- Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP)was established back in 1966 to give some monetary relief to eligible service members and federal employees who suffer financial loss on the sale of their primary residence when a base closure or realignment announcement cause a decline in the residential real estate market and they are not able to sell their homes under reasonable terms or conditions.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) temporarily expands the HAP program to assist service members and Department of Defense employees who are wounded, injured or become ill when deployed, surviving spouses of service members or DOD employees killed or who die of wounds while deployed, service member and civilian employees assigned to BRAC 05 organizations and service members required to permanently relocate during the home mortgage crisis.The benefits available to eligible individuals under HAP include:
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Private sale of home – 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. Closing costs are reimbursed for private sales
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Government Purchase – An eligible applicant may elect to sell the property to the government and receive, as the purchase price, an amount not to exceed 75% of the appraised fair market value prior to the date of the announcement, or the current total amount of outstanding mortgages, whichever is greater.
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Foreclosure Assistance – If foreclosure proceedings have commenced, an applicant may elect to receive foreclosure benefits or private sale benefits. Foreclosure benefits may be paid directly to the applicant to reimburse for foreclosure costs paid by the applicant, or paid to third parties on the applicants behalf.
The US Army Corps of Engineers has a Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) website that is filled with helpful information about this program including:
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