"After the Second World War, returning veterans were welcomed home to two of the most successful government initiatives ever — the FHA and VA housing programs — which put millions of them into their own homes for the first time.
Today, later generations of veterans are being confronted by much different housing policies — ones that can toss them out of homes they've bought with their life savings.
John Aguiar is a veteran of the Gulf War, a former intelligence analyst for the Army who took part in Operation Desert Storm in 1990 when U.S. forces brought Saddam Hussein to heel after he invaded Kuwait.
Aguiar and his wife, Syrena, built a house here after relocating from Chicago to be nearer her parents. Using proceeds from the sale of their Chicago house, they bought a lot in a new subdivision in the Cape, a middle-class suburb across from Fort Myers in southwest Florida.
The house they built reflected their values and way of life. It was nothing fancy: a one-story Cape rancher with three bedrooms, two baths and a two-car garage. There were no granite countertops, no Jacuzzi — just the basics, in keeping with what they could afford. "We always lived within our means," said Syrena. Nor did they see it as a steppingstone to something larger. "It was all we wanted, a place to raise our kids," said John.
"We wanted to retire there"...............READ MORE
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