FEBRUARY 10, 2015, WASHINGTON (NNS) – HOMES.mil, the official Department of Defense (DoD) housing website, which was activated on Dec. 14, is dedicated to helping service members, families, and DoD civilians find housing, wherever they choose to live.
For the first time, the HOMES.mil website is offering Navy housing listings for those living outside the continental United States (OCONUS).
The website enables Housing Service Center (HSC) professionals, landlords, and property managers to find and share vital information about community rental listings. Just as in the continental United States, OCONUS HSCs work closely with landlords in their communities to assist service members with finding safe, suitable and affordable housing.
“Living OCONUS is a unique experience, and our HSC staff works directly with landlords to ensure the listings available on HOMES.mil are accurate and meet our minimum requirements,” said Anne-Marie Snodgrass, EURAFSWA regional housing director. “We are excited to finally have the opportunity to provide our customers with the additional service of being able to search for community housing listings online, before they arrive.”
“The HSC staff is experienced in working with landlords throughout the world,” said Snodgrass. “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.”
HOMES.mil is part of the integrated services offered OCONUS through the HSC. In addition to home finding in the community, the HSC also offers showing services and language translation services (when needed). HSC counselors can provide translation services between the Service member and landlord during home tours, lease negotiation, and issue resolution.
“The staffs post each listing on HOMES.mil and work with their translators and the local community to offer service members and their families the best possible local housing,” said Snodgrass.
Additional HSC services OCONUS may offer include community orientation; providing information about entitlements such as overseas housing allowance, temporary lodging allowance, and cost of living allowance; and temporary and full-tour furnishings.
Service members should contact their local HSC or sponsor to determine if there is a mandatory military family housing assignment or on-base first policy at their location.
The Navy HSC is available to assist service members and their families find a home wherever they choose to live, either OCONUS or stateside. HOMES.mil improves the home finding experience for service members and their families and alleviates some of the burdens and stress of PCS.
To find information about your local HSC, including contact information, visit Navy Housing online at www.cnic.navy.mil/ContactHousing.