June 1, 2004
Have you ever moved cross country or internationally? With 2.3 children, a dog, and a home full of stuff? And possibly undergoing a career change at the same time? Now imagine going through this cycle every two years like clockwork. This is the highly stressful pattern that almost every member of our armed forces goes through during their career. We want our soldiers focused on readiness not on worrying about where they can find good housing for themselves and their families.
To help address this situation, Runzheimer International today announced the launch of a new service, the Automated Housing Referral Network (AHRN) at Naval Station Great Lakes, the first of nine locations to implement the new Department of Defense (DoD) rental housing network. AHRN is the DoD-sponsored website developed by Runzheimer International and Pride Industries to provide military families a web-accessible homefinding tool that focuses on availability of rental properties and denotes properties that participate in DoD rental set-aside programs.
Unlike other Internet-based rental listing sites, AHRN is accessible only to Armed Services personnel and their families, Military Housing Offices (MHOs), and properly registered property managers and landlords. Also unlike other rental websites, ARHN does not charge fees for rental listings which will help to ensure a robust selection of listings.
Kraig Rodenbeck, vice president of Runzheimer International's Government Service Group noted, "The Department of Defense recognizes the tremendous impact that quality housing and simplified moves have on military family well-being and, ultimately, on retention. That’s why AHRN is about home finding, not home searching. By listing only available rental properties, AHRN speeds the homefinding process and enables military families to assess rental options and find housing in the new community prior to their move. Pre-move homefinding will assist military families in identifying properties that make special concessions for military personnel, such as those that offer the 'military release clause' or participate in rental partnership programs."
AHRN development began in October 2003. The network was created to facilitate the relocations of nearly 750,000 military members and families who move each year on behalf of the DoD. The system was built upon a proven platform developed by Pride Industries and successfully deployed at Travis Air Force Base. Local property managers there have been very pleased with their results so far. Here are two representative quotes:
"My house is now leased to a very nice military family that is transferring to Travis AFB from Italy. Thank you so much for the opportunity to list the house for the military members."
Anonymous
"The response was amazing! I had response to my listing in less than a week and the first couple to view the property agreed to lease the property. In addition to the first response to my listing, I had 7 additional people that were interested. I didn't even list my property anywhere else; it obviously wasn't necessary - I'm glad I didn't waste the money! Incidentally, my renter viewed this site while on a deployment in support of the Iraq conflict. Talk about exposure!! As a retired reserve member I would like to extend my sincere thanks for making this system available. It seems to work well for the service member as well as the landlord."
Jerry Pryce
AHRN is a DoD-wide solution and will roll-out in the following areas this summer:
- Albany, Georgia
- Jacksonville, North Carolina (and Camp LeJeune vicinity)
- Killeen, Texas (and Fort Hood vicinity)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Northern Chicago (and Naval Station Great Lakes vicinity)
- Rapid City, South Dakota
- Richmond, Virginia (and Fort Lee vicinity)
- Tacoma, Washington
About Runzheimer International
Founded in 1933, Runzheimer International serves 60 percent of the Fortune 500. Runzheimer provides a full suite of employee mobility services in the areas of virtual office, telecommuting, technical support programs, business travel, business vehicle reimbursement programs, background screening, corporate aircraft, relocation, and international assignment programs.
The company's products and services assist companies and government agencies in managing costs, providing accurate and fair reimbursements, and controlling liability risk. Runzheimer currently assists the Department of Defense in data collection and analysis in support of its Basic Allowance for Housing, which is the basis for more than $9 billion in housing allowance payouts annually.
About Pride Industries
Since 1966, PRIDE Industries has been delivering high-quality, cost-effective business outsourcing solutions while creating jobs for people with disabilities. With over 4,000 employees nationwide, they develop web-based technology solutions centered around adding value to their Integrated Facility Services, including military family housing maintenance, for both government and Fortune 500 clients nationwide.
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For more information, contact Larry Fredrich at Runzheimer International, Runzheimer Park, Rochester, Wisconsin 53167. Telephone: 262-971-2551. Fax: 262-971-2373.
