WASHINGTON, D.C.– Military families throughout the country are being faced with permanent change of station (PCS) orders to relocate at a time when their home loans exceed the value of their properties. Today, the Department of Treasury updated guidance to its Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program to make servicemembers who cite a PCS order as the basis for their financial hardship eligible for HAFA help even if their income has not decreased.
In response, Holly Petraeus, Assistant Director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the following statement:
As I travel the country talking to military families, I have heard too many distressing stories of servicemembers who are underwater, but not delinquent, on their mortgages and then receive military orders to move. Servicemembers in this situation face an array of tough choices that can include years-long separation from family, foreclosure, and even financial ruin. I applaud the Department of Treasury for updating its program guidance to recognize that military orders to move can trigger a genuine hardship for military homeowners. And I encourage all policymakers and the financial industry to work together to create common-sense solutions for our servicemembers in this situation.
More about the program: www.HMPadmin.com
Official news published at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/holly-petraeus-statement-on-treasury-action-to-help-struggling-military-homeowners/
