Company Gives Troops Break on Rent

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

March 19, 2007 – Covering the rent just got a little bit easier for military personnel in Ohio thanks to Empirian Property Management's "Service Appreciation Program." Through the company's program, military personnel and civil servants can get $50 to $100 off their rent, Julie Yesnick, a senior regional manger in Ohio, said.

"We felt that it was a good way to honor people that are serving our country," she said.

The program honors active-duty, reserve-component and retired military personnel, as well as fire and police department employees, Yesnick said.

Though the management company would eventually like to offer the program in all its markets, it selected its Ohio market to test the Service Appreciation Program. This is largely Yesnick's doing.

"I volunteered my region because I knew what it was like to be an enlisted soldier and be kind of strapped for cash and not know where the best place to live was," Yesnick, a former Ohio National Guardsman, said. "This presents a lot of options for enlisted personnel in the ... military and other hometown heroes."

Empirian has set some guidelines for the program, however, she said. Five percent of its participating properties have been reserved for renters eligible for the Service Appreciation Program. Military personnel wishing to rent under this program must be new customers and be able to provide a valid military identification card or discharge papers for veterans.

The discounted rents are fixed for the one-year lease, and start as low as $299 for a one-bedroom apartment, Yesnick said. Lease renewal rates have not been determined, however.

Since the program launched March 1, the Cleveland market has shown the most interest, she said. Reservists have rented all five apartments rented through the Service Appreciation Program.

Full details and a listing of properties eligible for the program are available at Empirian's Web site.

"What we're doing is trying to make it possible for our service personnel ... here to have the benefit of having housing that doesn't place a burden on them," Yesnick said.

Editor's Note: Military families can also avail themselves of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, which highlights home-front groups across the nation that are providing a variety of services and support to troops and their families. A listing of these groups and information about their efforts is available at www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil

This article is sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.