As a child, Nicholas Llamas moved often and never really had a place to call home. Some years, he attended four or five different elementary schools and never stayed long enough to settle in. He endured stretches without electricity and periods without running water.
Nicholas didn’t have many steady things in his life growing up, but the Army became one of them. Enlisting changed his life, and he says it was both the hardest and best decision he ever made.
Nicholas’s Military Experience
He served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, Third Brigade and was deployed to Iraq. The experience challenged him in unexpected ways, but he returned with a clear sense of what was truly important.
“The military is the military,” Nicholas said. “I loved it, but it's hard times and good times at the same time.”
When his service ended, he built a life and started a family. And with that, one goal rose above the rest. He wanted his kids to grow up in a real home, somewhere safe and stable, somewhere they would never have to wonder what came next.
Expecting Homeownership to Be Out of the Picture
When Nicholas and his wife applied for a home loan, they went into the process not expecting to be approved. They connected with Veterans United Home Loans and met loan officer Spencer Wesson (NMLS #1718308).
“We weren't really expecting to buy a house,” Nicholas said. “We were wholeheartedly going into this with the expectation of being denied.”
But soon after, Spencer called with the good news – they were preapproved for a VA home loan. Nicholas and his wife sat with the news, almost unable to believe it had actually happened.
What Home Means to Nicholas and His Family
When asked what home means to him, Nicholas answered without hesitation.
“Home is where you want to be with the people you love. It’s peace, and it’s stability.”
He thought about his own childhood as he spoke, the schools, the moves and the nights without heat. He also thought about his kids, who will never have to experience any of that.
“Growing up, I never had that feeling of security,” Nicholas said. “And by God’s grace, my kids will never know what it’s like to not have electricity or running water.”
His son plays baseball and soccer, while his daughter does ballet, dance and soccer, too. On long weekends, the family goes fishing and camping, simply enjoying time together. Even after four months in their home, it still feels unreal.
“We’ve been [in our home] now just under four months and it's still very surreal,” Nicholas said. This is ours.”
More Than Just a Home Loan
After moving into his home, Nicholas realized Spencer had been listening all along. Nicholas had briefly mentioned his kids’ love of soccer in passing, not expecting anyone to remember or do anything about it.
Spencer sent a video message, surprising the family with a full custom soccer setup, complete with jerseys, a ball and goals. Nicholas was genuinely caught off guard, saying he had only mentioned the soccer thing briefly and never expected anyone to remember. Before he could finish processing that, Spencer had another surprise to tell him.
“That's not the only thing we were going to surprise you with,” Spencer said. “The soccer stuff, that's obviously for the kids. Veterans United is going to take care of three months of your mortgage payments.”
Nicholas sat there in disbelief, remembering the kid who moved from school to school. Now, he stood in his own home, hearing that someone was looking out for him. The emotion was clear on his face before he spoke.
“It's hard to describe just what all you guys did for us, for me and my family,” Nicholas said. “Thank you for everything. I can't stress that enough. You changed our lives.”
