Rocket Pro's Sweeney hopes partnership with Vetted VA can help serve Veteran community
With two-thirds of Veterans eligible for VA mortgage loans still not using the product, increased awareness is one of the top missions of organizations like Vetted VA. Now, thanks to a partnership with Rocket Pro, the hope is that more Veterans can take advantage of the earned benefit.
Katie Sweeney (pictured top), EVP of broker strategy & advocacy with Rocket Pro, said the partnership is about finding new ways to support the Veteran community.
“I think it is key to find ways to continue to support veterans more effectively. This is the full stop,” Sweeney told Mortgage Professional America. “I think it's always something that even when you're great, you can continue to get better. It's a group of people who deserve access to accurate information.
“They deserve access to people who are going to fight for them and help them with the process to utilize the benefit that they earned, like fully earned during their time enlisted in the military.”
Sweeney said the partnership made sense to both support the mission of Vetted VA and continue the work Rocket Pro has done with Veterans in the past.
“When we have the opportunity to partner with organizations like Vetted VA that are so focused on the same mission of free resources, free education, access to knowledge bases that are unbiased,” she said. “It's our responsibility to highlight them and to spotlight the work that we're doing, and to find ways to help them continue to scale and grow. We’re very excited about it.”
And while Rocket can provide Vetted VA with a larger platform for their product, Sweeney said it was important that the organization makes sure Rocket is doing its part to help Veterans.
“We also want them to help hold us accountable to being the best lender possible for this space,” Sweeney said. “To continuing to grow our internal knowledge, to ensuring that we're providing the best service quality possible.”
One of five benefits without guaranteed information
Sweeney pointed out that VA loans are one area where Veterans are left fending for themselves when it comes to finding accurate information.
“It's the only of the five primary benefits that you earn through your enlistment that is not federally chartered to provide accurate information,” Sweeney said. “If you want to learn more about the GI Bill, you know exactly where to go. You want to learn more about your health care, you know exactly what VA hospitals you can go in and talk to. You want to learn more about the VA home loan? Good luck. And that's wrong.”
She noted that in most mortgage loan situations, the VA loan product will beat out both conventional and other government loan offerings. This makes the lack of federal guidance on the loan even more frustrating.
“It's not giving these folks who earn something so wholeheartedly and the families who earned it right alongside them the ability to utilize what is, I truly believe, to be the best mortgage product available,” she said. “If you qualify for a VA home loan, 9.9 times out of 10, it's going to be the best mortgage product for you and for your family. And the fact that that information isn't out there consistently and accurately presented, it's just wrong.”
It isn’t just that there is a lack of information available, but there is also misinformation that causes Veterans to pass on VA loans.
“I think this just gives us an opportunity to continue leveling up and getting better, and to keep spotlighting the folks out there that maybe aren't doing the right thing,” Sweeney said. “Hopefully we can bring some more alongside to join us and in providing ethical information that's unbiased without creating a ton of chaos and confusion, because there are too many lenders who are preying on that, and it's wrong.”
Only one-third of 18M+ US Veterans use VA mortgage loans, often due to misinformation. Nathan Knottingham, Vetted VA, is working to correct this, educating brokers and Veterans on the benefits and proper use of VA loans. https://t.co/TizxjUccpK
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) June 10, 2025
Christopher Griffith, founder and CEO of Vetted VA, emphasized the ability to spread the word through the new partnership.
“This isn’t about volume. It’s about values,” Griffith said. “Every Veteran deserves clarity, confidence, and respect when using the VA Home Loan Guarantee. That’s what this partnership is helping to build, across Rocket Pro’s platform and the entire wholesale space.”
Nathan Knottingham, COO & partner of Vetted VA, said it was an important partnership to help continue to further the organization’s cause.
“When you combine Vetted VA’s specialized training with Rocket Pro’s scale and systems, you’re not just reaching more professionals,” Knottingham said. “You’re transforming the way the VA loan is understood and executed across the country. This partnership isn’t symbolic. It’s tactical, and it’s how we change the standard.”
It’s personal for Sweeney
As she approaches six months at Rocket Pro, this new partnership was a chance to work with people she knows well: Griffith, Knottingham, and the newly-added Vetted VA executive Gay Veale.
“I think Nathan and Christopher do a fantastic job of explaining (VA loans) in a way that’s simple and easy to understand,” Sweeney said. “It’s bold and it gets your attention, but it doesn’t over complicate things. They’re a great balance to one another, and Gay Veale joining their leadership team, she could not be a better fit for what they’re doing.
“I’ve known all three of them for quite some time now. Nathan and Christopher live not even an hour and a half from where I live down in Texas. And so we work together professionally, but we’re also friends. To see that passion permeate throughout their personal life, it’s really cool.”
Sweeney said this partnership by Rocket Pro is just one example of how the company is so invested in making a difference in the mortgage community.
“We have Rocket and Rocket Pro, both sides of our organization, we have a responsibility and a duty to this community,” she said. “Part of the reason I wanted to join the team was because I saw their commitment to serve communities that deserve it, and Veterans are definitely one of those places that Rocket has always been committed to.”
She said her first few months with Rocket Pro have been rewarding, and the company has big plans for the second half of the year.
“It’s been incredible,” Sweeney said. “I believe so deeply that you can be really successful in this industry and not lose your soul. I don’t think we always see examples of that elevated on stages or in the media. I think there’s this grind-or-die mentality that sort of permeated the mortgage environment, and it’s created sort of this toxic space in certain places.
“To be able to look at a lender that believes in the mission, believes in the idea of truly helping everyone. The kindness and empathy that exist within the four walls of Rocket in Detroit. The culture is incredible for a company of this size and scale. I honestly didn’t think it existed out there.”
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