Interestingly, just as widespread violations of the SCRA, including illegal foreclosures, have become a problem studied by the government and reported by the national news media, two of the government’s strongest protective measures for military families are expiring:
• The SCRA itself has been expanded and extended by two laws, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and the Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2010. But the current protections are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2012, after which the nine-month grace period will revert to 90 days.
In May 2012, to prevent this from happening, Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, introduced the Protecting Veterans’ Homes Act, a bill that would extend SCRA foreclosure protections to a period of 12 months after a service member is released from active duty. The law would also remove the existing sunset provisions, making these protections permanent. These proposals, along with amendments extending borrower protections to disabled veterans and surviving military spouses and increasing the civil penalties for offenders, were approved by the House of Representatives and attached to its version of the $554 billion defense spending bill.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced similar amendments to the SCRA, which went to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on June 13, 2012. The amendments have not yet been brought to the floor.
• A special $555 million appropriation for the DoD was bundled into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to reach out to families with an expansion of the existing Housing Assistance Program (HAP), which offers assistance to military families who are transferred or deployed. Under this appropriation, HAP assistance was allocated to provide military and civilian employees who suffered housing losses on properties purchased before July 1, 2006.
Service members have leaned heavily on this program; set to expire on Sept. 30, 2012, HAP assistance was actually discontinued in the fall of 2011: So many eligible military members – around 7,000 – had applied and been approved for aid that the appropriation has been spent.
Knowing – and Defending – Your Rights
So this is where things stand as of August 2012: Provisions to renew and expand the expiring SCRA have been proposed in the Senate, and passed by the House, but are not yet law; and the special HAP assistance account has been drained dry.
How can service members and veterans, then, avoid foreclosure in a market that hasn’t yet stabilized? By making themselves aware of the laws that exist, and by taking a stand on the additional protections – there are a couple – being proposed to help ease the housing crisis.
As constituents, service members and veterans can contact their elected representatives – particularly their U.S. senators, who have not yet discussed an amendment to SCRA protections – to help them understand the importance of the issue. They can also voice support for the idea – proposed by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), among other advocacy groups – of resurrecting and expanding the HAP, to protect service men and women who bought their homes between 2006 and 2008.
In the meantime, the SCRA is still in effect. Service members and veterans should familiarize themselves with the law.
If you’re having trouble making a mortgage payment, you can ask yourself two simple questions to determine whether you’re protected from higher interest fees or illegal foreclosure:
- Did your loan originate before you began active service?
- Are you currently serving, or within nine months of the end of service?
If the answer to both of these questions is “yes,” and you’re paying more than 6 percent on a loan or have been threatened with foreclosure, you should seek legal counsel.
This story was first published in The Year in Veterans Affairs & Military Medicine 2012-2013 Edition.