We live in the Arlington area and bought our condo last year. We had no clue we would be pcsing this year. Now with the market the way it is we stand loosing a lot of money. Buying a condo at the time seemed like the smartest thing to do since we were paying so much for rent and felt like it was money down the drain.

My husband will loose the BAH we receive here since we will be relocated to a new duty station where the BAH is lower. We have excellent credit and have worked hard for what we have. To take such a hit is detrimental to our family.

We will try to rent out our condo, but will still not break even and on top of that try to pay for our new place of residence. There should be programs out there to help families in the military during these times. families are facing forclosure due to the fact that we are having to sell their homes due to PCS orders in this down market.

How can our men and women fight for our country but cannot get the help thy need when they are just obeying orders to PCS.

Military should invest in the housing buyback program or help to ensure these families do not loose money on sellling their home since they are forced to sell in this down market, or being forced to pay for two mortgages and taking a pay reduction on top of that.

We can go help other countries with housing but we can not seem to help the armed forces.

Christi, thanks for sharing your circumstances and thank you and your husband for serving! We contend that Congress should pass an immediate tax credit for Military Families in your situation.

How obvious is it that Military Families shouldn't have to pick up the tab and shoulder all of the expenses when relocating due to "orders." A tax credit would be a smart investment in our most important resource...our people!

We encourage everyone to write their home state Congressmen and keep the pressure up. It is the only way it will get resolved. Joe

I PCS'd from Ft Lewis two years ago. We had bought our home at a decent price in that current market and felt fairly comfortable. I found out we were having to PCS about six months out. We put the home on the market for six months with no luck. We finaly at the last minute had a retired military couple offer to buy it under a lease to own option. They expected the value of the home would rise giving them a decent down payment in "equity". Two years later with the value of the property less than what we payed I do not expect them to be able to buy this. The contract is coming to the end and our best hope is they continue to rent it. My wife and I are still taking a $400.00 hit every month they do. Every month I hold my breath when I check for the direct deposit payment. One month without getting a payment and we're in trouble. Our great credit we have worked hard for will end up going down the drain three years before i retire. Buying a home seemed like a smart thing to do at the time. Most people outside of the military dont realize service members after twenty years that buy a home are 10-15 years behind most to start with. This affects retirement and no body seems to realize this. I thought I was doing the right thing for my family and it seems I'll end up looking pretty dumb.

Jim,

Most of us military types are big on personal accountability and tend to "stand tall" for our decisions and mistakes. When you see so many good Military Families in this situation, I hope it convinces you not to beat up on yourself. This market is a "train wreck" that no one predicted.

Thanks for contributing your story and please hang in there. Contact your elected officials and demand that they get this fixed!

Joe