The HAP program or Housing Assistance Program has $555 million in funds set aside from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, and is designed to partially reimburse eligible military personnel, surviving spouses and federal civilian employees whose service to the nation has required them to relocate and sell their primary residence at a loss.
The Department of Defense designated the U.S. Army as the executive agent for the HAP. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers the program for DoD through three field offices — the Savannah, Fort Worth and Sacramento Districts. These field offices evaluate applications to determine eligibility and benefit award. Eligible personnel include:
- Active and former service members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard;
- Civilian employees of the DoD, Coast Guard and non-appropriated fund activities; and
- Surviving spouses of fallen service members and civilian employees.
We’ve helped several military families in the Jacksonville Florida area utilize this program and get their homes SOLD so they can move on to their next duty stations and not have the worry or financial loss from a home left behind.
Mike Jones, Realtor, e-Pro
(904) 874-0422
Keller Williams Realty – Jacksonville
Hello. I was hoping you could answer some questions that we are unsure of. My husband will be receiving orders (still waiting on them) to Afghanistan for more than a year. We purchased our home in January 2006. It mentions on the HAP website that there is a possibility of extending HAP to Sept 2012 depending on funding. Have you helped anyone in the situation that their orders are after the Sept 2010 deadline? We know after he gets back from his tour we will receive orders again and it will not be here in Jacksonville so we are in a situation that we need to see if we can get help and guidance on selling our house and obviously we want to be able to qualify for HAP before we start this process. Thank you for your time.
At the moment there is no extension in place, although my contact at the HAP office in Savannah tells me they are working on getting one. Once you actually receive your orders contact me and we’ll see if you are eligible for the program.