With PCS season in full swing for the military I have been getting lots of questions from my fellow military members here at Scott Air Force Base, IL about the Homeownes Assistance Program (HAP) available to them. HAP is intended to help offset the decrease in home values for military personnel being forced to sell their home due to official military orders to move. Here is a great outline of the program as well as a website that should be able to answer all of your questions.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) opened up a Department of Defense initiative known as the Homeowners Assistance Program, or HAP, which was created by Congress in 1966 to aid military families, surviving spouses and federal civilian employees affected by a base realignment or closure, which, in military lingo, is called BRAC.
Under ARRA, the BRAC requirement is waived. Now, help is available merely if eligible personnel are under mandatory orders to transfer on a permanent basis.
"Like many Americans, DoD families feel the economic downturn's impact as they cope with the unique challenges of military life," says Ilse Merryman, who manages HAP. "They often don't get to choose when they move and may be forced to sell their homes when they don't want to. Often, service members are ordered to change duty stations and establish new homes, sometimes every two to three years."
There are numerous rules and eligibility requirements, but here's a brief rundown of the expanded HAP program, which is run by the Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of all the branches of the military:
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Applications for aid will be processed according to eligibility in this order:
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Owners who were injured, wounded or became ill in the line of duty while deployed since Sept. 11, 2001 and are relocating for further medical treatment. Covered here are service members, including the Coast Guard, and civilian employees of the Defense Department.
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Spouses of the fallen who relocate within two after the death of their mates.
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Owners affected by the 2005 round of base closings, without the need to prove the closure caused local housing prices to decline.
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Servicemen owners who receive permanent duty station changes between Feb. 1, 2006 and Sept. 30, 2010.
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Benefits are based on the prior fair market value of the property, which under the expanded HAP is the purchase price as evidenced by the HUD-1 settlement sheet. But the amount may not exceed the 2009 conforming loan limits, which range from $729,500 in high-cost areas to no less than $417,000 everywhere else.
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As long as your home meets fair market value guidelines supported by comps and the internal desk appraisal done by HAP there is no specific time you need to market your home for.
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When a home is sold at less than what it was purchased for, there are 2 options for sellers to choose from once the home is under contract, one pays 95% plus closing costs and the other pay 90% plus improvements and closing costs.
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The government will not make up past payments, nor will it pay outstanding judgments, personal encumbrances or junior liens. But it will pay all legally enforceable liabilities, and for title services necessary to close the sale as well as any other allowable closing costs
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For further information, contact the Corps field office nearest you -- Savannah, Ga., Fort Worth, Texas, or Sacramento, Calif. -- or got to the HAP Web site, www.usace.army.mil.
If you have additional questions or would like more information about HAP please don't hesitate to contact me, Abby Noble at (618)444-6188 or via email at abby.noble@gmail.com.
Your Scott Air Force Base Specialist and EXCLUSIVE Homes for Heroes Affiliate.
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