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Seattle Tacoma JBLM VA Short Sales - No PCS Help for the Military by Obama – The HAP Program is Still Working

By John Cameron

Real Estate Broker/Owner with VITUS Realty, LLC 18189

April 11, 2012 08:28 AM

Seattle Tacoma JBLM VA Short Sales - No PCS Help for the Military by Obama – The HAP Program is Still Working

I’ve been specializing in the HAP Program in the Seattle Tacoma JBLMarea for a couple of years HAP Logo now. I closed the first HAP Program sale in Washington State in June of 2010. That was Dr. Capt Matthew Kidd, and it was Capt. Kidd that first brough HAP, a great alternative to a VA Short Sale, to my attention. Here is more info on the HAP Program. Well now the HAP Program is winding down, and although one of my contacts at HAP’s Savannah office, which is handling ALL the HAP files in the country now, not to mention Seattle and Tacoma, told me that they are still receiving 200-300 applications a month, less and less of the military are qualifying due to qualifying dates and deadlines, as well as all applications must be in by 30-SEPT-2012. After that it ends.

Now the military home owners in Seattle Tacoma JBLM area asking for help, about their PCS and what to do. These families need help. The average stay in one place for the military is 3 years, then they’re forced to move. Now all there is left for them to do is a VA Short Sale if they want to sell. The vast majority didn’t buy prior to June 30, 2006 and certainly didn’t PCS prior to Sept. 30, 2010 the major HAP deadline and cutoff date.

What help is there now? Enter the big 5 banks, and their $25 billion settlement for illegal foreclosures. The Mortgage Servicing Settlement Agreement is the largest state-federal settlement ever, and is supposed to provide some Short Sale provisions for the military member not qualifying for HAP.

President Obama and the Settlement said this:

• Providing Relief for Servicemembers Forced to Sell Their Home at a Loss Due to a Permanent Change in Station: Under the Department of Defense’s Homeowners’ Assistance Program (HAP), some servicemembers who are forced to sell their home at a loss due to a Permanent Change in Station (PCS) may be compensated for the loss in their home’s value. Under this settlement, servicers will provide short sale agreements and deficiency waivers to those servicemembers who were forced to sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage due to a PCS, but who are not eligible for HAP. This means that the benefits of that program will finally be extended to servicemembers who bought their homes between July 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008, or who received a PCS after October 1, 2010.

Sounds good right? This statement caused quite a ruckus with the HAP. The HAP Program had to post a disclaimer on their Homepage stating that the dates hadn’t changed. They were inundated with phone calls from military members that will be forced to do a VA short sale now and real estate agents.

So I had some clients that I sat down with the top VA Short Sale attorneys, MBS Attorneys, in Seattle Tacoma JBLM yesterday. And Steve Stovall, senior partner, and the “S” in the firm’s name. Told my military client and myself that the settlement “didn’t apply to…” are you ready?

That it didn’t apply to... VA loans.

Short Sale House I don’t even know what to say….So my client’s ONLY recourse hasn’t changed in the least. VA Short Sale. So without further clarification President Obama is not offering any PCS help for the Military. If you don’t qualify for the HAP program, and it doesn’t matter if you’re stationed at JBLM, or Seattle or Tacoma, your best option is probably VA Short Sale.