Your house, please -- and your badge, too

Foreclosure is not just about losing your house -- if you have access to classified information, you run the risk of losing your security clearance, too.

A foreclosure process on a home, as a sign of financial distress, could be viewed as a warning sign to employers of folks who work in high-security jobs, a California Realtor tells Inman News. Not a good idea to have people in financial distress working in high-security jobs, right?

Here's an interesting case in which a facility security officer failed to report a deed in lieu of foreclosure and was denied clearance after a hearing by an administrative judge, though the case does not make it clear if this clearance would also have been denied if the deed in lieu of foreclosure had been properly reported.

U.S. State Department guidelines establish financial considerations in a person's access to classified information.

"Failure or inability to live within one's means, satisfy debts, and meet financial obligations may indicate poor self-control, lack of judgment, or unwillingness to abide by rules and regulations, all of which can raise questions about an individual's reliability, trustworthiness and ability to protect classified information," according to the guidelines.

"Inability or unwillingness to satisfy debts" and "indebtedness caused by frivolous or irresponsible spending and the absence of any evidence of willingness or intent to pay the debt or establish a realistic plan to pay the debt" are among the conditions that could "raise a security concern and may be disqualifying."

Maybe it's better for high-level security officials to rent than risk foreclosure?

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