Category Veteran Housing

AT 90, ARMY VETERAN REMAINS ONE OF CALVET’S MOST MATURE AND SATISFIED HOME LOAN CLIENTS
Army veteran Tom Britzman remembered the way CalVet stood behind his in-laws when a levee broke and the Feather River flooded their Yuba City home at Christmastime in 1955. “My (World War I veteran) father-in-law and mother-in-law had four feet of water in their home,” Britzman said. “CalVet took care of getting their house redone.” […]

‘MAKE YOUR BED,’ OTHER LIFE LESSONS FROM ADMIRAL HIT HOME WITH VETERANS IN VENTURA
Consider it a Father’s Day gift that became a most special delivery. Lee Mills is an 86-year-old Korean War-era Navy veteran who lives at the Veterans Home of California-Ventura. As is the case with all eight homes in CalVet’s system, COVID-19 pandemic protocol prohibits visits from family and friends to the Ventura Home. Consequently, Mills’ […]

IN 100th YEAR OF LENDING, ACCESS TO CALVET HOME LOAN HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER
You are a veteran wanting to purchase or build a home in California. A first-timer nervous about the process? Or, your credit rating is a bit spotty, perhaps? Relax. You served your nation. The California Department of Veterans Affairs’ experienced and dedicated Home Loans staff stands ready to serve you, just as they have helped […]

CALVET HOME LOANS PROGRAM GETS KUDOS FROM VETERAN CLIENT AND CONTRACTOR, TOO
U.S. Navy veteran Jonna Padgett knew CalVet’s Home Loans Program existed, but had never taken advantage of the program. Contractor Greg Garbolinsky of Aristotle Custom Homes was aware of the program, though he was relatively new to the state and had not yet built a home for a veteran in California. Even so, he encouraged […]

ANSWERS TO VETERANS’ BENEFITS QUESTIONS JUST A CLICK AWAY WITH CALVET’S UPDATED RESOURCE BOOK
Are you a service member or among the nearly 1.6 million veterans living in California? Do you want to buy a home? Do you want to return to school or find a new career in the civilian world? Do you need help navigating the VA’s medical system, or need information about any of your other […]

CLIENT’S DETERMINATION, DEDICATION TO HER FAMILY DREW AGENT’S RESPECT, ADMIRATION, AND A CALVET HOME LOAN
Nearly two dozen photographs adorn a wall next to Lesa Walker’s desk in CalVet’s Home Loans Division in Sacramento. Each picture is special to Walker, who joined CalVet as an associate property agent in 2014. They are photos of veterans and their families who became clients, but also became her friends, her extended family, her […]

FINANCING OF L.A. BUNGALOW IN 1922 OPENED DOOR TO $8.5 BILLION AND COUNTING IN CALVET HOME LOANS TO VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES
On July 1, 1922, a 28-year-old disabled World War I veteran became the first recipient of a Farm and Home Loan from the state of California in what ultimately became the CalVet Home Loans Program. The 1,185 square foot bungalow style home, on North Townsend Avenue in Los Angeles, sold for $4,120, which came out to a monthly payment of $25.94. Of course, he had no way of […]

BROTHERS IN ARMS, BROTHERS IN PARADISE: REBUILDING FROM THE CAMP FIRE DEVASTATION
On the morning of November 8, 2018, as Shane Murray drove from his new home in Paradise to work in Oroville, he looked into his rear-view mirror and saw a plume of smoke billowing against an otherwise azure sky. By the time he told his boss he needed to return home to evacuate – that […]

ONCE-TROUBLED ARMY VETERAN IN STOCKTON BECOMES CALVET’S LATEST HOME LOAN SUCCESS STORY
Just over two weeks ago, U.S. Army veteran Ludovico Anthony Calabro signed the final escrow papers and received the keys to his new home in Stockton. It marked an emotional moment for the 68-year-old Army veteran, whose life story is one of tribulations and redemptions, of demons and Deity, of patience and perseverance. For CalVet […]

IT’S A WRAP: VETERANS GETTING NEW HOMES ON “EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION” SHOW AIRING SUNDAY, MARCH 15
A partnership between the California Department of Veterans Affairs Residential Enriched Neighborhood Program (CalVet REN), the city of Palmdale, and Homes 4 Families Veteran Enriched Neighborhoods® that provides homes to military veterans, will be featured at 8 p.m. Sunday in an episode of HGTV Channel’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”. “This is an amazing partnership and […]