Section 175.2 - Loan Eligibility Requirements(a) The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) Board--The Veterans Land Board of the State of Texas.(2) Bona fide resident--An individual actually living within the State of Texas with the intention to remain.(3) Missing/Missing in Action--To have an official designation of "missing status" as provided by Title 37, Chapter 10 of the United States Code relating to Payments to Missing Persons. The term "missing status" means the status of members of a uniformed service who are officially carried or determined to be absent in a status of missing; missing in action; interned in a foreign country; captured; beleaguered, or besieged by a hostile force; or detained in a foreign country against their will.(4) Program--The Veterans Land Program as authorized by Title 7, Chapter 161 of the Texas Natural Resources Code relating to Veterans Land Board.(5) Surviving spouse--A person who satisfies the federal definition of "surviving spouse" contained in Title 38 USC Sec. 101(3), as modified by the special provision in Title 38 USC Sec. 103, or any successor statutes, as amended from time to time. The board's intent is to match the eligibility requirements for a surviving spouse to qualify for a home loan guaranteed by the USDVA.(6) USDVA/VA--The United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any successor thereto.(7) Veteran--A person who satisfies the requirements of subsection (c)(1) of this section.(b) The Board shall be the final authority in defining and interpreting all eligibility requirements, and whether an applicant has actually satisfied those requirements. The Board may by resolution prescribe the procedures and forms to be used by applicants to evidence eligibility, and may appoint a committee of qualified individuals to consider the evidence of eligibility and make recommendations to the Board. Evidence of service in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam consists of: (1) documents from said Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam;(2) documents from a federal office, such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement;(3) documents from the People's Republic of Vietnam; or(4) other proof of service deemed appropriate by the Board or the Board's designee.(c) To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant must satisfy one of the following: (1) be a person who: (A) is at least 18 years of age;(B) is a bona fide resident of Texas at the time of application for a loan. Military personnel on active duty, who otherwise meet the requirements of this subsection are eligible even though stationed outside of Texas at the time of application;(C) satisfied one of the following service requirements after September 16, 1940:(i) has served not less than 90 cumulative days of active duty or active duty training time in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, United States Space Force, United States Public Health Service, or a recognized reserve component of one of the listed branches of service, unless discharged earlier because of a service-connected cause;(ii) has completed all initial active duty training required as a condition of service in any National Guard or reserve component of one of the branches of service listed in clause (i) of this subparagraph;(iii) has at least 20 years of active or reserve military service as computed when determining the applicant's eligibility to receive retired pay under applicable federal law; or(iv) served in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975.(D) is considered not to have been dishonorably discharged under subsection (h) of this section, if the person has been discharged from military service; and(E) satisfies one of the following: (i) was a bona fide resident of Texas at the time of enlistment, induction, commissioning, appointment or drafting;(ii) is a legal resident of Texas on the date of application; or(iii) is serving on active duty, at the time of application, assigned to a military base or facility in Texas, and has officially designated Texas as the applicants home of record.(2) is the surviving spouse of a veteran who died: (A) as a result of a service-connected cause, as determined by the Board or certified by the USDVA, or who is identified as missing in action, if the spouse satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1)(A) and (B) of this subsection, and the veteran satisfied the requirements of paragraph (1)(C) and (D) of this subsection and either paragraph (1)(E)(i) of this subsection or the Veteran was a legal resident of Texas at the time of his or her death; or(B) after filing an application and contract of sale with the Board, but before the transaction was completed, if he or she meets all other qualification requirements of the Board.(C) For purposes of this subsection relating to surviving spouses, an individual assigned to a military installation in Texas, who is killed in Texas as the result of a terrorist attack as defined by the Board, will be considered to be a Texas resident as of the day of death.(d) A person may only have one loan at a time as a veteran. However, once that loan is paid in full, he or she may apply for another loan as a veteran. The foregoing notwithstanding, an individual who is currently participating in the land program as a veteran may also, as a non-veteran: (1) take an assignment of a contract or contracts;(2) assume a land mortgage loan or loans; or(3) bid on a forfeited or foreclosed tract or tracts.(e) The applicant must sign applications and contracts. An attorney in fact may not sign these documents for an applicant, except under limited conditions approved by the Board.(f) No application shall be approved to purchase land under the program: (1) which provides for or recognizes a second or subordinate lien as a part of the original purchase price for any tract except as provided for in §175.54(b) (1);(2) where there is evidence that the benefits derived from the use of the land will not pass to the applicant; or(3) where there exists any other good and sufficient reason to refuse approval, as determined by the chairman of the Board.(g) If both spouses are individually eligible to participate in the program, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit them from applying for a loan to jointly purchase the same tract of land. The Board may make a loan for the purchase of the same tract of land by two veterans who are spouses, but only if both spouses together satisfy the loan qualification requirements of the program. The total amount of this loan shall not exceed the maximum amount allowable for this type of loan.(h) Any requirement of this section, or of any section within this chapter, which is not otherwise required by the constitution or statutes of this state, may be waived on a case by case basis by the Veterans Land Board. Any waiver request must be in writing and must describe the circumstances surrounding the request, including all of the reasons why the waiver is requested.(i) For purposes of this section, a person who has been discharged from the branch of the service in which the person served or from the reserve or National Guard is considered not to have been dishonorably discharged if the person:(1) received an honorable discharge;(2) received a discharge under honorable conditions; or(3) received a discharge and provides evidence from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, its successor, or other competent authority that indicates that the character of the person's duty has been determined to be other than dishonorable.40 Tex. Admin. Code § 175.2
The provisions of this §175.2 adopted to be effective March 11, 1986, 11 TexReg 1005; amended to be effective November 10, 1986, 11 TexReg 4487; amended to be effective June 11, 1990, 15 TexReg 2917; amended to be effective December 10, 1993, 18 TexReg 8797; amended to be effective August 24, 1999, 24 TexReg 6516; amended to be effective April 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 2748; amended to be effective November 18, 2001, 26 TexReg 9221; amended to be effective June 23, 2002, 27 TexReg 5248; amended to be effective June 9, 2003, 28 TexReg 4434; amended to be effective November 23, 2003, 28 TexReg 10253; amended to beeffective December 21, 2010, 35 TexReg 11390; amended to be effective February 24, 2014, 39 TexReg 1174; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 47, Number 46, November 18, 2022, TexReg 7746, eff. 11/21/2022; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 34, August 23, 2024, TexReg 6466, eff. 8/25/2024