Foreclosures Hit Veterans Hard

clipped from www.kansascity.com Although solid numbers on veteran foreclosures are not available, RealtyTrac, a Web site that follows foreclosures nationwide, reported earlier this year that areas with large numbers of military personnel have foreclosures at a rate four times the national average. Additionally, many military families were targeted by subprime mortgage sellers that opened offices near bases, leaving the families paying higher interest rates and more loan fees. “They either can’t make a rent payment or mortgage payment, or they’re losing their car, or at least the threat is there,” said Shari Grewe, a transition patient advocate at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center for veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. She deals with about 35 veterans a day who are having trouble making payments, among other problems.

Send them off to war and, when they come home, ask them to sacrifice even more.

It should be pointed out that National Guard troops and reserves are often pulled from much higher-paying civilians jobs to serve in the military. The impact of this drastic pay cut must be especially harsh in this economy.