HAP eases servicemembers’ housing struggles Published Dec. 7, 2009 SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- If you are struggling to make monthly stateside mortgage payments, rent your home or obtain a loan where the appraised value of the home is less than the mortgage, there is a program to help. The Homeowners Assistance Program is a program created in 1966 to financially compensate eligible military and civilian Federal employee homeowners when the real estate market is adversely affected because of a closure or reduction of operations due to a base realignment or closure. A recent update to the program is called the "Extended HAP." This program was extended to provide assistance to wounded or injured Armed Forces members and surviving spouses of fallen warriors, and military or civilian members affected by BRAC 2005 and making a permanent-change-of-station move. Members must have PCS orders dated between Feb. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30, 2012, to be eligible for the program. To further qualify for the program, the person must be a homeowner permanently reassigned to a duty station or homeport outside a 50-mile radius of the installation. Also, the person must have purchased the property before July 1, 2006 and is their primary residence. Once an application is complete, it must be mailed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District for the area in which the home is located. Applications will be processed as quickly as possible according to eligibility. For additional information on the program or to complete an application online, visit the HAP Web site at http://hap.usace.army.mil.