Civilians Can Benefit, Too: Homeowners Assistance Program

You were assigned to a base. Served your time there and moved on to your new assignment. Kept your home in the old location and decided to rent it, hoping to move back someday after retirement, or perhaps keeping the home as a rental property for income. And then the unthinkable happens: base closure.

In 2005 a wide range of bases were closed or folded into local bases, and this left homeowners - both military and civilian - in those areas where bases were closed with properties that may have dropped in value. What do you do when you own a home in a town where a military base recently closed, and the town's population suddenly dropped by 2/3 but the number of houses for rent remains the same?

A Base Realignment And Closure, or BRAC, can reak havoc on a town, on home prices and values, and on property tax bases. For the past twenty years, though, the federal government has offered assistance to homeowners in BRAC areas.

Homeowner assistance becomes available when the federal government determines that home values have dropped in an area as a direct result of a base closure. Once this has been determined, then you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You must be the owner-occupant at the time of the base closure announcement. This applies to federal civilian employees and the military members as well.
• If you've been transferred within 4 years of the base closure announcement and not living in the home, but had planned to return due to a repeat assignment, then you may be eligible as well.
• If you are assigned to an overseas tour, you may qualify if #1 and #2 do not apply.

If you qualify, then you may receive assistance to help you stay out of default on your mortgage, assistance in making the difference between the sale price of your home and paying off the mortgage, and other forms of assistance. Request aid from the Homeowners Assistance Program BEFORE you put your home on the market. The process can be complex and take a considerable amount of time.