According to HousingWire, Vetted VA, an organization focused on credentialing and educating professionals in VA lending, has announced the formation of its first advisory board. The board brings together three experienced VA lending professionals and two executives from major wholesale mortgage companies. The members include Gay Veale, Jason Sharon, and Mike Alberico, all holding the organization's highest VVA7 credential, along with Mike Kortas, founder and CEO of NEXA Lending, and Tom Ahles, chief growth officer of Edge Home Finance.
The purpose of this advisory board is to guide Vetted VA as it expands its educational programs, develops professional standards, and builds partnerships across the industry. Christopher Griffith, the organization's founder and CEO, explained that while they've always sought advice, they're now formalizing this leadership structure to reach more professionals and ultimately create better outcomes for veterans using their VA home loan benefits. The board formation represents a significant step in the organization's evolution since its founding in 2019.
Vetted VA operates through a ranking system that runs from VVA1 to VVA7, with professionals earning their standing through completing coursework, meeting service standards, and demonstrating ongoing commitment to education. Importantly, the organization doesn't use loan volume to determine professional rankings, which sets it apart from many industry credentialing approaches. The addition of leaders from NEXA Lending and Edge Home Finance brings the wholesale mortgage industry's perspective to the board's work.
Since its inception, Vetted VA has tracked over five thousand VA loans totaling more than two billion dollars in originations, with nearly forty percent of those loans coming directly through their network. The organization has grown its digital communities to reach nearly one hundred thousand people and has created nearly forty hours of educational content. They've also published research highlighting trends in VA lending, including findings that younger veterans have a seventy-five percent homeownership rate, significantly outpacing their non-veteran peers.
Looking forward, Vetted VA has ambitious expansion plans. The organization aims to offer one live educational class every day by 2027 and plans to host a VA Summit in partnership with the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts. These initiatives underscore the organization's commitment to building a structured, standards-focused community that serves veterans and the professionals who help them access their benefits.
What I'm seeing locally here in the Bay Area and throughout the East Bay is that VA lending expertise has become increasingly valuable as more veterans seek to use their benefits for homeownership. Organizations like Vetted VA that focus on professional standards rather than just sales volume are helping to professionalize the field and ensure veterans get quality service. For our local market where we work with many military-connected families, having access to credentialed professionals who are committed to ongoing education and accountability makes a real difference in helping clients navigate what can be a complex lending process.
