Buying or renting a home is one of the biggest decisions a military family will make. This is due to the nature of not knowing how long you will be at a particular duty station. Some are adamant about buying and some are adamant about renting/or living on the military installation.
We have been on both sides. At 4 out of 5 of our duty stations we have opted to live on post. We chose that due to convenience. We have always enjoyed being close to Kyle's work and we are not the most picky people when it comes to where we live. The only time we have deviated was when we purchased our home in El Paso. We decided to try something new and we loved it. The wait list on Fort Bliss was extremely long and we only lived 4 hours away so we were able to travel there to look at homes. Unfortunately, we were only there for 22 months ( certainly not what we expected) and due to the unstable rental market at the time we decided to sell our home and we took a huge loss.
We are preparing for a summer move back to NC (unless the Army decides to change that haha) and we have gone back and forth as to what to do.
The housing for Kyle's rank on post is not really ideal. It reminds me of our first home on post there which wasn't terrible but it was tiny for the two of us. Now that we have E it would be a tight fit and I just don't want to have to deal with that. So post housing is out.
Next, we looked at renting a home. For what we are looking for, at least 4 bedrooms, fenced in yard, and a big kitchen the rent cost is extremely high and would ultimately be over our allotted BAH (basic allowance for housing).
So....as of right now we have decided to buy a home. Having worked in the mortgage business, I understand the process and know what needs to be done in order to get everything started. Once we have orders in hand we can begin the process. Thankfully, I am already in contact with a realtor in the area and she knows what we are looking for. I'm definitely hopeful that we will be able to find what we want, whether that be new construction or a resale. The market there is relatively stable and we could turn this into a rental property. As of right now I will be flying out there Memorial Weekend to look at homes and hopefully put an offer on one. If we get orders soon that trip will be bumped up. I'm ready to get this show on the road!
Have a great day!
Have a great day!
