Home Equity Assistance & "Military Families Pushed to Financial Ruin" (Merge)

[Eland2]

I will admit that buying can be risky in the military (especially for single folks, or those on a single income) - but kiss a big chunk of your pension bye-bye if you choose to rent indefinitely.

One of my uncles did 23 years in the CF. He bought and sold several houses while he served and did OK. After doing his recruit training his first posting was to Sarcee Barracks in Calgary, then to the supply depot at Longue Pointe Barracks in Montreal. After that, all of his postings (with the exception of a tour of duty in Cyprus) were all located in southern Ontario. He seemed to have a fairly regular habit of bouncing back and forth between CFB London and CFB Borden. When he was posted to Borden to be an instructor at CFSAL in 1980, he managed the issue of what to do with his house in London by simply renting it out. When his posting was over (and this was the last one before he retired), he simply terminated the lease and moved back into his house.

Suffice it to say, he was extremely lucky in being able to arrange things this way. Not having to move all over Canada or get posted to Germany was, I think, the secret to his success.

 

[Brasidas]

500 bucks for a 3 bedroom? Do tell....

IF you can get a Q as well

Exactly.

How much vacancy would there have been in, say, Cold Lake in 2007, for a family of 5?

I spent months as a dependent in a family waiting for a Q in the early 90s. Sometimes its just not possible. And outside of a major city, how much slack is there in a small centre with a booming economy? Dad might be able to find some place to put his head down, but keeping the family together and comfortable isn't about investing wisely or poorly. Sometimes buying is the only way to keep your family together.

 

[TCM621]

Exactly.

How much vacancy would there have been in, say, Cold Lake in 2007, for a family of 5?

I spent months as a dependent in a family waiting for a Q in the early 90s. Sometimes its just not possible. And outside of a major city, how much slack is there in a small centre with a booming economy? Dad might be able to find some place to put his head down, but keeping the family together and comfortable isn't about investing wisely or poorly. Sometimes buying is the only way to keep your family together.

Not mention with the new SE rules,  going on IR is a pretty big hit financially.  Maj.  Brueur bought a house, in part,  because there were no Qs available and he was told he had a fairly long term posting.  The way I see it, the military has to provide compensation for financial loss or take into account house prices when considering postings. As the latter would be almost impossible to manage,  the former makes more sense. Yes it costs money but it provides the military flexibility  to put the right people in the right job at the right time.

 

[heavy reader]

I have engaged the BIG MAN to resolve this.  Details to follow!

 

[heavy reader]

Once again, after winning in Federal Court, our battle has been extended by Treasury Board Secretariat. We find ourselves having to take TBS back into Federal Court to finalize our claim for Home Equity Assistance. Our family has carried this load for 5 years now, won our grievances and won in federal court, but TBS continues to SPEND YOUR TAX DOLLARS denying our entitlements.

The only way we can get accountability is by voting, and taking them to court.  https://healoss.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/2015-06-03-brauer-notice-of-application.pdf


We are once again asking for financial support to assist with this legal battle, so that the TBS will be held accountable to follow their own policies, instead of getting away with the use of Blanket Denials for hundreds of Canadian Military families. Details available at www.healoss.wordpress.com

Donations may be made at: http://www.gofundme.com/home-equity-assistance

Thank you so much for your continued support in this quest for Government Accountability.

Thanks for the support over the last 5 years, it does mean a great deal to us and the other affected families.

 

[heavy reader]

Class action-Home Equity Assistance

File: #T-1924-14

NEIL DODSWORTH v. THE QUEEN
(M-English)
Tort (v. Queen)

14 Oct 2015 (TOMORROW) 09:30, duration 2d
at the Halifax Law Courts
The Law Courts:
1815 Upper Water St.
Halifax, NS
B3J 1S7

Open to the Public


http://cas-ncr-nter03.cas-satj.gc.ca/portal/page/portal/fc_cf_en/East_List

Details at:

http://cas-ncr-nter03.cas-satj.gc.ca/IndexingQueries/infp_RE_info_e.php?court_no=T-1924-14
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/soldier-neil-dodsworth-launches-class-action-over-home-sale-losses-1.2781617

 

[heavy reader]

URGENT REQUEST

I am in need of the 2008 CFIRP Policy (electronic or hard copy) asap.  Anyone who has a copy, I will pay for shipping (expidited). An e-copy can be sent to i_win@live.ca

Hardcopy may be sent to
Marcus Brauer
25 Wheatstone Heights
Dartmouth, NS
B2Y 4E1

All of the pre-2009 policies, and policy clarification messages have been scrubbed and can no longer be found.

Thanks so much.

 

[CountDC]

Wish I could say I am fully surprised but, well I'm not. In fact to be really honest only surprising part is that they didn't just do a review as ordered by the court and then issue the same basic decision - denied.  The win in court didn't order them to pay the claim, only that the court felt some of the thought process was incorrect and TB was to review the claim. 

 

[Gunner98]

heavy,

I just sent you the 2009 IRP document, I will keep searching my personal archives for an earlier version.

 

[heavy reader]

Thanks to everyone who helped. We have the documentation and proof again that we need to depend on each other to succeed.

On a related note - the HEA file will (again) be in Federal Court of Canada. Hope to see some of my old Ottawa crew in attendance! It is open to the public.


Tues, 19th Jan, 2016
0930-1230 hrs
90 Sparks Street
Ottawa, ON

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Any chance the new Govt can make a difference.

 

[heavy reader]

I hope so. I read with interest the liberal policy and they do claim that they will, but there needs to be support throughout. Hopefully, with Tony Clement out of the way, common sense will begin to trickle back in to the Treasury Board.

 

[McG]

Any chance the new Govt can will make a difference.

Of course they can, and the last government could have too.
That is not the real question.

 

[762gunner]

  After 29 years in uniform I was forced to retire from the Reg F before I was ready.  I will lose $30,000-$40,000 on the sale of my condo, and I was given the choice by my career manager: get posted out or get out.  Brookfield told me tough titties: I chose this job and all its downfalls.  Edmonton is not in a depressed market compared to the 2008 housing boom, so tough luck.

When we went to a for-profit company to manage moves, that was a huge mistake.  BOHICA.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Brookfield does have it problems, but you do realize two things, right (?):

1. The military (not Brookfield) decides when and if to post you.

2. Brookfield merely (and rigidly) enforces the move policy as set by both Treasury Board and amplified by DND.

In other words, make sure you are aiming at the right target when you shoot.

 

[Pusser]

To add to what SeaKing Tacco said, Brookfield is paid a flat fee per file.  It is the same fee whether it's a 19 year old single private with nothing but a kit bag, or a 45 year old colonel with a wife, six kids, two vehicles, a trailer, three dogs, a cat and 20K lbs of furniture.  They get no bonuses, incentives or any other kind of extra payment for "saving" the crown money by stiffing members.  So, you may not like the way the policy is administered, but it is in accordance with Treasury Board (i.e. government) direction.  Furthermore, to Brookfield's credit, it is administered consistently, which was not always the case in the "good old days."

 

[TCM621]

To add to what SeaKing Tacco said, Brookfield is paid a flat fee per file.  It is the same fee whether it's a 19 year old single private with nothing but a kit bag, or a 45 year old colonel with a wife, six kids, two vehicles, a trailer, three dogs, a cat and 20K lbs of furniture.  They get no bonuses, incentives or any other kind of extra payment for "saving" the crown money by stiffing members.  So, you may not like the way the policy is administered, but it is in accordance with Treasury Board (i.e. government) direction.  Furthermore, to Brookfield's credit, it is administered consistently, which was not always the case in the "good old days."

Apparently the career manager works the same way.  He gets X number of moves per year and it doesn't matter if it is a single guy from Greenwood to Halifax or a married family of 7 from Gander to Esquimalt. Each one costs him one move and damn the monetary cost. One more reason we can't have nice things lol.

 

[armyvern]

Apparently the career manager works the same way.  He gets X number of moves per year and it doesn't matter if it is a single guy from Greenwood to Halifax or a married family of 7 from Gander to Esquimalt. Each one costs him one move and damn the monetary cost. One more reason we can't have nice things lol.

After 28 years, and 11 pack-up-and-move moves  ... I don't have too much sympathy when careers has to use that line on someone to get them to do what they knowingly signed up for (exceptional circumstances qualify for IR, sooooooo).

 

[CountDC]

Personnally i hate the new restrictions on moves created because so many people complained about having to move.  I joined expecting to get moved every 3 or 4 years and now have to fight for one of the few moves the CM has available.  Now my problem is do I take one of the few available to somewhere I don't want or do I release.  Was so much nicer when there was a crap load of positions offered all over the country because there were so many moves.

 

[donaldk]

Personnally i hate the new restrictions on moves created because so many people complained about having to move.  I joined expecting to get moved every 3 or 4 years and now have to fight for one of the few moves the CM has available.  Now my problem is do I take one of the few available to somewhere I don't want or do I release.  Was so much nicer when there was a crap load of positions offered all over the country because there were so many moves.

I am hoping to get a move soon back to Ontario myself before my current house's warranty runs out; but like most CMs the move allocation for the trade was reduced significantly.  Time will tell, got a CM interview in a couple weeks (at least this year I can use my office's VTC terminal... no mule run slipping downhill on the shitty sidewalks to SCOTIAN).  I miss the days of one-on-one meetings in person with the CM, no technology BS to deal with.

P.S. Rant: DIN search engine is getting better but it still took an hour to find the VTC -> DVCS calling instructions and then make a quick test call.  Whoever did vc.mil.ca needs a smack upside the head; VTC tech support couldn't be bothered to answer the phone either today.