This program is not acutally up and running yet.  It is in the works.  However, the fact that it in the works is promising and potentially highly beneficial to military homeowners who are being deployed to other areas through no fault of their own.  As we all know, when you sign up to serve ou country in the military you pretty much have to go where they tell you to go. Normally, this is no big deal for homeowners…except for now.

Home prices have declined dramatically and many homeowners are in negative territory where there equity is concerned. This might not be a huge concern to homeowners that have the option of staying put.  My own situation is like that.  I enjoy my home and neighborhood and have no intention of moving anytime soon.  This is not an option for many military homeowners.  They may have bought three or four or five years ago only to find out the military is moving them out.

What to do?

Homeowner Assistance Program

The Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with administering a program that can help military personnel make up the loss in their equity.  It also helps with the Seller side of closing costs including the Realtor’s fee. So, in effect, the Army is encouraging people to use a Realtor to sell their home.  The Program is called the Homeowner Assistance Program and it can be just the lifeline military homeowners need in order to sell their home and essesntially “break even”.  This is a huge benefit considering that, for many home sellers, the alternative would be to try and get a “short sale” approved by the mortgage company that holds the mortgage on the house.

A “short sale” would be devasting to military families, in particular, since it would destroy their credit and jeopardize any clearance status they may have now or want to get for job advancement. It would also crush their chances of obtaining another mortgage in another area anytime in the near or intermediate future.

There are lots of little details and the extremely important thing to remember is that, at this writing, the Army Corps of Engineers is still awaiting the final regulations to be handed down before they even begin processing applications for the program. It would be a good thing to get started, though.  So, if you are in a military family it might be a good idea to visit the website and download the application.  When it happens it’ll be a good deal!

If you have questions about this program you can shoot me an e-mail or call at 240-417-9100.  Remember, it isn’t finalized yet but it is on the way.  I may be able to help.