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NEWS | June 22, 2009

Homeowners assistance program expands

By Capt. Wendi Sazama 37th Training Wing Legal Office

As permanent change of station season approaches, several military members are in the process of selling their homes. The homeowners assistance program is a useful resource to eligible servicemembers and federal civilians who incur losses when their homes are sold, purchased by the government, or foreclosed upon.

HAP is administered by the US Army Corps of Engineers to assist eligible homeowners who face financial loss when selling their primary residence homes. Important eligibility requirements include: 

- the permanent reassignment move must be more than 50 miles; 

- the reassignment move must be ordered between Feb. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30, 2012, or an earlier date if designated by Secretary of Defense; 

- the property must have been purchased before July 1, 2006; 

- the property must have been sold by the owner between July 1, 2006 and Sept. 30, 2012, or earlier if date designated by Secretary of Defense; 

- the property must be the primary residence of the owner; and 

- the owner may not have previously received these benefit payments. 

Eligible applicants may be compensated for the difference between 95 percent of the appraised fair market value of the property prior to the announcement date, and the appraised value of the property at the time of sale, or the sales price, whichever is greater. For private sales, closing costs are reimbursed. 

An eligible applicant may elect to sell the property to the government and receive, as the purchase price, an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the appraised fair market value prior to the date of the announcement, or the current total amount of outstanding mortgages, whichever is greater. Only private sale benefits are available to eligible HAP applicants who work at overseas installations. 

HAP also provides applicants assistance with foreclosure benefits. If foreclosure proceedings have already started, an applicant may elect to receive foreclosure benefits. Foreclosure benefits may be paid directly to the applicant to reimburse for foreclosure costs paid by the seller, or by a third party on the seller's behalf. 

HAP was expanded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with a total of $555 million in appropriated funds provided to finance the temporary expansion. Expanded eligibility includes personnel impacted by PCS moves, wounded personnel, and surviving spouses. Priority access to the funds will go to survivors of those killed or wounded during deployment. 

While the HAP expansion aims to reduce the magnitude of housing sale losses, applicants should understand that an approved HAP claim will still result in some financial loss. Benefit payments normally take 90 to 120 days to complete, depending on the number of applicants and available staffing after an application is filed. The government will pay all enforceable liabilities, but will not make-up past payments. 

Those in the process of selling their home may use a realtor as HAP will pay all appropriate closing costs to include realtor fees. Further, rental income will not impact HAP benefits if a home is rented before sold. 

Applications may be downloaded at the HAP Web site at http://hap.usace.army.mil. Completed applications should be mailed to the corps of engineer district responsible for the area in which the home is located. The district will contact applicants on eligibility and benefits once funding and DoD guidance implementing the expanded benefits is received. 

For more information, visit the HAP Web site or contact the base legal office at 671-3361.