Assignment/Relocation Considerations

[ldtajesq]

Given the current state of the economy, is there a greater likelihood this FY that SSA would assign a potential ALJ candidate to their home city, if a vacancy existed, in order to save on relocation expenses, etc.? I know SSA can assign you anywhere you indicated availability, but I'm curious about how the economy might play into their assignments. Also, I'm nervous about the upcoming interviews, so I'm posting this so I can focus on something else

[chieftain]

Keeping people in their home cities is not a high priority for SSA. They are constrained by having to consider the three highest scorers for any given city. I think odds are against any given candidate coming up for consideration for her/his home city unless that person is a top scorer and the home city was one of the first cities filled.

[ldtajesq]

Thanks, Chieftain.

[okeydokey]

Chieftan,

There may be one other scenario:

1. The person is a high scorer AND
2. The person ONLY chose his home city

[pm]

Apr 13, 2009 11:55:25 GMT -5 ldtajesq said:

Given the current state of the economy, is there a greater likelihood this FY that SSA would assign a potential ALJ candidate to their home city, if a vacancy existed, in order to save on relocation expenses, etc.? I know SSA can assign you anywhere you indicated availability, but I'm curious about how the economy might play into their assignments. Also, I'm nervous about the upcoming interviews, so I'm posting this so I can focus on something else :)

The economy will have no impact of any kind whatsoever on ODARs choices.

Why would it?

You (and every other candidate) have already told ODAR where you are willing to accept employment. Presumably you factored in your personal economic issues. Why would ODAR try to second guess your choices? What about the person who is living in San Francisco who is willing to stay in SF, but would really prefer to move to a cheaper location and use their SF equity to buy a home free and clear? How exactly is ODAR supposed to know their prefernce? How would ODAR know what your financial condition might be?

As chieftain noted, ODAR already has to factor in a variety of factors to hire the people they want. They aren't going to try to evaluate your financial issues and read your mind also.

[ldtajesq]

My question doesn't ask about how MY personal economic issues play into assignments, but how the downturn in the economy might play into ODAR's decision on where to assign candidates in order to save THEM the cost of relocating a candidate. Chieftain answered and said no. That's all I was curious about.

[okeydokey]

And I don't see how ODAR could do it without violating either the current hiring rules or veteran's preference

I could think of other ways to do the hiring that would allow ODAR to put people in their home cities without violating veteran's preference, but I don't want to give anyone any bright ideas.

To paraphrase Churchill: The current hiring process is the worst possible one out there, except for all others.

[alj]

If an outsider were chosen, there would be no relocation expenses. Assigning an insider to his or her current location to save relocation expenses is not a factor that would be considered.

[pm]

Apr 13, 2009 16:30:55 GMT -5 ldtajesq said:

My question doesn't ask about how MY personal economic issues play into assignments, but how the downturn in the economy might play into ODAR's decision on where to assign candidates in order to save THEM the cost of relocating a candidate. Chieftain answered and said no. That's all I was curious about.

It never even occurred to me that you would be asking about the impact of the economy on ODAR's decsions. That's a bit like asking if the economy played a role in Thain's decisions about the cost of his office furniture.

The economy has little or no impact on the operation of most federal agencies. ODAR's budget increased despite the economy, as did the budget for almost every federal agency. If you think federal agencies are oriented toward saving money that has already been allocated to them, you are going to be in for a big surprise.

Additionally, even if ODAR cared about the costs, how many ALJ candidates does ODAR relocate every year? One? Two? And how many of those had a hometown option and wanted that option? One? None?

[barkley]

Apr 14, 2009 11:29:47 GMT -5 pm said:

[
Additionally, even if ODAR cared about the costs, how many ALJ candidates does ODAR relocate every year? One? Two? And how many of those had a hometown option and wanted that option? One? None?

What are you talking about? On the first cert, ODAR hired about 50 - 80 federal employees to become ALJs. I don't know how many were hired with the second cert. Of those, just a few were left in their hometowns. It is a pretty good chunk of change, when you look at all the relos together.

That being said, the expense should not be a factor. But I can see why the initial question was asked.

[pm]

Very true Barkley. I was thinking about ODAR's refusal to pay relocation costs for ALJs who want to transfer.

[Deleted]

I'm in the same boat as you, ldtajesq. I'm already a Federal employee, and the town I am in, and would like to stay, is on my GAL. It makes sense that if SSA is going to offer me a slot, they would save the moving expenses.

However, I think with everything else SSA has to juggle (rules of three, vet preference, office space, etc.) it is probably too much to hope that saving some relocation money will be a consideration. My guess is not, but depending on how my interview is going, I just might mention it....;-)

While we're on that topic:
1. Can anyone verify for me that relocation expenses ares paid to ALL federal employees who are hired by SSA, or just to SSA employees? ( I never saw a clear, reliable answer on that...and it's not in the FAQ).

2. Does anyone have any detailed information on the program in which after hiring, the government purchases your home? I was wondering if it was required to be on the market for a certain amount of time before you could begin that process. Also, if the government purchased your home, were you able to recover any of your equity, or did you break even, or take a loss?

Thanks!

[HogsFan]

robg,
Check for a private message.
Robin

[waiting1]

I would not mind hearing an answer to robbg's questions. I am equally in need of such information. Thank you.

[ldtajesq]

I would also like to hear the answer, but I wanted to check previous threads first to see if those questions had been answered already.

By the way, thanks, Barkley for understanding why I asked the question. It may not have been the most important inquiry on this board, but something I was curious about nonetheless.

[barkley]

Apr 14, 2009 14:54:05 GMT -5 robg said:

2. Does anyone have any detailed information on the program in which after hiring, the government purchases your home? I was wondering if it was required to be on the market for a certain amount of time before you could begin that process. Also, if the government purchased your home, were you able to recover any of your equity, or did you break even, or take a loss?

Thanks!

Should you be selected and should you qualify for relo, you will get a thick packet of information that covers pretty much any question you could possibly have, from the housing sales, to HHG to taxes to househunting. They do a good job with the paperwork - pages and pages of it. You will be assigned a counselor from what ever company has the contract (Is it still Prudential?). You will have time to make all the arrangements you need.

I am too lazy to try to summarize it all, but bottom line is, don't put the house on the market until you are contacted by your relo counselor. They have lots of forms and steps that need to be followed. They will encourage you to use their realtor and offer incentives, but you can use your own if you wish.

If I recall correctly, you have to have it on the market for 30 days before the govt. will start the buy it process. They will provide a list of appraisers. Two come out and if they are within a certain percentage of each other, SSA averages the price and that is your offer. If the offers are too far apart, a third appraisal is done. Then the offer is the average of the three. There is an appeal process, but not sure how successful people tend to be. Whether this is a good deal for you will depend on your individual market. Some profit, some get hosed, some opt to turn down the government offer and hope for the best on the real market.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the info, that was very helpful. Part of the problem is that IF an offer comes, the amount of time available to make some pretty important decisions is relatively short. Relocate the whole family at once, do it in stages, etc. Go on ahead and let the rest of the family follow when the house sells, etc. Tough questions. Better, I think, to have as much info as possible before the call comes. One has to keep one's beloved spouse in the loop as much as you can. The less surprises, the better.

Thanks for all the assistance. Good luck everyone.

R

[zarco522]

Ever hopeful, we are trying to get whatever ducks we can into some sort of order.
Assuming that we are fortunate enough to get an offer -- I am currently a federal employee for another agency. I am hoping that I qualify for the relocation package.
Is there any way to find that out in advance?
Is it still with Prudential?
I believe that I read that the package includes a "house-hunting" trip. Does anyone know if that is true? What does that include? Can family go too?
As for selling our current home:
The house has to be on the market for 30 days before the gov't will buy it -- how long can we wait until the relocation package "runs out"? (For example, if we need to put a roof on, find spouse a job, etc.) I am assuming that most people move ahead of their families, find a short term place and then close up the old house, etc., during the Summer. Any tips/experiences would be appreciated!

[justfoundthisboard]

I hate to admit that I don't remember many of the details from last year, but let me try:

1. it is absolutely critical that you do nothing until the relocation coordinator contacts you. I think if you put your house on the market before then, you could lose the whole deal.

2. I think that once you get an offer from Prudential, you may accept it immediately. In other words, you do not have to continue to market the property. However, if you sell the property to a third party, rather than Prudential, you get a "bonus" which was either $3k or $5k.

3. After our home was appraised we were given a list of items that had to be repaired before Pru would buy the property. Everything was minor EXCEPT they made us put on a new roof. Since we had never had a leak or any other problem in the 7 years we lived in the home, we were not happy. But we had to do it. Once we decided to sell to Pru it was smooth sailing.

Prudential's offer was $25k less than our asking price, less the cost of the roof. Considering the market at the time of the sale, we were still happy (and relieved) to get what we got.