Almost there...

[SSgt S]

Gents,

I'm currently a Staff Sergeant in the USMCR. I had a four year stint as a Deputy Sheriff before deploying to Djibouti with the USMC. While in Africa, I decided that upon my return stateside, I'd return to school and pursue my dream of becoming a Marine Corps Aviator. When I returned, the Sheriff's Office was hurting financially and administrators were discussing a reduction of force. At that point, I left the Sheriff's Office and enrolled at the University of Arizona and after the approval of my age and tattoo waivers (USMC tat), I signed a Naval Aviator contract. I'm on track to attend OCC this summer, get my flight physical during the fall semester, and graduate in December of 2011. I can almost see a shimmer at the end of the tunnel.

And then there's this: I bought a house in the summer of 2007. That should say enough right there, but in the event it doesn't, I currently have it up for short sale. There is a high risk of foreclosure and as I miss the third payment in a row now, the risk is transforming into certainty. From the little I've read online, a short sale will more than likely not affect a security clearance, however a forclosure is detrimental. From previous posts I've read that a Top Secret clearance is necessary for only certain aircraft, and I'm not picky. So that's a little bit of good news...

I'm looking for any 2 cents of advice, warning, or reassurance I can get. How will a forclosure affect my becoming a Marine Aviator?

 

[Harrier Dude]

Gents,

I'm currently a Staff Sergeant in the USMCR. I had a four year stint as a Deputy Sheriff before deploying to Djibouti with the USMC. While in Africa, I decided that upon my return stateside, I'd return to school and pursue my dream of becoming a Marine Corps Aviator. When I returned, the Sheriff's Office was hurting financially and administrators were discussing a reduction of force. At that point, I left the Sheriff's Office and enrolled at the University of Arizona and after the approval of my age and tattoo waivers (USMC tat), I signed a Naval Aviator contract. I'm on track to attend OCC this summer, get my flight physical during the fall semester, and graduate in December of 2011. I can almost see a shimmer at the end of the tunnel.

And then there's this: I bought a house in the summer of 2007. That should say enough right there, but in the event it doesn't, I currently have it up for short sale. There is a high risk of foreclosure and as I miss the third payment in a row now, the risk is transforming into certainty. From the little I've read online, a short sale will more than likely not affect a security clearance, however a forclosure is detrimental. From previous posts I've read that a Top Secret clearance is necessary for only certain aircraft, and I'm not picky. So that's a little bit of good news...

I'm looking for any 2 cents of advice, warning, or reassurance I can get. How will a forclosure affect my becoming a Marine Aviator?

Do everything that you can, within reason, to avoid foreclosure. It sounds like you're already doing that, so keep on keeping on.

I have seen several Marines lose their security clearance due to financial issues. I am a former S-2/Security Manager/XO, so I've seen numerous variations on this same issue. The bottom line is that you are being evaluated for trustworthiness. They want to know that a) when somebody loans you something that you'll do everything within your power to uphold your end of the bargain, and b) you are not living beyond your means and could be exploited to sell secrets for money.

Each time the Marine lost their clearance in the 20-30 incidences I've seen, it was because the Marine did nothing (or almost nothing) to make good on their debts. They just gave up, stopped paying, and let it go on their records.

Do your best to avoid foreclosure, be honest with your OSO and security investigator, and it will probably work out for you. If they took away the security clearance of everybody who got themselves screwed in this housing market, we'd be very short on cleared folks.

 

[SSgt S]

Thank you sir, I appreciate it. Ironically, after posting this I got an offer on my house! Now I just have to get the bank to agree to the short sale...

 

[NightVisionPen]

SSgt S,

Full disclosure is the key. You can still have a TS clearance with a foreclosure or bankruptcy, but it hinges on how open and honest you are. Just like Harrier Dude said, you have to do everything possible to make good and no blow it off. Give a bad impression on how you handle it and that is what factors more negatively on the clearance. However, it seems like you are on top of it so you should be in good shape.

Congratulations on finding a way to make your dream happen. Best of luck.

 

[bunk22]

DONCAF nearly pulled my security clearance for money issues. I had the same thing when I bought a house in San Diego in 2004. I was able to do a short sale on it. That was not their concern however, my wife had a business with credit debt. In order to keep the house, I had to default on the cards. I say I and not we as the cards were in my name. Knowing what I know now, I could have just paid the cards off and done the short sale. Anyway, hindsight is 20/20. At the time that DONCAF sent me the letter with the intent of pulling my clearance, I owed $26,700. By the time I sent in my package to rebute and stop it, I owed around $6k. The point is, what they want to see is effort to pay any and all outstanding debt. If they had seen no attempt on my part to pay of the debt, they would have pulled my clearance. Every case is different but that's what I took out of my situation.

 

[Uncle Fester]

I've looked at the same issue as I'm facing a short sale, best case, on my Pensacola house.

What I've been told is, financial issues can result in your clearance getting yanked. However, short sales or even foreclosures do not necessarily result in loss of clearance. What DONCAF looks for are money issues that could give someone a hold over you (Chinese gentleman offers to make your credit card problems go away in exchange for a few publications), or that demonstrate a pattern of unreliability (gambling, repeated car repos, etc). Getting caught up in the housing mess isn't that bad.

One article I found said, "If we yanked the clearance of everyone who got foreclosed, we'd have no one left to deploy".

So, a foreclosure or short sale will definitely come up during your investigation. Be prepared to show how you tried to resolve the situation responsibly and how the debt is no longer a burden, and you should be fine.