Alex and Collin Horn purchased their first home two years ago, with a little help from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Alex, a Navy pilot, heard about the VA home loan guaranty program and he and his wife decided to take advantage of it to buy a home in Oak Harbor.

Collin said not having to make a down payment was a big draw to the VA home loan program.

“We didn’t know much about it, but we did know it was nice not to have to put 20 percent down,” she said.

The VA home loan guaranty program was initiated in 1944 as part of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, also known as the GI Bill of Rights, according to Mary Moore Bailey, vice president of marketing at Whidbey Island Bank.

The GI Bill provided veterans, active duty military members, reservists and some surviving spouses with a federally guaranteed home loan with no down payment.

“The VA home loan is one of the only remaining mortgage loan options providing 100 percent financing,” Bailey said. “With a combination of low rates, no monthly mortgage insurance and no down payment for loans up to $417,000, there isn’t a more competitive option in the marketplace today.”

VA guaranteed loans are made by private lenders, such as banks and mortgage companies, to those who qualify for the purchase or refinancing of a home, according to Bailey.

“There was a little bit more paperwork to do on the lender’s end, but on our end, it was pretty easy,” Collin said of the process to obtain a VA home loan.

Collin said she’s heard a lot of people talk about the VA home loan guaranty program and knows several other military members who have used it to purchase homes.

“In fact, since the end of World War II, more than 14 million veterans and military members have purchased a home through the VA home loan guaranty program,” Bailey said.

For information about the VA home loan guaranty program, visit the Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Program Web site at www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/ or contact a local mortgage professional.