Posted on May 19, 2016
Does anyone have any insight on the housing market near Fort Polk?
3.03K
6
7
1
1
0
I've been stationed here renting off post for about seven months now. My lease ends in five months, and I've been considering the possibility of buying a house off post. I know most military personnel don't buy houses off post here, but for those who do: I'm interested in information about how easy it is to sell a house later down the road, or alternatively how easy it is to rent it out.
Posted in these groups: 
Fort Johnson
Housing
Fort Johnson Housing
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
Renting would probably be easier than selling. I'd recommend looking down in the DeRidder area if you're planning to purchase. It's definitely a little further out than Leesville, but it's also a much nicer community (much fewer pawn shops, bars, strip joints, seedy hotels, etc.).
(2)
(0)
CPT (Join to see)
I was definitely looking down in the Rosepine/DeRidder area and found a couple houses that I liked. Driving through a lot of the neighborhoods in Leesville made me realize it would definitely be a terrible idea to buy there. New Llano was a little nicer back off the highway, but I still worry about being able to break even selling it later down the line. Appreciate the advice, sir.
(2)
(0)
1
1
0
Look at websites like Realtor.com. It will tell you rental rates vs purchase rates, and will tell you how long most of the houses have been on the market. If most (good condition houses) are 90+ days, the market is moving slow. Some areas renting is currently cheaper than purchasing, but that means you may be paying to rent it out down the line. So compare rent rates to mortgage rates on similar properties.
(1)
(0)
(0)
(0)
Suspended Profile
Usually is a strong word. That being said, my wife is a Realtor(not in that area) and she's had houses sold in a day. Id say most go between 1-5 months.
SPC (Join to see)
Houses selling in 60 days or less is a warm-hot market. The timing goes to speed of sales.
I recently purchased a home that was on the market for 120 days. At that point, it is a buyers market, because buyers have the upper hand. Supply is high, demand is low.
I purchased mine as an "as-is" shortsale, but was still able to "force" the bank to put about $8,000 worth of work into the house, because they needed to move it, and I had other options.
If houses are not selling in 3mo or less, and you do purchase, you will need to keep that in mind, and recheck when you are prepping to sell. If you go to sell it, and you place it on the market at the incorrect time, you could potentially
A.) have your house bought out from under you, because the market improved...and you still don't have a new place or
B.) PCS, still owning the house, and either have to pay two mortgages, or wait for it to sell before you can get a new place at your next duty station.
I recently purchased a home that was on the market for 120 days. At that point, it is a buyers market, because buyers have the upper hand. Supply is high, demand is low.
I purchased mine as an "as-is" shortsale, but was still able to "force" the bank to put about $8,000 worth of work into the house, because they needed to move it, and I had other options.
If houses are not selling in 3mo or less, and you do purchase, you will need to keep that in mind, and recheck when you are prepping to sell. If you go to sell it, and you place it on the market at the incorrect time, you could potentially
A.) have your house bought out from under you, because the market improved...and you still don't have a new place or
B.) PCS, still owning the house, and either have to pay two mortgages, or wait for it to sell before you can get a new place at your next duty station.
(0)
(0)
0
0
0
When I was there I became convinced that Century 21 signs were the State tree. Unless you plan on getting out and living there for 10 years don't buy. There is no industry, interstate highway, airport, or dynamic population. Go out and count how many houses are for sale and check how long they have been for sale. Zillow is a good start.
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google