December 16, 2024 • 9 mins
REAL ESTATE PRO VETERANS ARE HELPING OTHER VETERANS I love it when someone remembers those who haven't been able to shake their military service and VAREP is just that. I'm talking with Jeff Zoerb about Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals which not only helps veterans navigate their way into housing, they help the families get settled with the items they may be lacking once they get a new place. Their big Christmas party is tonight, where they will give gifts to the children of veterans they've been serving. Find out more about VAREP by clicking here. Jeff joins me at 12:30.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Real estate professional Jeff Zorb on with me today. He's
not just a real estate guy, he's also with the
Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals, which not only helps
veterans navigate their way into housing, they also do all
kinds of cool stuff for the families of veterans.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Jeff, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
First of all, thanks Manni, thanks for having us on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Tell me a little bit about what ver app is
that how you pronounce it?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Verap is that? What you do there, what you guys
are all about.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Va REP is the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals.
We're a national five oh one c three. We're the
Denver chapter. There's thirty two chapters nationally. What we do
is we try to educate our real estate professionals on
the VA home loan.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Defy some of those myths that are out there.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
We have some pretty interesting statistics about how veterans and
active military are swayed away from their home loan. Local
we get to pick our philanthropic aspect to what we
want to do to help our veteran community. A few
years ago, we partnered with the VA's hud Vash program.
Hud VASH will identify veterans on the customer we're experiencing homelessness,
(01:15):
and they'll put them into housing or provide them vouchers
to offset their housing costs.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
But the veterans don't get anything other than the home
they live in.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
So we kind of step in and we created a
Sponsor a VET program where we provide those veterans with
the household goods that they need to increase their likelihood
of finishing throughout that program of needing help to sustainable
living and independently. A few years into that, what we
realized was many of these veterans have families. We're talking
(01:49):
young kids, right, So we started our Christmas for Kids program.
We received the Christmas wish lists of these veterans. Kids
literally go shopping, We wrap all the presents, and then
we have a party.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
We've gone over the last few years.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
This will be our fourth year in a row, starting
out around forty kids, and we shopped this year for
one hundred and seven kids.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Wow, that is a lot.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I've had the opportunity in the past, Jeff, to go
on one of those shopping trips, and what a fun
way to do community service because it is an absolute
blast to not only fulfill the Christmas list, but also
get to see the kids get the gifts and experience that.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So you guys are doing that tonight, right, We're doing that.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Tonight the American Legion post one off of Yale Night
twenty five. We've got Santa coming and I'll tell you
there's usually not a dry eye in the house.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, let me ask you a little bit about the
other programs that you guys are doing on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You mentioned the fact that veterans.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Sometimes get dissuaded from using their VA loan benefit, which
I say all the time. The VA loan benefit is
one of the best long term benefits that you get
for serving in the military because it allows you to
get into a home with no down payment. The program
is absolutely phenomenal. Why wouldn't people take advantage of that?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
You know, over the years, the VA has done a
really good job of changing some of the back end stuff,
the red tape things. Right, it is all myths are
founded in some form of fact. Right, So, twenty.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Years ago, twenty five years ago, the VA.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Home loan appraisal process was a pan of button but
the VAS identified that and they've changed that it is
now a quicker turnaround time and less.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Issues than the conventional home loan.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
The most recent VA study showed that one third of
veterans didn't't even know about their VA home loan.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Oh that's terrible. It's a terrible one for you.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Veterans stated that the VA home loan was too expensive.
How's a veteran or an active military going to know
that unless they're told that.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Eighty one percent of all veterans surveyed stated that a
real estate professional, a realtor, or a lender told them
not to use the VA home loan, but to rather
convert that to a convention or an FHA so that
they would be more likely to have their offers received.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
I find that incredibly infuriating for multiple reasons, but nonetheless
that these are veterans, they have mostly volunteered at this
point to serve their country, and for us not to
make sure that they are not getting every single benefit
that they are offered and the VA loan program is
outstanding kind of makes me very very angry. I want
to ask you about the second part of this, though,
(04:51):
the program that helps them maybe fill up that house
when when you finally go from living maybe with housing
in security, maybe you're staying with other people or even
living on the streets. You don't have tables and chairs
and couches and things like that. Are those new items
or these things that people can donate to? Because I'm
asking this because I guarantee you that I'm going to
(05:13):
get an email from a listener that says I have
X Can they take the donation?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
How does that work?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
So? Through our sponsor of VET program, through via REP,
we do everything for the veteran through Amazon. So they've
got a request list, we fulfill that list through Amazon
up to five hundred dollars and everything is then shipped
to the veteran brand new. We have another partner that's
(05:41):
called Knock Knock Angels and they will actually do a
complete makeover of the veterans home with donated furniture items.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
What is that organization again.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Knock Knock Angels. They're a local nonprofit as well. Partnered
with them to kind of help provide volunteer work as
well as household goods.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
For them as well.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
That's excellent.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I really just wanted to give you an opportunity to
talk about your organization. Is it all veterans in your
organization helping veterans or can any real estate professional join.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
V a REP.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Anybody real estate professional or not can join va REP.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
You can be a supporter.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You can be a patriot, you know, like yourself, like
your husband, a veteran, Well, anybody that can help or
has a passion or helping veterans with a benefit that
they've earned. Let's let's not forget this is a This
is a benefit they've earned and have the right to. Yeah,
anybody and everybody can participate, donate, volunteer. We also help
(06:50):
out with the Veterans Community project up in Long Mon,
it's the tiny home community. Yeah, so we have dates
that va REP goes up and helps with that as well.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
So, yeah, anybody and everybody's welcome.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I have a couple of questions for you, Jeff. One
of them is is the loan the VA loan one
and done or can you do it again?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I've heard both?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So is this a benefit that you can use to
buy more than one home?
Speaker 4 (07:16):
You can use, the benefit can be re established after
the sale.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Of your home, or depending on your eligibility and how
much you've used, you can continue.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
So how would they find out that information?
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Give us a call and we will. We are not
as VA rep. We are not here to create this
as a lead generation for us.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
We have answors, we have members, we have professionals that
we can get the veteran or active military to the
right people to get them help.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Okay, And one more question.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Can I use my VA loan to refy I was
told not to use it when we bought our.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Home, not to use it when they.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Were told not to use the VA loan? But can
they REFI in to a VA loan.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
If they're eligible and a veteran, they would have the
availability shirt all right?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
And this texter said, the VA loan funding fee can
make the VA loan more expensive. In my personal experience,
that has been the.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Acts the opposite.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
We have a VA loan through my husband's service, and
it has been way cheaper than a second loan that
we took out for another property.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
I mean, not even remotely closed.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
So whoever's giving you that information, unless you've seen it
in hard numbers, I don't know if I would believe it.
But is that the kind of stuff you're talking about, Jeff, that's.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
The kind of stuff we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
That's the miss you know, in Colorado, in twenty twenty two,
Governor Polus signed into law that the veteran is now
a protected class regarding housing issues in the state of Colorado.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
That's find the biggest thing that we find that we're protected.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Right A veteran is now or an active duty military
using their housing benefits are now protected as any other
minority in the state.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
We're really trying to get that out there to our.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Real estate community that it is up to us as
real estate professionals to ensure that our veterans and our
military are protected from these miss these myths, and these
and miss.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
If you need more information, I put a link to
VA REP on the blog today. Jeff Zorb, thank you
so much, first of all for reaching out and second
of all for what you're doing for veterans.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Thank you, mityall. Anybody can go out and check us out.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Our local chapters website is Varepdenver dot org. You'll see
everything out there about what we're doing
Speaker 2 (09:36):
All right, Thanks so much, Jeff
Real estate professional Jeff Zorb on with me today. He's
not just a real estate guy, he's also with the
Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals, which not only helps
veterans navigate their way into housing, they also do all
kinds of cool stuff for the families of veterans.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Jeff, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
First of all, thanks Manni, thanks for having us on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Tell me a little bit about what ver app is
that how you pronounce it?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Verap is that? What you do there, what you guys
are all about.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Va REP is the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals.
We're a national five oh one c three. We're the
Denver chapter. There's thirty two chapters nationally. What we do
is we try to educate our real estate professionals on
the VA home loan.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Defy some of those myths that are out there.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
We have some pretty interesting statistics about how veterans and
active military are swayed away from their home loan. Local
we get to pick our philanthropic aspect to what we
want to do to help our veteran community. A few
years ago, we partnered with the VA's hud Vash program.
Hud VASH will identify veterans on the customer we're experiencing homelessness,
(01:15):
and they'll put them into housing or provide them vouchers
to offset their housing costs.
Speaker 4 (01:22):
But the veterans don't get anything other than the home
they live in.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
So we kind of step in and we created a
Sponsor a VET program where we provide those veterans with
the household goods that they need to increase their likelihood
of finishing throughout that program of needing help to sustainable
living and independently. A few years into that, what we
realized was many of these veterans have families. We're talking
(01:49):
young kids, right, So we started our Christmas for Kids program.
We received the Christmas wish lists of these veterans. Kids
literally go shopping, We wrap all the presents, and then
we have a party.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
We've gone over the last few years.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
This will be our fourth year in a row, starting
out around forty kids, and we shopped this year for
one hundred and seven kids.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Wow, that is a lot.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
I've had the opportunity in the past, Jeff, to go
on one of those shopping trips, and what a fun
way to do community service because it is an absolute
blast to not only fulfill the Christmas list, but also
get to see the kids get the gifts and experience that.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So you guys are doing that tonight, right, We're doing that.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Tonight the American Legion post one off of Yale Night
twenty five. We've got Santa coming and I'll tell you
there's usually not a dry eye in the house.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, let me ask you a little bit about the
other programs that you guys are doing on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
You mentioned the fact that veterans.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Sometimes get dissuaded from using their VA loan benefit, which
I say all the time. The VA loan benefit is
one of the best long term benefits that you get
for serving in the military because it allows you to
get into a home with no down payment. The program
is absolutely phenomenal. Why wouldn't people take advantage of that?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
You know, over the years, the VA has done a
really good job of changing some of the back end stuff,
the red tape things. Right, it is all myths are
founded in some form of fact. Right, So, twenty.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Years ago, twenty five years ago, the VA.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Home loan appraisal process was a pan of button but
the VAS identified that and they've changed that it is
now a quicker turnaround time and less.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Issues than the conventional home loan.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
The most recent VA study showed that one third of
veterans didn't't even know about their VA home loan.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Oh that's terrible. It's a terrible one for you.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Veterans stated that the VA home loan was too expensive.
How's a veteran or an active military going to know
that unless they're told that.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Eighty one percent of all veterans surveyed stated that a
real estate professional, a realtor, or a lender told them
not to use the VA home loan, but to rather
convert that to a convention or an FHA so that
they would be more likely to have their offers received.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
I find that incredibly infuriating for multiple reasons, but nonetheless
that these are veterans, they have mostly volunteered at this
point to serve their country, and for us not to
make sure that they are not getting every single benefit
that they are offered and the VA loan program is
outstanding kind of makes me very very angry. I want
to ask you about the second part of this, though,
(04:51):
the program that helps them maybe fill up that house
when when you finally go from living maybe with housing
in security, maybe you're staying with other people or even
living on the streets. You don't have tables and chairs
and couches and things like that. Are those new items
or these things that people can donate to? Because I'm
asking this because I guarantee you that I'm going to
(05:13):
get an email from a listener that says I have
X Can they take the donation?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
How does that work?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
So? Through our sponsor of VET program, through via REP,
we do everything for the veteran through Amazon. So they've
got a request list, we fulfill that list through Amazon
up to five hundred dollars and everything is then shipped
to the veteran brand new. We have another partner that's
(05:41):
called Knock Knock Angels and they will actually do a
complete makeover of the veterans home with donated furniture items.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
What is that organization again.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Knock Knock Angels. They're a local nonprofit as well. Partnered
with them to kind of help provide volunteer work as
well as household goods.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
For them as well.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
That's excellent.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
I really just wanted to give you an opportunity to
talk about your organization. Is it all veterans in your
organization helping veterans or can any real estate professional join.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
V a REP.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Anybody real estate professional or not can join va REP.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
You can be a supporter.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You can be a patriot, you know, like yourself, like
your husband, a veteran, Well, anybody that can help or
has a passion or helping veterans with a benefit that
they've earned. Let's let's not forget this is a This
is a benefit they've earned and have the right to. Yeah,
anybody and everybody can participate, donate, volunteer. We also help
(06:50):
out with the Veterans Community project up in Long Mon,
it's the tiny home community. Yeah, so we have dates
that va REP goes up and helps with that as well.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
So, yeah, anybody and everybody's welcome.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I have a couple of questions for you, Jeff. One
of them is is the loan the VA loan one
and done or can you do it again?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I've heard both?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So is this a benefit that you can use to
buy more than one home?
Speaker 4 (07:16):
You can use, the benefit can be re established after
the sale.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Of your home, or depending on your eligibility and how
much you've used, you can continue.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
So how would they find out that information?
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Give us a call and we will. We are not
as VA rep. We are not here to create this
as a lead generation for us.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
We have answors, we have members, we have professionals that
we can get the veteran or active military to the
right people to get them help.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Okay, And one more question.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Can I use my VA loan to refy I was
told not to use it when we bought our.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Home, not to use it when they.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Were told not to use the VA loan? But can
they REFI in to a VA loan.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
If they're eligible and a veteran, they would have the
availability shirt all right?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
And this texter said, the VA loan funding fee can
make the VA loan more expensive. In my personal experience,
that has been the.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Acts the opposite.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
We have a VA loan through my husband's service, and
it has been way cheaper than a second loan that
we took out for another property.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
I mean, not even remotely closed.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
So whoever's giving you that information, unless you've seen it
in hard numbers, I don't know if I would believe it.
But is that the kind of stuff you're talking about, Jeff, that's.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
The kind of stuff we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
That's the miss you know, in Colorado, in twenty twenty two,
Governor Polus signed into law that the veteran is now
a protected class regarding housing issues in the state of Colorado.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
That's find the biggest thing that we find that we're protected.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Right A veteran is now or an active duty military
using their housing benefits are now protected as any other
minority in the state.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
We're really trying to get that out there to our.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Real estate community that it is up to us as
real estate professionals to ensure that our veterans and our
military are protected from these miss these myths, and these
and miss.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
If you need more information, I put a link to
VA REP on the blog today. Jeff Zorb, thank you
so much, first of all for reaching out and second
of all for what you're doing for veterans.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Thank you, mityall. Anybody can go out and check us out.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Our local chapters website is Varepdenver dot org. You'll see
everything out there about what we're doing
Speaker 2 (09:36):
All right, Thanks so much, Jeff
The Mandy Connell Podcast News
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