Military Home Buying Basics and VA Loans

About This Webinar:

Service providers equip military families with the knowledge they need for transitions, including exploring the pathways to home ownership. Service members need the education and planning assistance essential to make informed decisions in the ever changing housing market. Prepare to support Service members as they consider their housing options by attending this webinar. Sharpen your military home buying basics including evaluating the household budget, reviewing a credit report, explaining how to qualify for a home loan, and understanding the VA home loan benefit.

Presenter

Dr. Ann A. Berry is the Assistant Department Head, Professor and Consumer Economics Specialist in Family & Consumer Sciences at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, with over 30 years of Extension education experience in Louisiana and Tennessee. Her responsibilities with UT include working with county Extension educators and agency partners to provide financial education to both youth and adults across the state. Her program leadership includes personal finance training for teachers, home buyer education/HUD counseling,  and other consumer economics programs including credit and debt management, taxes, and insurance as well as programs for youth and older adults. She has been a member of the Rural Families Speak and Rural Families Speak about Health multi-state research/extension project since 2002. Dr. Berry received her Ph.D. in Human Resource Development/Adult Education from Louisiana State University. She earned her BS and MS degrees from LSU and an MBA from Northeast Louisiana University.  She is a Registered Financial Gerontologist and the recipient of the 2021 National Excellence in Extension Award.

Mark J. Connors hails from Santa Barbara, CA, Mark settled in Houston, TX, following his retirement from the U.S. Air Force. Prior to his tenure with the VA, Mark worked with the Small Business Administration, making Disaster Home and Business Loans in the wake of Tropical Storm Allison in Houston, TX, and New York, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Mark returned to Houston and earned his Certified Financial Planner® designation. He worked in the financial planning industry until a career change brought him to the VA as a Loan Specialist at the Houston Regional Loan Center in 2006. In 2010, Mark joined the Loan Policy staff, VA Loan Guaranty Service (LGY), Central Office, Washington, D.C., and currently serves as LGY’s Lender Liaison. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology from Texas A&M University and an MBA from West Coast University in Los Angeles, CA. Mark lives in Vienna, VA, with his wife, Weihong.

Continuing Education (CE) Credit

This webinar has been submitted for 1.5 Continuing Education (CE) credits for:

• The Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE) for Accredited Financial Counselors (AFC); and
• The Center for Financial Certifications (FinCert) for Certified Personal Finance Counselors (CPFC).

Event Materials

Webinar Flyer | PDF

Cover photo courtesy of UF/IFAS