Just in time for the looming moving season, a new DoD website will help service members and family members find a home to rent overseas as well as in the continental U.S.
Navy officials said Feb. 9 that the overseas bases have been added to Homes.mil, which was quietly activated Dec. 14. The Navy is managing the website, with input from the other branches of service. The new website was scheduled to be launched last summer, but it was delayed twice.
Of note is a difference between Homes.mil searches for housing outside the continental U.S. and CONUS. Troops looking for OCONUS housing must go through the housing service center professionals at that base, said Navy spokesman Fred Henney. The housing professionals control the Temporary Lodging Allowance for OCONUS.
Although troops can see basic information about specific listings, the OCONUS housing professionals have access to detailed information and contact information, and will help service members find safe, suitable and affordable housing. They work closely with landlords in their communities. "The [housing service center] staff is experienced in working with landlords throughout the world," said Anne-Marie Snodgrass, regional housing director for the Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia Navy region, in a statement announcing the overseas expansion. "Each location has its own set of local customs, agreements, laws and command policies that the HSC staff considers before accepting local listings, as necessary."
Troops using the website to find housing within the continental U.S. have access to the information themselves through the website. By creating an account and logging in, troops can get complete information about listings, including information about contacting the CONUS landlord. But service members can also contact their housing office for further assistance.
At Homes.mil, troops and family members can conduct customized searches for rentals using a variety of factors, such as the amount of rent they're willing to pay, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether smoking is allowed, whether pets are allowed, what types of appliances are included, community amenities, whether utilities are included, safety and security features, and others.
Service members use the website for free, as do civilian landlords, owners and property managers who will add available housing listings, customize them with photos and floor plans, and update them. The site also allows service members to list their own rental properties and market them to other service members.
The housing professionals vet the landlords — CONUS and OCONUS — to ensure that the listings are accurate and meet minimum requirements, officials said.
In addition to offering help in finding a home, these housing professionals overseas can offer showing services to see the homes, and language translation services, if needed. The professionals can provide translation services between the service member and landlord during the home tour, lease negotiations and issue resolution.
Homes.mil is the DoD replacement for the Automated Housing Referral Network, which provided the service under DoD contract until Dec. 31, 2013. The AHRN.com site, which has operated since 2004, continues to provide housing information to troops, but is now funded by advertising and sponsorships. It continues to be free to troops, families and to landlords; but is now open to the entire military community, including National Guard and reserve personnel, retirees and other veterans.
The AHRN.com site also continues to offer a feature allowing troops to compare rental listings that fall within their specific Basic Allowance for Housing rate. That is not available on the Homes.mil site.
DoD ended the contract in December 2013 because the system did not meet information security requirements under federal law and DoD policy, a Navy official said at the time. The contract cost $1.8 million in 2013.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
