Bernie LaPira was 17 when he enlisted in the Marines. He served four years, including a tour in Vietnam, then came home and built a career in public service: firefighter, risk manager, city manager of Islamorada in the Florida Keys. He and his wife, Doris, were high school sweethearts who had been together since they were 14. 

They built their dream home on a mountain in western North Carolina, a log cabin they designed together, and spent 18 years there before Doris had a stroke and passed away on July 1st, 2023.

"59 of those years with her," Bernie says. "The only time we were away for Christmas was when I was in Vietnam."

For the year that followed, Bernie stayed in the house they'd shared. Everything he looked at reminded him of her. Eventually, his daughter who lives in Key Largo, convinced him to come down to Florida for a while. He rented a condo, spent five months reconnecting with old friends and familiar places, and slowly came to the realization that the Keys weren't home anymore either. North Carolina was.

"This is home," he says. "Even though I was born in Connecticut."

He sold the log cabin and started looking for something simpler. That's when he called NewDay USA.

A Different Kind of Lender

Bernie had used VA loans before. His first mortgage, back in 1975, was VA-backed: a $50,000-something loan at 7.75% through a savings bank in Hartford. Over the decades, he'd refinanced, bought, sold, and financed again, so he knew his way around the process.

This time though, he'd been watching the NewDay USA commercials, and Admiral Thomas Lynch, NewDay's Executive Chairman, who had served 32 years in the Navy, caught his attention.

"I could see that he was sincere," Bernie says. "It wasn't, you know, buy my product because I'm gonna make a lot of money. I felt comfortable dealing with a person who had a military career. I didn't think there was any kind of an angle."

He called. He was connected with a loan officer named Chris, and from there, he says, the experience was unlike any mortgage process he'd ever been through.

"Chris was very non-pushing. We talked like we knew each other almost. He put me in contact with the right people, and it didn't take long."

The loan closed on March 6th, 2026. Bernie moved into a new three-bedroom home in Old Fort, North Carolina, a brand new house with sheetrock walls he's still getting used to touching without leaving a mark.

"I haven't seen sheetrock walls for 20 years," he laughs.

The Advantage Loan: Flexibility When It Mattered

One of the things Chris walked Bernie through was the NewDay Home Advantage Loan, a companion loan that gives Veterans access to additional funds at closing. That money can cover closing costs, moving expenses, home furnishings, or just serve as a financial cushion while they get settled.

For Bernie, it was a concept that made immediate sense.

"The advantage loan allows you to borrow money at a reasonable rate of interest," he explains. "And if you're able to pay it off within the term, you get all your interest back. So you're spending someone else's money and you don't even have to pay for it, if you can pay it back."

He used the funds to furnish his new home, upgrading things he might otherwise have passed on. A better mattress. A proper dining room set. A few things that made a house feel livable when he was starting from scratch after selling nearly everything he owned.

"I sold everything in the house," he says. "I just wanted something simple."

He kept one thing: his wife's favorite chair.

"They Have Your Six"

Ask Bernie what he'd say to a Veteran friend sitting on the fence about calling NewDay USA, and he doesn't hesitate.

"First I would tell him, I'm using NewDay. You'll be talking to people that know what they're doing, and it's military. You're not talking to a banker. You're talking to someone with a military connection. They have your back. They have your six."

That phrase, "have your six," means someone is watching out for you, covering the angle you can't see yourself. For Bernie, it's the most natural way to describe the experience.

At 77, the president of the First Marine Air Wing Vietnam Service organization, still grieving and still moving forward, Bernie LaPira found a lender that felt like his people. He's got a new house, a cat named Daisy who has seven kinds of food on rotation, and a Marine Corps flag hanging next to the TV.

"My experience with NewDay," he says, "has been great. I would recommend them to all my friends."

Learn more about the VA home loan benefit and the NewDay Home Advantage Loan.

FAQs

Can I use my VA loan benefit more than once? 

Yes. The VA home loan benefit can be used multiple times throughout a Veteran’s life, including to purchase a new home after selling a previous one.

What is the NewDay Home Advantage Loan? 

It's a companion loan that gives Veterans access to additional funds at closing, which can be used for closing costs, moving expenses, furnishings, or kept as a financial cushion. If paid off within the loan term, Veterans get their interest back.

Do I need a down payment for a VA home loan? 

In most cases, no. The VA home loan benefit allows qualified Veterans to purchase a home without a down payment.