HELP FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL WITH DISTRESSED HOMES
Military personnel forced to sell their homes during the current real estate crisis may find some relief in a new program included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In the new program, the Home-Owners Assistance Fund authorizes the Pentagon to spend up to $555 million dollars to buy the title to a services member’s property or reimburse him/her for losses after a sale or foreclosure. It is primarily intended for wounded warrior who needs to move for medical reasons, surviving spouses of those killed in action, and service members short-toured or receiving unexpected Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders. The program is also available to the widows of defense department civilian employees killed in the line of duty. This program is modeled on an existing DoD program for civilians affected by base closures under BRAC.
More specific, the new law would cover certain wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families who are “reassigned in furtherance of medical treatment or rehabilitation, or due to medical retirement in connection with such disability.”
The broadest relief is in another part of the program that offers “temporary homeowner assistance for members of the Armed Forces permanently reassigned during specified mortgage crisis.” Key, under this program are:
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The property involved is the current principal residence of the service member;
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That the property was purchased by the service member prior to July 1, 2006
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That the service member was “permanently reassigned” on orders “to a duty station or home port outside a 50-mile radius” of the prior base or installation; and
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The qualifying property was sold by the owner between July 1, 2006 and September 30, 2012
Any service member that thinks they can get help from this program should contact their local Staff Judge Advocate or JAG. Local housing and foreclosure counseling services are also available by visiting http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/local.cfm
