My Top Lending Moment: Service & Sacrifice

In honor of Veteran’s Day, we’re sharing a new addition to our “My Top Lending Moment” series. Mike Fischer, branch manager of our New Hudson, MI office, shares one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of his lending career—helping a deserving military family find a new home, and hope, in Michigan.

At Ross Mortgage, we’re keenly aware of the profound impact a mortgage can have on the lives and futures of the individuals and families we serve.

While we take great pride in helping people confidently navigate one of the biggest financial transactions of their life, we also understand that underneath every stack of papers is a larger story waiting to unfold. We’re proud to play a supporting role during such a significant chapter in our customers’ lives and are motivated by the ability to positively impact someone’s life.

So when Army Captain Chase Huggins reached out to Ross Mortgage for assistance relocating from Colorado to Michigan so his daughter could receive the specialized medical care she needed, I felt a profound sense of duty to serve his family during this critical juncture in their life.

After being stationed in Colorado, Cpt. Huggins and his wife bought their first home, where they settled down and began their family. But when their young daughter’s health condition required treatment beyond what was available in Colorado, the family turned to the University of Michigan—one of the few hospitals in the world providing the kind of cutting-edge treatment their daughter required—and Ronald McDonald House Charities for help.

While initial treatments led to promising progress, Cpt. Chase Huggins and his wife made the decision to permanently relocate to Michigan so their daughter could receive the long-term care she needed. After receiving the clearance and support to move from the military, Cpt. Huggins began the process of finding a new home, and job, in Michigan.

The Huggins family was initially referred to Ross Mortgage by their realtor—himself an Air Force veteran. I was moved by their story and their circumstances, and was committed to doing what I could to help them.

But, moving across the country is a lot more complicated than moving across town. And on top of it all, the Huggins family was saddled with the additional stress of moving in a remarkably compressed timeframe—and at a time when accumulating medical expenses made coming up with a significant down payment challenging.

As a big supporter of our military and a certified VA loan specialist, I’m extremely passionate about making sure more service members are aware of the unique advantages available to them through the VA loan program. While Cpt. Huggins was familiar with the program and utilized his VA benefits to purchase his first home, the unfortunate reality is that 66% of Veterans are unaware the program exists and only 13% have actually taken advantage of their VA loan benefits.

In the end, even faced with formidable logistics and coordination challenges, we helped the Huggins family secure a loan through the VA program and make the move from Colorado to Michigan in less than six weeks. Cpt. Huggins and his family were able to move into their new home with no money down, and most importantly of all, we were able to work together to make that happen while allowing Cpt. Huggins and his wife to devote the time and attention they needed to ensure that their daughter got the care and support she required.

It’s never just another transaction, as the story of the Huggins family demonstrates so clearly. I also think it’s especially important to share their story this time of year, when Veteran’s Day reminds us in a very tangible way of the service and sacrifice that members of the military and their families make every day on our behalf. Whether they are on the front lines overseas, or in myriad other positions both at home and abroad helping to train, educate, and protect Americans and our allies, they deserve the gratitude of a nation and all the benefits that their service confers upon them.

If you would like to learn more about our work with veterans, please send us a message. We’d be happy to put you in touch with one of our VA specialists.

• va home loan
• VA loan
• va mortgage loan
• veteran
• wxyz