Law for Real People - John Gear Law Office & Salem Consumer Law 503-569-7777

Veterans - thinking of buying a house/condo?

2/4/2019

Because I see clients who are at risk of or already embroiled in a foreclosure, I see a lot more of the dark and ugly side of mortgage borrowing than the average person does.

So I'm not at all convinced that our so-called "American Dream" of home ownership as an aspiration for everyone is a good idea. And I urge anyone thinking about buying property to do your homework very carefully, so that you as well informed and aware of the risks as you already are of the benefits.

That said, if you are a vet and have decided that buying rather than renting is for you, you should definitely know about the home loan option available through ODVA.

The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Home Loan Program had a banner year in 2018, with an outstanding $102,044,184 in new loan origination — a 21 percent increase over the previous year and the program’s highest total in over two decades.

Behind the numbers is the remarkable fact that 362 Oregon veterans and their families were able to achieve their dream of home ownership through the ODVA home loan program in 2018.

“It’s a great feat, and it’s really a testament to the ODVA team and their hard work,” Home Loans Program Manager Cody Cox said. “It shows their dedication to serving veterans and their home financing needs.”

Oregon is one of only five states that still offers a veteran home loan program. This Oregon benefit is separate and distinct from the federal VA Home Loan Guaranty and has lent approximately $8 billion in low-interest home loans to more than 334,000 veterans since 1945.

“The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs was originally created by the Legislature in 1945 to administer the home loan program, so it is an important part of our agency’s history and identity,” said ODVA director Kelly Fitzpatrick. “We are immensely proud of the work of Home Loans Program Manager Cody Cox and his team, and their service to our veterans.”
Today, Oregon’s veteran home loan portfolio contains just shy of 2,000 units and is valued in excess of $370 million.

Currently, ODVA's home loan program offers eligible veterans fixed-rate financing for:

Owner-occupied, single family residence
Loans up to the limit set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency
Purchase only (no refinancing is available)
Up to four (4) home loan maximum life benefit
For more information about the Oregon Veteran Home Loan Program, visit www.orvethomeloans.com or call toll-free (888)673-8387.

John Gear Law celebrates 4th Birthday - Thanks to you

9/1/2014

Today marks John Gear Law Office's fourth birthday.

I am very grateful to all the clients who have trusted me with their problems and given me the opportunity to help them find solutions. Thanks to your trust and confidence, I have been able to meet my primary practice goal: Making a modest living with a "values-based Oregon law practice" -- where "values-based" means I don't represent the folks trying to take advantage of others, my clients are the ones wronged by those who do.

It's not the easiest area of law and it's definitely not the most lucrative, but I think it's the most satisfying. As the Mrs. works towards her M. Div. and ordination as a minister, I am able to have a practice that reflects, rather than conflicts with, the values of a ministry.

Macy's helps out with "Serving Our Veterans at Home"

7/17/2013

When you donate $5 or more dollars before August 24th, 2013, you will receive an exclusive shopping pass, which gives you access to 25% off all day including sale and clearance items. You will also be helping a veteran return to a healthy productive life.

Click here to access our verified paypal page.

When donating make sure to enter your email address and write, "Shop for a Cause" in the comments section. We will then email your exclusive shopping pass within 48 hours.

An opportunity to take the fight to the next level

5/14/2013

Despite the cool certificate, the admission itself is nothing much -- it's what you can do with it that makes it worth having.
I have a client with a case that really needs to be brought in federal court. So, despite my strong preference for my walking commute and my distaste for hauling up and down the valley as part of the workday, it's off to federal court I go.

I appreciate the opportunity that my veteran client has given me to bring a substantial case that I think will right a substantial wrong. It even makes getting up in time to catch a train at 0642 worth it. Thank goodness for Amtrak.

Scam d'jour, this one aimed at Vets

1/26/2012

From a public-spirited attorney in Washington, Peter Fels, who passes on this warning from a Spokane attorney, Dick Sayre. No reason to think it stops North of the Columbia River.

Folks, the Attorney General is accepting complaints about VA scams which are spreading over Washington like a small plague. They are working with the VA, who is not at all amused by these goings on. Of particular interest to the AG are non lawyers selling insurance products and/or irrevocable trusts to disabled seniors with a purpose of shielding assets from VA so as to gain acceptance for Aid and Attendance benefits, but lawyers here and in other states taking part in the scams are also a target of their investigations.

As most of you know, VA does not have a lookback or penalty for gifting assets, making this what appears to be an easy sale for the annuity sellers, who charge for the 'service' and get commissions from the trusts and annuities. That will likely change as a consequence of this practice.

As many of you know, clients are being talked into making gifts to children, who then either put the funds into an irrevocable trust or buy an annuity 'to keep the funds safe'.   They then apply for Aid and Attendance benefits but, of course, when they later need Medicaid, they are faced with a huge penalty period and extended ineligibility. DSHS will deny eligibility or deem assets to be in a constructive trust; however, often the client cannot get them back - it's the worst of all worlds.

I have dealt with a number of these cases, and everyone ended badly for the clients. Here in Spokane, the VA experts are approaching AFH's and nursing homes for presentations, and are being given a warm welcome given that the money goes to the facility.   When the next one of these goes bad, I'll be visiting with some of the litigators on this list about the forseeability of injury when the facility sets these creeps up as experts for financial gain.

The agents pass themselves off as VA experts and have business entities with snappy titles. They make huge profits for advice and healthy commissions from crappy annuities sold to desperate people without any warning of the consequences of this approach. As most of you also know, the VA helps people apply for A&A without cost.

If you have complaints, please direct them to Brooks Clemmons or file a complaint as set out below. Here is contact information for Brooks:

brooksc@atg.wa.gov and (509) 456-3282 (direct line)

It would be helpful to the AG if people filed a complaint online at
www.atg.wa.gov as those complaints go straight into their bank of complaints and are coordinated with similar complaints. The AG would like to find out if there are persons or families that have been approached or have been taken in as a consequence of these unethical and fraudulent practices.

In Brooks words: It is our fervent desire to stop this practice and stop others from being harmed.

I have filed several complaints, and I know others have as well.   I've also created some havoc with annuity companies, but most won't budge absent litigation. Meanwhile, the client is without services or money.   It is now reaching epidemic levels, and I ask you all to refer cases to the AG so we can prevent more people from being irreparably harmed.

Dick Sayre
Sayre & Sayre, PS
Spokane

Resources for Vets

10/26/2011

Tools and Services for Veterans

Veterans Day gives everyone a moment to honor and remember those who have fought and served our country through their military service. While there are many resources and organizations that help veterans and their families, the federal government provides unique tools and services to help those who have done so much for our country. Here are some of the most popular resources for veterans and active duty personnel from USA.gov:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a new mobile website created for use on all mobile devices. Here, service members, veterans and their dependents can find services and information, including facility locations, benefits and tips for returning service members.

There’s now a way to manage military benefits online—all in one place. Check out the VA ebenefits page where veterans can apply for benefits, view their current status, access records or browse benefits links to learn more about what is available.
The mobile app PTSD Coach is available for iPhone and Android users. PTSD Coach was designed for Veterans and military service members who have, or may have, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD can cause severe anxiety and flashbacks after someone experiences a trauma or tragedy in their life. This app provides users with education about PTSD, information about professional care, a self-assessment guide, opportunities to find support, and tools that can help users manage the stresses of daily life with PTSD.

November 11 was once "Armistice Day" in the United States, and its purpose was to honor the soldiers of World War I. In 1954, it became "Veterans Day." Learn more about the history of the holiday and find out about new initiatives to honor America’s veterans.

Salem Resources List: Free meal sites, Emergency Services, Social Services, Shelters etc

6/22/2011

I found an old Salem Resources list with a number of useful listings. As a first step towards updating it, I made a legible version of it (see file below). Anyone knowing of newer or better information is invited to contact me with the updates so I can update the file. Please feel free to direct others to this resource list and to suggest additional resources for people in need.

jglo_pdf_4-page_salem_social_services_resource_list_6-2011.pdf
File Size:	125 kb
File Type:	pdf

Warning to Vets: You're Being Targeted Again

3/29/2011

Another story pointing out how for-profit schools target prospective students more on the basis of ability to pay than on their ability to benefit from the for-profit school offers. Hat-tip to Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine for story and graphic:

Online Colleges Target Veterans
GI benefit-rich veterans help Kaplan and other universities avoid federal financial aid rules

     Keith Melvin, a disabled and decorated Iraq War veteran, wanted to go to a traditional college until a recruiter for the online, for-profit Kaplan University began courting him. She assured him, he said, that he could trust Kaplan because it's owned by Washington Post Co. (WPO), and because the Post's board boasts such luminaries as Warren Buffett and Melinda Gates. "I was more familiar with Jimmy Buffett than I was with Warren Buffett," Melvin says.

     After learning the difference between the Sage of Omaha and the Sage of Margaritaville, Melvin enrolled at Kaplan last year. Invoking Buffett and Gates is one of many ways Kaplan attracts veterans—and the public funds used to pay their tuition. Federal spending on veterans' education will more than double this year, to $9.6 billion from $4.2 billion, says the U.S. Veterans Affairs Dept., largely because of a more generous GI Bill that took effect in August 2009. It pays veterans' tuition up to the level of their state's most expensive public university.

     Kaplan ranked third in 2009 in the number of students funded by veterans' benefits, behind two other for-profits, Apollo Group's (APOL) University of Phoenix and American Public Education's (APEI) American Public University System. Eight of the top 10 colleges were for-profits. "These schools are after the monetary gain of a healthy benefits package, not necessarily what's in the best interest of students," says Donald D. Overton Jr., executive director of Veterans of Modern Warfare, a service group with 5,000 post-1990 veterans as members. Kaplan spokeswoman Melissa Mack says: "Kaplan has received significant interest from veterans because of our military-friendly practices." She says recruiters aren't encouraged to use the names of Buffett and Gates.

     Enrolling veterans helps for-profit colleges exploit a loophole in a 1992 law capping the proportion of revenue they can derive from federal student aid at 90 percent. Tuition paid to for-profit colleges under the GI Bill counts as nongovernment revenue. Kaplan University, which derived 87.2 percent of its revenue in 2009 from taxpayer-funded education aid such as Pell Grants for poor students, may have exceeded 90 percent if revenue from the GI Bill and U.S. Defense Dept. tuition assistance for active-duty military was added, says Bradley Safalow, chief executive of PAA Research, which analyzes higher education stocks.

     U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, whose department is pushing tighter regulation of for-profit colleges, expressed concern in September that some schools may violate the spirit of the law, which was meant to ensure that they offer an education good enough that some students are willing to pay for it out of their own pockets. For-profit colleges should have "some skin in the game beyond our dollars," Duncan said.

     Veterans often don't complete degrees or land lucrative jobs after attending for-profit schools. At Kaplan University, only 30 percent of two-year students and 33 percent of four-year students graduate. Spokesman Ron Iori says Kaplan's graduation rates are higher than many traditional schools that also serve a predominantly low-income student body like its own.

     Iraq vet Scot Reynolds, who earned a bachelor's degree in management from Kaplan University in 2009, now works as a telemarketer for $8 an hour plus commission—less than he made before he graduated. "My income has drastically dropped," he says. "Kaplan was extremely limited with help in finding work." Iori says Kaplan provides a wide array of job placement services.

     Kaplan, long known for preparing high school students for the SAT college admissions exam, derived 64 percent of its revenue in the quarter ended July 4 from its higher education division. The unit includes predominantly online Kaplan University, with 75,000 students, as well as Kaplan colleges, which have 37,000 students on 60 campuses.

     About 11,000 Kaplan University students, or 15 percent of its enrollment, are veterans, active-duty service members, or military spouses, up from 8,500 a year ago. The school targets the more than 1.2 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, who are eligible for richer benefits under the revised GI Bill, by advertising in military-related magazines such as Army Times and G.I. Jobs, exhibiting at job fairs for current and former service members, and sponsoring events held by Amvets, the country's fourth-largest veterans' organization. Veterans "can virtually go to Kaplan with no out-of-pocket expenses," Kay Houghton, Kaplan director of corporate alliances, said as she handed out brochures at the Amvets national convention in Louisville in August.

     The bottom line: Washington Post Co.'s for-profit college, Kaplan University, has used the prestige of its parent to attract veterans and their federal aid.

Military service members and families: OSBAR Military Assistance Panel

2/4/2011

John Gear is a MAP volunteer attorney. If you are a service member, service family member, or know someone who is, you should know about the Oregon State Bar's Military Assistance Panel (MAP).

The Oregon State Bar’s Military Assistance Panel connects Oregon lawyers with Oregon’s deployed servicemembers and their dependents in need of legal help.

    Since 2003 the Oregon State Bar has been addressing legal concerns of Oregon soldiers deployed overseas. Federal and state legislation provide additional legal protection to persons entering or called to active duty in the US armed forces. Information on the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and state laws protecting service men and women is available here.

    Although many military personnel and their families are aware of the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA), they may not have the legal expertise or financial resources available to take advantage of the Act’s important provisions. The Oregon State Bar administers a referral panel that lists lawyers willing to help. Our volunteer lawyers have been trained to provide legal assistance primarily relating to the SCRA. Many volunteers are also willing to assist with family law, consumer/credit law, real property/landlord-tenant law, and estate planning issues.

    Volunteer lawyers expect to give at least one hour of advice and counseling to a cli- ent free of charge. It is up to the lawyer and client to decide whether to continue the lawyer/client relationship beyond the pro bono consultation.

How It Works:

To participate, servicemembers –

        1. Contact the Oregon Army National Guard at (503) 584-3571 for an authorization (military reference or “MR”) number; and then,

        2. Contact the Oregon State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service at (503) 684-3763 for a referral to a participating lawyer; and then,

        3. Contact the participating lawyer.

SCAM ALERT -- Veterans targeted by scammers

1/26/2011

Forwarded by Kevin Secor, VSO Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
    An organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS) is providing benefit and general information on VA and gathering personal information on veterans. This organization is not affiliated with VA in any way.
    Websites with the name "vaservices" immediately after the "www" ARE NOT part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Government agency. Do not go to them or if approached or called, do not offer them any information concerning yourself or data on other veterans.
    Keep in mind that the real VA website ends in .gov. Also, be aware that the Department of Veterans Affairs does not randomly call veterans, nor does it ask veterans for information which it does not already have--like Social Security Numbers. In particular, if you have not dealt with the VA previously--and in person--and all of a sudden, you receive a call from someone saying they are with the VA or something similar sounding, hang up the phone. Also, do not respond to emails which suggest that they are from the VA. The VA never conducts official business nor asks for personal information by email.
    VAS may be gaining access to military personnel through their close resemblance to the VA name and seal. Our Legal Counsel has requested that we coordinate with DoD to inform military installations, particularly mobilization sites, of this group and their lack of affiliation or endorsement by VA to provide any services.
    In addition, The General Counsel requests that if you have any examples of VAS acts that violate chapter 59 of Title 38 United States Code, such as VAS employees assisting veterans in the preparation and presentation of claims for benefits, please pass any additional information to Mr.Daugherty at the address below.

        Michael G. Daugherty, Staff Attorney
        Department of Veterans Affairs,
        Office of General Counsel (022G2)
        810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420

LAWYERLY FINE PRINT:

John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law; John@JohnGearLaw.com and SalemConsumerLaw.com. My office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour parking on my block and throughout downtown Salem, and three free parking multi-story parking ramps in downtown Salem as well.

I am only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. I don't give legal advice on this site; don't interpret anything you read here as intended for your particular situation. Besides, I'm not your attorney unless we have met in person and you have hired me by entering into a representation agreement with me. While I do want you to consider me when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials. All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2019.

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