The Department of Veterans Affairs opened its new VA Partial Claim Program for submissions on June 15, 2026, creating a foreclosure-prevention option for veterans and service members who have fallen behind on a VA-guaranteed home loan. The program was authorized by the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, signed into law on July 30, 2025, and it restores a safety net that had been missing for more than a year.
The gap it fills was costly. The Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, known as VASP, stopped accepting new submissions in May 2025. In the months that followed, more than 10,000 veterans lost their homes, and an Urban Institute analysis found roughly 90,000 VA loans seriously past due with approximately 33,000 already moving through the foreclosure pipeline.
In a market built around Robins Air Force Base, that history is not abstract. Houston County carries one of the heaviest concentrations of VA-guaranteed loans in Middle Georgia, and the communities that surround the base, including Warner Robins, Bonaire, Kathleen, Centerville, Perry, and Byron, are exactly the kind of places where a single deployment change, a medical event, or a civilian job loss at the depot can turn a stable mortgage into a delinquent one. I have watched families in this county assume foreclosure was the only road left in front of them, when in reality the newest tool available to them had not yet been mentioned by anyone they had spoken to.
A large share of the VA loans in Houston County were originated between 2020 and 2022, when rates sat in the two and three percent range. For those borrowers, the difference between a partial claim and a standard loan modification is not a technicality. It is the entire financial outcome.
A loan modification restructures the loan itself. It capitalizes the missed payments into the principal balance and, in the current rate environment, typically resets the interest rate to prevailing market levels. For a homeowner sitting on a rate near three percent, a modification can raise the monthly payment above what it was before the hardship started, which defeats the purpose of the relief. The partial claim leaves the note untouched. The rate, the term, and the payment all stay exactly where they were.
This is the part I want every veteran in this county to hear clearly. If you hold a pandemic-era rate and you are behind on payments, accepting a modification without first asking whether you qualify for a partial claim could cost you the single most valuable term on your mortgage. Ask the question before you sign anything.
| VA Partial Claim | Loan Modification |
Best suited for | A temporary hardship that has stabilized, where the original payment is still affordable | A payment that is no longer affordable going forward |
Effect on interest rate | None. The original rate stays in place | Often resets to the current market rate |
Effect on monthly payment | None. The payment stays the same | May increase or decrease |
Where the past-due amount goes | A deferred subordinate lien with no interest and no monthly payment | Capitalized into the loan balance |
When it is repaid | On sale, refinance, or payoff of the first mortgage | Over the life of the modified loan |
Trial period required | Yes. Three consecutive on-time payments | Typically yes, terms vary by servicer |
Who Qualifies and How Much the VA Will Cover
Eligibility rests on a short list of conditions. The loan must be VA-guaranteed, which excludes conventional, FHA, and USDA financing. The property must be the borrower's current primary residence, which excludes second homes, investment properties, and former primary residences that have been converted to rentals. The borrower must be in default or at imminent risk of default, must have experienced a hardship that has since stabilized, and must be able to resume the regular monthly payment going forward.
The amount the VA can advance is capped at 25% of the unpaid principal balance at the time of the claim. That cap rises to 30% for borrowers who previously used a COVID-era partial claim or who missed payments between March 1, 2020 and May 1, 2025. On a $300,000 remaining balance, the standard cap works out to roughly $75,000, with the expanded cap reaching approximately $90,000. The cure amount is not limited to missed principal and interest either. It can also absorb past-due property taxes, homeowners insurance premiums, and HOA dues where applicable, which matters in the newer Kathleen and Bonaire subdivisions where HOA obligations are common.
The program is generally limited to one partial claim per loan, with an exception for hardships tied to a Presidential disaster declaration. If the total amount required to cure the default exceeds the cap, the servicer and the assigned VA loan technician evaluate whether a combination of tools, such as a partial claim paired with a modification, can bridge the difference.
The Implementation Window Is the Real Risk Right Now
Servicers were permitted to begin submitting loans under the program on June 15, 2026, but the VA gave them until November 28, 2026 to become fully compliant and to update systems, procedures, and staff training. That means there is alive window, running through late November, in which a borrower can call a servicer and reach a representative who has not yet been trained on the program.
This is the single most actionable thing in this article. If you call your servicer and the first person you speak with tells you they cannot help or that they have never heard of the partial claim program, that answer is not the end of the road. Ask to be routed to the loss mitigation department specifically, state that you have a VA-guaranteed loan and want to be evaluated for VA home retention options including the partial claim, and ask that the request be documented in your file. The paper trail matters. Borrowers whose loans are 61 or more days past due are automatically assigned a VA loan technician, but waiting for that assignment gives away time and options.
Selling is a legitimate option, and for some households it is the right one, but the partial claim changes the order in which the question should be asked. A borrower whose hardship was temporary and who can resume the regular payment now has a path to keep the home without touching the loan terms, which was not available between May 2025 and June 2026. Exploring the partial claim first preserves the option to sell later. Selling first forecloses on the option to stay.
For those who do sell after a partial claim has been recorded, the subordinate lien becomes due at closing and is paid from the proceeds. Houston County homeowners who bought before 2022 have generally accumulated enough equity that a lien of this size is absorbed by the sale without difficulty, though that depends on the individual balance and the condition of the home. The lien will surface in the title search regardless, so it needs to be accounted for in any net-proceeds conversation from the beginning.
My honest position is that nobody should be making this decision under pressure from a servicer's timeline or from a phone call that ended badly. If you are weighing whether to keep the home or list it, get the partial claim question answered first, in writing, and then decide with the full picture in front of you. I am glad to point you toward the right people to talk to, and I would rather do that than watch another family in this county lose a house they could have kept.
What Does a Partial Claim Mean If I Want to Buy My Next Home?
For buyers, the relevant question is what a partial claim does to VA entitlement. As long as the first mortgage stays in good standing and no further default occurs, entitlement is not reduced by the partial claim itself. If a borrower defaults again after receiving one, the VA has the authority to reduce available entitlement by the losses it sustains, which is what would constrain a future purchase.
The other consideration is refinancing. Because the subordinate lien appears in a title search, it must be paid off at closing or satisfied from equity whenever the first mortgage is refinanced. For a homeowner with appreciation behind them, that is routine. For one whose home has lost value, it deserves a conversation with a VA lender before any refinance is set in motion.
If you are PCSing into Robins and you are working through a partial claim on a home somewhere else, that is a situation worth mapping out early rather than at contract. I can help you think through the sequencing, and I will tell you plainly when the question belongs with a lender instead of me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When did the VA Partial Claim Program start accepting submissions?
A: The VA Partial Claim Program opened for submissions on June 15, 2026. It was authorized by the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, which was signed into law on July 30, 2025. Mortgage servicers were permitted to begin submitting loans on the June 15 opening date, but the VA established an implementation period running through November 28, 2026, by which point all servicers must be fully compliant. Veterans in Warner Robins, Perry, Bonaire, Kathleen, and the surrounding Houston County, Georgia area may therefore encounter servicers at different stages of readiness during that window.
Q: What is a VA partial claim in simple terms?
A: A VA partial claim is a foreclosure-prevention tool in which the past-due amount on a VA-guaranteed mortgage is moved off the first mortgage and recorded as a separate subordinate lien against the property. That lien carries no interest and requires no monthly payment. It becomes due only when the home is sold, the loan is refinanced, or the first mortgage is paid off. The result is that the first mortgage is brought current while the original interest rate, loan term, and monthly payment all remain unchanged.
Q: Who is eligible for the VA Partial Claim Program?
A: Eligibility requires a VA-guaranteed loan on the borrower's current primary residence, which excludes conventional, FHA, and USDA loans as well as investment properties and second homes. The borrower must be in default or at imminent risk of default due to a documented hardship such as a job loss, a medical event, or an income reduction. The hardship must have stabilized, and the borrower must be able to resume the regular monthly mortgage payment going forward. A three-month trial payment plan must also be completed successfully before the claim is submitted.
Q: How much can the VA advance under a partial claim?
A: The VA can advance up to 25% of the unpaid principal balance on the loan at the time of the partial claim. That limit increases to 30% for borrowers who previously used a COVID-era partial claim or who missed payments during the period from March 1, 2020 through May 1, 2025. On a remaining balance of $300,000, the standard cap equates to roughly $75,000 and the expanded cap to roughly $90,000. The cure amount may also include past-due property taxes, homeowners insurance premiums, and HOA dues in addition to missed principal and interest.
Q: What is the difference between a VA partial claim and a loan modification?
A: A partial claim removes the delinquency without altering the loan, meaning the interest rate, remaining term, and monthly payment all stay the same, and the missed payments move to a deferred subordinate lien. A loan modification restructures the loan itself by capitalizing the missed payments into the principal balance and, in the current rate environment, frequently resetting the interest rate to prevailing market levels. A partial claim is generally suited to a temporary hardship where the original payment remains affordable, while a modification addresses a payment that is no longer sustainable. For Houston County homeowners who financed between 2020 and 2022 at rates near three percent, a modification today would typically raise the monthly payment above its pre-hardship level.
Q: Why does the VASP program ending matter to veterans in Houston County, Georgia?
A: The Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, known as VASP, stopped accepting new submissions in May 2025 and was the previous foreclosure safety net for VA borrowers. Between its closure and the launch of the partial claim program in June 2026, veterans who fell behind on a VA loan had very limited options for avoiding foreclosure. More than 10,000 veterans nationwide lost their homes in the months that followed, and an Urban Institute analysis identified roughly 90,000 VA loans that were seriously past due with approximately 33,000 already in the foreclosure pipeline. In a market anchored by Robins Air Force Base, where VA-guaranteed financing is heavily concentrated, that thirteen-month gap left a measurable number of Middle Georgia households without a workable path forward.
Q: Does a VA partial claim affect my credit score?
A: The partial claim itself does not directly damage a credit score. However, the delinquency that made the partial claim necessary will typically have already been reported and may already be affecting the borrower's credit. Once the first mortgage is brought current through the partial claim and regular on-time payments resume, the borrower can begin rebuilding credit from that point forward. Borrowers with specific credit questions should direct them to their servicer or a credit counselor rather than relying on general guidance.
Q: How do I apply for a VA partial claim?
A: There is no direct application portal on the VA website, and the entire process runs through the mortgage servicer with VA oversight. The borrower should contact the servicer's loss mitigation department, state that the loan is VA-guaranteed, and request evaluation for VA home retention options including the partial claim program. The servicer will then request hardship documentation, place qualifying borrowers on a three-month trial payment plan, and submit the claim to the VA after the trial period is completed successfully. Borrowers can also contact the VA Regional Loan Center at (877) 827-3702, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Q: What should I do if my servicer says they don't offer the partial claim program?
A: Because servicers have until November 28, 2026 to become fully compliant, a first-line representative may not yet be trained on the program even though the servicer is obligated to implement it. The appropriate step is to request routing to the loss mitigation department specifically, rather than accepting the initial answer, and to ask that the request for evaluation be documented in the loan file. Borrowers whose loans are 61 or more days past due are automatically assigned a VA loan technician, though contacting the VA Regional Loan Center directly at (877) 827-3702 does not require waiting for that assignment. Documentation of each contact attempt is advisable throughout the implementation window.
Q: Can I sell my home in Warner Robins after receiving a partial claim?
A: Yes. The subordinate lien created by a partial claim becomes due when the property is sold, and it is satisfied from the sale proceeds at closing. The lien will appear during the title search, so it must be factored into any net-proceeds calculation from the outset. Homeowners across Warner Robins, Bonaire, Kathleen, and Centerville who purchased prior to 2022 have generally accumulated equity sufficient to absorb a lien of this size, though the outcome depends on the individual loan balance, the lien amount, and current home condition and value.
Q: Does a partial claim reduce my VA loan entitlement for a future home purchase?
A: As long as the first mortgage remains in good standing and no subsequent default occurs, VA entitlement is not reduced by the partial claim itself. If a borrower defaults again after receiving a partial claim, the VA has the authority to recover its losses and may reduce the borrower's available entitlement by the amount lost. This distinction matters for service members who anticipate a future PCS move and expect to use their VA benefit to purchase again. Entitlement questions specific to an individual file should be directed to a VA lender or the VA Regional Loan Center.
Q: How long will the VA Partial Claim Program be available?
A: The VA Partial Claim Program is authorized for five years under the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act and is currently scheduled to remain available through July 30, 2030 unless Congress extends the authority. The program is generally limited to one partial claim per loan, with an exception permitted for hardships tied to a Presidential disaster declaration. Because program parameters can be adjusted by the VA or by subsequent legislation, borrowers should confirm current terms with their servicer or the VA Regional Loan Center at the time of application.
Q: Can I get a partial claim on a rental property I used to live in?
A: No. The VA Partial Claim Program applies only to a VA-guaranteed mortgage on the borrower's current primary residence. Former primary residences that have been converted into rental properties are excluded, as are investment properties and second homes. This restriction is relevant for service members who moved out following a PCS relocation from Robins Air Force Base and retained the prior home as a rental. Borrowers in that situation should discuss alternative loss-mitigation options directly with their servicer.
About the Author
William Walton-Dean is a licensed REALTOR® with Walton Dean Realty, operating under Real Broker LLC, serving buyers and sellers across Houston County, Georgia, including Perry, Warner Robins, Bonaire, Kathleen, Byron, and the surrounding Middle Georgia housing market. Known for a data-driven, hyper-local approach and deep expertise in the military and PCS relocation market around Robins Air Force Base, he helps buyers and sellers at every price point make clear, confident decisions backed by real market insight.
📱 478-371-7069
Walton Dean Realty | Real Broker LLC
Buying or Selling in Houston County? Let's Talk
Where the county is investing in roads and infrastructure shapes access, convenience, and the appeal of a neighborhood over time. If you are buying or selling in Warner Robins, Perry, Bonaire, Kathleen, Byron, or anywhere in Houston County, Georgia, and want a REALTOR who tracks the county's capital plans and knows how they connect to specific streets and neighborhoods, reach out. Turning local infrastructure news into a clear plan for your home, neighborhood, and timeline is what I do for every client.
William Walton-Dean | Walton Dean Realty | 📱 478-371-7069 | 📧 [email protected]
"A More Strategic Approach to Real Estate"
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, lending, legal, or tax advice. William Walton-Dean is a licensed real estate agent and is not a mortgage lender, loan servicer, attorney, credit counselor, or representative of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Eligibility for the VA Partial Claim Program, loan modifications, and all other loss-mitigation options is determined solely by your mortgage servicer and the Department of Veterans Affairs based on your individual circumstances. Program terms, caps, and deadlines described here reflect publicly available VA guidance as of July 2026 and are subject to change. Questions regarding your specific loan, interest rate, credit, or entitlement should be directed to your mortgage servicer, a VA-approved lender, or the VA Regional Loan Center at (877) 827-3702. Legal and tax questions should be directed to a licensed attorney or CPA. If you are facing foreclosure, contact your servicer's loss mitigation department promptly.
