Relief coming soon for Airmen affected by housing slump

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Gina Vaccaro McKeen
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
Servicemember and federal employee homeowners relocating for their job are among groups of Airmen expected to soon have access to the Homeowners Assistance Program.

Legislation passed in February allows the Secretary of Defense to make a determination to temporarily expand assistance to homeowners facing a military move during the current housing market slump.

The other groups expected to benefit from the program expansion are surviving spouses of members killed in the line of duty after Sept. 11, 2001, wounded warriors/wounded civilians and military personnel who PCS and meet certain eligibility requirements. The program was originally designed to aid individuals affected by base closures and forced relocations as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure actions.

"These expanded benefits will offset some of the financial losses homeowners face when selling their homes in areas where real estate values have declined," said Jean Love, division chief for Air Force compensation and travel. "The OSD policy should offer some relief to Airmen and reduce the adverse impact of the declining housing market."

The Army Corps of Engineers, who administers the program, is encouraging homeowners who think they may be eligible for assistance to submit their applications. Application information and eligibility guidelines are available at the HAP Web site.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted Feb. 17, the law temporarily expands the Homeowners Assistance Program to authorize the Secretary of Defense to provide monetary assistance to those moving on permanent change of station orders or because of injury or death of a servicemember who suffer financial loss on the sale of their primary residences.

Due to the current depression of the real estate market and the de-valuation of many homes, these forced relocations have the potential to cause increased financial loss for the member, could potentially damage individual credit scores, and could result in family separations when service members are forced to leave their families behind to avoid incurring debt beyond what their houses are worth.

The Congress budgeted $555 million for the expanded program and defense officials are determining ways to maximize the funds.

The Army Corps of Engineers will begin working applications once they have received official guidance and funding. Benefit payments normally take between 90 and 120 days to complete, depending on the number of applicants and staffing.

For more information regarding the HAP program or application process, visit http://hap.usace.army.mil/