Subscribe to the NewsHomeowners Assistance Program (HAP) Helps Military Distressed Homeowners with Moving
By Admin
See this article from the Kitsap Sun for more information about the Homeowner’s Assistance Program.
HAP has existed since the 1960s to help military and federal civilian families who see the value of their homes fall following announcements that military bases were closing. But last year Congress expanded the program dramatically to help new categories of military homeowners. These include:
— Military personnel and civilian employees of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard who have suffered wounds, injuries or illnesses during deployments since Sept. 11, 2001, leaving them at least 30 percent disability and requiring location transfer to get medical care or to retire.
— Surviving spouses of service members killed in the line of duty, or in the performance of duties during a deployments on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
— Military personnel and civilian employees impacted by the 2005 BRAC (base realignment and closure) round because they bought their homes before May 13, 2005, and must sell on or before Sept. 30, 2012.
— Military members who bought homes before July 1, 2006, and have been, or will be, reassigned between Feb. 1, 2006 and Sept. 30, 2010.
Debt relief from this program will count as income, so if you receive a benefit you’ll want to contact your accountant to make sure you understand the tax consequences.
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/may/28/tom-philpott-government-helping-strapped/#ixzz0pMjJHdMu
Reader Discussion
Are there any Kitsap area realtors out there with experience doing HAP sales? We are HAP eligible and are looking to sell our place soon.
We at Prowse and Company have not been involved with a HAP transaction since the mortgage crisis began. I used HAP for sale of property in Hawaii in the ‘90s.
If you qualify it is not a short sale. Compensation you may receive from the government counts as income so you have to pay taxes on it. My understanding is that the Navy Legal Service Office can provide more information about how these sales work, and that Mr. Michael Humphrey is the Outreach Coordinator and can be reached at (360) 396-6003 in the NBK-Bangor location. I will contact him and post again when I understand how the program works with the seller and buyer to complete the sale as agreed in the real estate contract.