NewDay Home Advantage and the VA home loan helped an Old Fort, North Carolina, veteran start over.
Bernie LaPira had one chair when he moved into his new house on March 6, 2026. It was his late wife's favorite. He had sold nearly everything before the move and was staring down the cost of furnishing an entire home. Had he paid closing costs out of pocket, there wouldn't have been much left.
He's not alone. A recent survey by NewDay USA found that 45% of veterans and service members don’t have enough savings to cover closing costs. It also found that intent to purchase a home nearly doubles when upfront closing costs are taken off the table.
The NewDay Home Advantage took upfront closing costs off the table for LaPira. Offered exclusively by NewDay USA to qualified veterans and active service members, the Advantage covers closing costs so buyers don't have to pay a single dollar out of pocket. For LaPira, those savings meant he could furnish the house from scratch: couches, mattresses, a dining set, and a whole-house generator he's planning to install.
"I've never heard of it before, where you would have a lender not only provide you with the principal but also give you the ability to borrow the closing costs," LaPira said.
LaPira is a Vietnam veteran who enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 and served four years of active duty. After the military, he spent decades in public service across Connecticut and South Florida. He and his wife had been together since they were 14. In 2005, they built a log cabin in the mountains of western North Carolina and retired there together.
On July 1, 2023, after 55 years of marriage, his wife passed away. LaPira sold the house and nearly everything in it, spent five months renting in Florida, and realized North Carolina was still home. He found a three-bedroom house in Old Fort and called NewDay USA after being drawn by the company's military leadership, including Admiral Thomas Lynch.
"I saw the sincerity," LaPira said. “I felt comfortable dealing with a person who had a military career. They have your six."
The VA home loan already required no down payment and no private mortgage insurance. The Advantage loan covered the rest, and LaPira could start a new chapter without the strain of upfront costs.
“Our mission is to help one million veterans achieve homeownership, and stories like this show other veterans what is possible,” said Rear Admiral Thomas Lynch (USN, Ret.), Executive Chairman of NewDay USA. “NewDay Home is a real solution that strengthens military families' buying power in today's competitive market. For many veterans, that means the ability to purchase a home without bringing a single dollar to the table upfront.”
The VA home loan is one of the most powerful homebuying tools, and NewDay USA is making it even stronger. With NewDay Home, qualified veterans don't need to come up with a single dollar for a down payment or closing costs, and the Deposit Boost allows buyers to increase their earnest money deposit at 0% interest for 90 days, helping offers stand out in the competitive markets the way a cash buyer would. For families navigating life transitions or stretched on savings, that can change everything.
