Wells Fargo, Operation Homefront to Donate Homes to Military Families

Many military members are feeling significant financial strain these days for a number of reasons, but one group is attempting to help some servicemen and women get a better handle on their housing situations.

Operation Homefront, the well-known nonprofit organization that helps military families and those who were injured during their service, recently announced that it had partnered with Wells Fargo. As a result, the bank will donate up to $500,000 in bank-owned properties to house military families, as well as provide other support as part of the nonprofit's Homes on the Homefront program.

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"Wells Fargo is proud to support Operation Homefront's efforts to make housing available for veterans," said Tyler Smith, a vice president with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage's Premiere Asset Services. "We hope more companies and individuals will get involved with supporting Operation Homefront's mission that brings resources to veterans seeking ways to overcome homelessness and to address economic challenges including with the housing market."

The first step the program will take is to place families of wounded military members, regardless of their era of service, who currently live in Operation Homefront Villages and move them to the new housing that's in Wells Fargo's unsold inventory, the report said. Other families that may qualify for the program include those who are on active duty, Guard or Reserve, or those who have been honorably discharged. Applicants cannot currently be a homeowner and must be able to financially sustain the property through the transition period.

Many military families, past and present, know that it's not always easy to keep up with home loan payments, particularly when they receive permanent change-of-station orders. Because these orders come on relatively short notice, and the housing market is currently still struggling to recover, it may be difficult for many families to sell their first homes before they have to move to their new ones.

That, in turn, could pose major financial problems for those who want to maintain their current credit ratings. They are faced with the choice of either paying two mortgages at the same time, trying to rent one home out, or allowing the old one to fall into delinquency, which in turn will cause serious financial problems for them. There are some initiatives designed to help families in these cases, but many experts have noted that they may not be enough.

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