.25% interest rate being offered. The VA offers a no downpayment mortgage which is BS in itself. This is my second time using a VA loan and their funding fee is 3.6% of the mtge. amount. Granted, it can be rolled into the total loan but on $155k loan that's an extra $5580. With closing costs nearly $4k, that alone is a big bite out of the "rainy day" fund....and still have to pay for a move.

Pardon the complaining, it's all getting under my skin and at my age it's not that thick anymore. And to top it off, while removing stuff from the old bike to put on the trike yesterday....I snapped a bolt off flush. Decided it's time to go watch a movie....or go over and raid my daughter's refrigerator. Or both! Gives me a chance to hold my new great granddaughter since "grandma" is babysitting. 

[Jersey mike]

Don’t feel bad we’re still waiting on tax refunds for my son and father-in-law.

We gave our son the $800 he was suppose to get and well as far as my father-in-law goes it will just go into his account, but still waiting.

[f6gal]

Still no Stimulus payment, I don't check every day....usually just a couple times a week. Always the same BS answer; will be direct deposited in the acc't. of record listed below. And....below is the last few numbers of my checking account. I've tried calling a couple times but that's an exercise in futility, they're absolutely useless. They have no information to share and offer nothing other than to "be patient." I'm close to buying a place 900+ miles away and that $2400 sure would come in handy, especially at closing. I was going over the estimated list of charges due at closing, seems everybody is getting a piece of that cake....rather needlessly it would seem. Maybe it's their way of getting back some extra $$ due to the 2.25% interest rate being offered. The VA offers a no downpayment mortgage which is BS in itself. This is my second time using a VA loan and their funding fee is 3.6% of the mtge. amount. Granted, it can be rolled into the total loan but on $155k loan that's an extra $5580. With closing costs nearly $4k, that alone is a big bite out of the "rainy day" fund....and still have to pay for a move.

Pardon the complaining, it's all getting under my skin and at my age it's not that thick anymore. And to top it off, while removing stuff from the old bike to put on the trike yesterday....I snapped a bolt off flush. Decided it's time to go watch a movie....or go over and raid my daughter's refrigerator. Or both! Gives me a chance to hold my new great granddaughter since "grandma" is babysitting.  

Call your congressman or senator's office.

[Patrick]

Still no Stimulus payment, I don't check every day....usually just a couple times a week. Always the same BS answer; will be direct deposited in the acc't. of record listed below. And....below is the last few numbers of my checking account. I've tried calling a couple times but that's an exercise in futility, they're absolutely useless. They have no information to share and offer nothing other than to "be patient." I'm close to buying a place 900+ miles away and that $2400 sure would come in handy, especially at closing. I was going over the estimated list of charges due at closing, seems everybody is getting a piece of that cake....rather needlessly it would seem. Maybe it's their way of getting back some extra $$ due to the 2.25% interest rate being offered. The VA offers a no downpayment mortgage which is BS in itself. This is my second time using a VA loan and their funding fee is 3.6% of the mtge. amount. Granted, it can be rolled into the total loan but on $155k loan that's an extra $5580. With closing costs nearly $4k, that alone is a big bite out of the "rainy day" fund....and still have to pay for a move.

Pardon the complaining, it's all getting under my skin and at my age it's not that thick anymore. And to top it off, while removing stuff from the old bike to put on the trike yesterday....I snapped a bolt off flush. Decided it's time to go watch a movie....or go over and raid my daughter's refrigerator. Or both! Gives me a chance to hold my new great granddaughter since "grandma" is babysitting.  

Call your congressman or senator's office.

Yep

[DirtyDan]

Grew up fat stuttering and red hair.......

Life was not easy for a boy named d,d,dan

[John Schmidt]

Still no Stimulus payment, I don't check every day....usually just a couple times a week. Always the same BS answer; will be direct deposited in the acc't. of record listed below. And....below is the last few numbers of my checking account. I've tried calling a couple times but that's an exercise in futility, they're absolutely useless. They have no information to share and offer nothing other than to "be patient." I'm close to buying a place 900+ miles away and that $2400 sure would come in handy, especially at closing. I was going over the estimated list of charges due at closing, seems everybody is getting a piece of that cake....rather needlessly it would seem. Maybe it's their way of getting back some extra $$ due to the 2.25% interest rate being offered. The VA offers a no downpayment mortgage which is BS in itself. This is my second time using a VA loan and their funding fee is 3.6% of the mtge. amount. Granted, it can be rolled into the total loan but on $155k loan that's an extra $5580. With closing costs nearly $4k, that alone is a big bite out of the "rainy day" fund....and still have to pay for a move.

Pardon the complaining, it's all getting under my skin and at my age it's not that thick anymore. And to top it off, while removing stuff from the old bike to put on the trike yesterday....I snapped a bolt off flush. Decided it's time to go watch a movie....or go over and raid my daughter's refrigerator. Or both! Gives me a chance to hold my new great granddaughter since "grandma" is babysitting.  

Call your congressman or senator's office.

Been debating doing that, have to find out who they might be. Not familiar with them here in Wisconsin.

[Crackerborn]

Your Senator's  are Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D). See if you can guess which will actually respond. Mike Gallagher is your house representative and has a reputation of being a stand up kind of guy. I am pretty sure he was re-elected. (Not my district.)

[f6gal]

Your Senator's  are Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D). See if you can guess which will actually respond. Mike Gallagher is your house representative and has a reputation of being a stand up kind of guy. I am pretty sure he was re-elected. (Not my district.)

You likely won't speak to the Senator, but the office staff should be able to help.

[John Schmidt]

I called Mike Gallagher's office this morning, the girl I chatted with said he's checked on a few already and would be glad to do it again...no problem. My request was handed over to another gal who said she'd call me back soon as she had some info for me. I asked if he had retained his seat...which he has, so I told her "good, at least I did my part." She thanked me and to expect a call back. Guess we shall see!

[f6gal]

I called Mike Gallagher's office this morning, the girl I chatted with said he's checked on a few already and would be glad to do it again...no problem. My request was handed over to another gal who said she'd call me back soon as she had some info for me. I asked if he had retained his seat...which he has, so I told her "good, at least I did my part." She thanked me and to expect a call back. Guess we shall see!

 

[AwesomeDad]

The VA funding fee should be waived. I’ve never seen it on mine and I’m on about my 4th VA loan..

JJ

[f6gal]

The VA funding fee should be waived. I’ve never seen it on mine and I’m on about my 4th VA loan..

JJ

We've always had to pay the VA funding fund, it was added to the loan amount.

Edit:  I just looked this up: Those exempt from paying the VA funding fee include:
   Veterans who receive compensation for service-connected disabilities
   Veterans who would receive disability compensation if they didn't receive retirement pay
   Veterans rated as eligible to receive compensation based on a pre-discharge exam or review
   Veterans who can but are not receiving compensation because they're on active duty
   Purple Heart recipients
   Surviving spouses who are eligible for a VA loan

[John Schmidt]

The "surviving spouse" issue brings up another question; one of my daughters lost her husband in a car accident in 1987, he served in the Army. She remarried a few years later and subsequently divorced him due to infidelity. I told her she needs to check into whether she could get a VA loan so as to buy a small place for herself instead of renting the rest of her life. She's now 60, my second oldest, and has expressed a desire to buy a place in town near one of her daughters and grandkids. She spends a lot of time there as it is but is a half hour drive which in winter is a bit hazardous at times in central Illinois. She doesn't have a lot of funds to work with but "dad" would be willing to help a little, as would her son in law. To date, she hasn't checked into it but I still push once in a while. Reminds me of when she was a little girl and was asked to do something around the house. She would dilly dally around, not make a move to do as asked and old dad would keep after her. Finally she'd get pissed at me enough due to my insistence and do what was asked just to shut me up. Now, many decades later I see much the same attitude. A few more months and she'll break down and check....just to shut me up. And her answer will most likely be the same as years ago; "you happy now?"   

[f6gal]

The "surviving spouse" issue brings up another question; one of my daughters lost her husband in a car accident in 1987, he served in the Army. She remarried a few years later and subsequently divorced him due to infidelity. I told her she needs to check into whether she could get a VA loan so as to buy a small place for herself instead of renting the rest of her life. She's now 60, my second oldest, and has expressed a desire to buy a place in town near one of her daughters and grandkids. She spends a lot of time there as it is but is a half hour drive which in winter is a bit hazardous at times in central Illinois. She doesn't have a lot of funds to work with but "dad" would be willing to help a little, as would her son in law. To date, she hasn't checked into it but I still push once in a while. Reminds me of when she was a little girl and was asked to do something around the house. She would dilly dally around, not make a move to do as asked and old dad would keep after her. Finally she'd get pissed at me enough due to my insistence and do what was asked just to shut me up. Now, many decades later I see much the same attitude. A few more months and she'll break down and check....just to shut me up. And her answer will most likely be the same as years ago; "you happy now?"   

I would think she's eligible for VA loan.  She would need his DD214 and death certificate.

[Jess from VA]

The "surviving spouse" issue brings up another question; one of my daughters lost her husband in a car accident in 1987, he served in the Army. She remarried a few years later and subsequently divorced him due to infidelity. I told her she needs to check into whether she could get a VA loan so as to buy a small place for herself instead of renting the rest of her life. She's now 60, my second oldest, and has expressed a desire to buy a place in town near one of her daughters and grandkids. She spends a lot of time there as it is but is a half hour drive which in winter is a bit hazardous at times in central Illinois. She doesn't have a lot of funds to work with but "dad" would be willing to help a little, as would her son in law. To date, she hasn't checked into it but I still push once in a while. Reminds me of when she was a little girl and was asked to do something around the house. She would dilly dally around, not make a move to do as asked and old dad would keep after her. Finally she'd get pissed at me enough due to my insistence and do what was asked just to shut me up. Now, many decades later I see much the same attitude. A few more months and she'll break down and check....just to shut me up. And her answer will most likely be the same as years ago; "you happy now?"   

John, here are VA loan guarantee rules for surviving spouses.  (I think it unlikely she qualifies.)

https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/surviving-spouse/


You may be able to get a COE (Certificate of Eligibility) if you’re the spouse of a Veteran, and at least one of the descriptions below is true for them.

At least one of these must be true. The Veteran:

    Is missing in action, or
    Is a prisoner of war (POW), or
    Died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry, or
    Died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry before you were 57 years old or before December 16, 2003, or
    Had been totally disabled and then died, but their disability may not have been the cause of death (in certain situations)

Note: A surviving spouse who remarried before December 16, 2003, and on or after their 57th birthday, must have applied no later than December 15, 2004, to establish home loan eligibility. We’ll have to deny applications we received after December 15, 2004, from surviving spouses who remarried before December 16, 2003.

[f6gal]

The "surviving spouse" issue brings up another question; one of my daughters lost her husband in a car accident in 1987, he served in the Army. She remarried a few years later and subsequently divorced him due to infidelity. I told her she needs to check into whether she could get a VA loan so as to buy a small place for herself instead of renting the rest of her life. She's now 60, my second oldest, and has expressed a desire to buy a place in town near one of her daughters and grandkids. She spends a lot of time there as it is but is a half hour drive which in winter is a bit hazardous at times in central Illinois. She doesn't have a lot of funds to work with but "dad" would be willing to help a little, as would her son in law. To date, she hasn't checked into it but I still push once in a while. Reminds me of when she was a little girl and was asked to do something around the house. She would dilly dally around, not make a move to do as asked and old dad would keep after her. Finally she'd get pissed at me enough due to my insistence and do what was asked just to shut me up. Now, many decades later I see much the same attitude. A few more months and she'll break down and check....just to shut me up. And her answer will most likely be the same as years ago; "you happy now?"   

John, here are VA loan guarantee rules for surviving spouses.  (I think it unlikely she qualifies.)

https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/surviving-spouse/


You may be able to get a COE (Certificate of Eligibility) if you’re the spouse of a Veteran, and at least one of the descriptions below is true for them.

At least one of these must be true. The Veteran:

    Is missing in action, or
    Is a prisoner of war (POW), or
    Died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry, or
    Died while in service or from a service-connected disability and you didn’t remarry before you were 57 years old or before December 16, 2003, or
    Had been totally disabled and then died, but their disability may not have been the cause of death (in certain situations)

Note: A surviving spouse who remarried before December 16, 2003, and on or after their 57th birthday, must have applied no later than December 15, 2004, to establish home loan eligibility. We’ll have to deny applications we received after December 15, 2004, from surviving spouses who remarried before December 16, 2003.

Wow.  I stand corrected.

[Jess from VA]

As you can see, (unremarried) spouses (and children) are generally only extended survivor VA benefits when their veteran spouse was lost during or as a result of incidents of their military service.

Mere status as spouse or child of veteran does not generally confer benefits.

VA is requesting a total of $243.3 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2021 for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), so you can understand why.