MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii -- The Housing Services Office here offers an off-base housing assistance program to Kaneohe Bay Marines and Sailors.
The program is a free service used to assist service members looking for or already using private-sector housing.
“This is an extremely valuable service available to service members, retirees and Department of Defense employees,” said Mari Lynn Dilullo, housing management specialist at the HSO.
The service can help service members establish appointments with landlords or property owners.
It also provides services like landlord-tenet mediation, and help review rental leases and agreements prior to or after a service member signs a lease, she said.
The Army sponsored program is provided to all the military bases on Oahu, Dilullo said.
Pam Hirota, the division chief for HSO at Fort Shafter, said the program began there almost one year ago.
She said the program has proved successful, but the number of employees needed has increased.
“The plan for this summer is to staff it full time because there is a heavier turnover,” she said.
Employees at HSO are trained in landlord-tenet laws and customer service training, Dilullo said.
The employees are also trained to answer rental and leasing questions and can provide assistance with the DoD referral site on the Internet.
“The DoD referral Web site is a terrific Web site. People all over the world can start browsing for properties before they get there so they can get prepared to move,” Dilullo said.
The Web site is a way for service members to look at properties in an area before they make a permanent change of station there. There are full property descriptions and sometimes pictures available, said Dilullo.
“It’s a wonderful asset. It has proven to be a great success. It’s very valuable to our military members,” she said.
The DoD referral site is www.dodreferral.com.
The HSO is located in Building 455, the Family Housing Office here. It is open five days a week, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.