Rhude pairs lived experience with sharp strategy to serve overlooked homebuyers
Jaime Rhude isn’t just closing loans - she’s opening doors. With lived experience, technical expertise, and tireless community outreach, she’s rewriting what it means to serve military homebuyers. As a military spouse and VA-focused mortgage broker, she doesn’t just understand her clients - she’s lived their experience.
“I was in the casino business for about 10 years,” Rhude said. “Then I met my husband at Patrick Air Force Base. We moved constantly, from Indiana to Montana to Florida. At each place, I had to start over. That’s the reality of being a military spouse.” Her resume, like many in the military community, lacked the continuity employers often look for. “It doesn’t show that consistency, unfortunately,” she said.
A chance coffee meeting with military Realtors changed her trajectory. “They said, ‘Meet with Sonya Pitt, she’ll help you,’” Rhude said. Pitt, a passionate VA lender, agreed to mentor her. “She goes, ‘Go get your license and I’ll take you on.’ And she did.”
That support turned into a mission. Rhude became deeply embedded in military communities, raising funds, educating spouses, and serving as a trusted advocate. “I ended up getting Key Spouse of the Year for the whole Charleston Wing and went Air Force level in DC because of how much I gave back,” she said.
Lived experience, professional edge
Rhude’s mortgage practice is rooted in personal insight. “I know what it’s like to PCS. I know the turbulences of living in one state trying to buy a house in another,” she said. “Not every loan officer knows the terminology. I’m a vetted VA loan officer. If I don't know the answer, I know where to find it in the handbook.”
She also sees persistent myths clouding VA loans. “The sellers are not educated,” she said. “They think, ‘Oh, VA loans, that’s the hardest loan.’ But it’s not. It’s the best loan program out there. It’s protecting the veteran.”
Rhude doesn’t wait for things to happen - she pushes deals forward. “Let me call the seller’s agent for you. Let me work on your behalf. I’ll answer my phone at 9:00 at night. That’s what gets the offer accepted,” she said.
Even among loan officers, she sees misinformation. “Some won’t even steer [veterans] to VA loans even though they know they’re eligible. They’ll take them FHA or conventional,” she said.
Recent policy shifts haven’t made things easier. “VA buyers are now allowed to pay agent commissions – which leveled the playing field for veterans to receive proper representation for buyer agents,” she said.
Education as a tool for change
Despite her credentials, Rhude sometimes faces resistance from military institutions themselves. “I’ve gotten pushback trying to go in and teach a class about VA,” she said. “A lot of military service members have no idea about it.”
The numbers speak volumes. “Only 13% of eligible veterans have ever used their benefit. That means a huge portion of our military community is missing out on homeownership,” she said. “And 93% of those who do use it, use it to buy their first home.”
She’s on a mission to close that gap. Rhude teaches first-time homebuyer classes, offers webinars, and holds sessions for Realtors. “People think you can only use it once. That’s not true. You can use it multiple times.”
Her drive goes beyond transactions. “I don’t do this for the money,” she said. “I had a client who was in prison for 10 years. Other lenders turned him down. I called the jail, got a letter from the sheriff. We got him closed.”
Her community engagement is relentless. “I do backpacks for the USO, sponsor golf tournaments, host homebuying classes. I even sponsored a breakfast for 80 veterans - one of them was 95 years old,” she said.
She also challenges misleading branding. “I've seen other lenders use the word 'Veteran' in their company name, which can lead to thinking they are affiliated with the Veterans Administration. When I purchased my first home, I was one of them,” she said.
“I've noticed a larger variation in mortgage price and cost, across the many different types of lenders, on VA mortgage loans than other loan types. Looking back, I wish I would've done more research as a borrower. When the word "Veteran" was in a company's title, it gave me a false sense of security and confidence that I was working with the company I was supposed to.”
Bridging gaps others can’t
Rhude’s connection to overlooked borrowers extends beyond the military. As a child of deaf adults (CODA), she’s also fluent in American Sign Language. “My whole family is deaf,” she said. “I do signing videos and have helped deaf clients. Because I can communicate, they trust me.”
For Rhude, success stems from service. “I built the relationships even when I wasn’t in mortgage. I was still in the military community,” she said. “And now they call me. ‘Hey, I need your advice.’”
