Today's military members are faced with particularly troubling crises when it comes time to make a move. With orders in hand, military members have had little choice but to sell at a loss. Report dates are written in stone for the most part, and the service member can't delay reporting to achieve a home sale.

 Many families rent their previous home at a loss, or the military member reports to the next duty station as a "geographical bachelor", leaving their family behind.Short sales and foreclosures are not an option either. Officers and most enlisted military members must hold a security clearance. Keeping that clearance requires periodic credit checks and if a foreclosure appears, the member runs the risk of losing their clearance and possibly their career. So, much more is at stake for the military members and their families.

Fortunately, the latest stimulus package included language to assist these families. The provisions are imed at helping service members who sell their home at a loss, faced foreclosure or were forced to move as a result of BRAC or a reassignment . Wounded veterans who need to relocate to be near a health facility and surviving spouses of those killed in combat will also be helped by the measures.

The $555 million program expands the Defense Department's Homeowners Assistance Program, which helps military and federal personnel whose homes have lost value because of a base closure. What is covered:

• 95 percent of a loss if a service member is forced to sell. or
• The government pays off the balance of a service member's mortgage (and acquires title)or
• The government pays the owner up to 90 percent of the home's previous value. No dollar ceiling has been set.
• Applies to primary residence purchase PRIOR TO July 1, 2006

The Army Corps of Engineer's website is: http://hap.usace.army.mil/. There you can find information on who qualifies, application procedures, etc.

For more information, or if you need to sell your home in DC or VA, contact Cathy Baumbusch, 703-969-1691, or visit www.GoArmyRealEstate.com.