Moving often is a part of Military Life. Do you rent or sell your off post home when you PCS?

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 13:14:53 -0500

I've heard some people buy a house at every duty station and rent it out when they PCS. What do you do?

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2016 1:54 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 13:54:29 -0500

This is always a never ending debate. There are many pros and cons on both sides. My family and I buy. Take advantage of that VA loan. You can use it on multiple houses at one time(a lot of people don't realize that). You'll probably get a better rate with a conventional loan though(down payment will be needed for a conventional). However, if I knew I wouldn't be somewhere more than 3 years...I wouldn't buy.

Response by MAJ Raúl Rovira made Feb 4 at 2016 2:09 PM

MAJ Raúl Rovira — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 14:09:58 -0500

True, some people buy a house at each duty station. It is has both opportunity and risk. I remember one of my former bosses telling me that two of his houses were vacant so he was paying out of pocket from his savings account. He ended up selling one of the houses. Others have done very well.

The challenge about buying a house through a Realtor is the fees at closing. On average you have to live in the house for about 5 years to make up for the cost of closing when buying and when selling the house. Have a long term plan beyond your PCS date and a contingency plan in the event the army moves you out early.

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2016 2:43 PM

COL Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 14:43:46 -0500

We are comfortable owning two homes and renting them out. One is at Fort Leavenworth and has a constant flow of personnel attending school. I have had new renters every other year or every year for a long time. No concern there. Our second house is at JBLM in Washington State. It is in a great area next to post and only 10 minutes from the gate. Location is key if you are going to keep it and rent it. If you are just looking to buy and sell, you need to be willing to take a loss in the closing costs in the front and back. We prefer not to and instead have someone else pay our mortgage every month. We intend to keep the two homes well into retirement and use them to keep up with inflation. We don't expect to make a huge profit, but we expect it to remain even with the market. A safe investment in our world. I doubt we will get more than two. You need to know what you can afford to go empty and for how long before you even think about buying and renting out.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2016 2:48 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 14:48:28 -0500

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member That is a very hard question to answer because it varies from location to location and with larger economic trends. I've had friends do very well renting homes and I have had friends with horrible tenants who destroyed the home. I saw that you are at Fort Benning; considering it is a large base you may be better suited for renting than someone at a smaller base with less turnover. My advice is crunch the numbers and see if you could actually make any money selling. You can try and sell "for sale by owner" and cut realtor cost (usually 6%) or use a new site like https://www.solopro.com/ to cut selling costs. If you can't walk away with any money, then maybe consider renting until you're at a point you can. But make sure to get a really good management company.

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Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2016 4:06 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:06:27 -0500

Well, if you can afford to pay the old mortgage while living at your new duty assignment it is always a good idea to keep the old house and rent it out through an agency. I own a a couple of houses and I have a friend who owns 5. Renters pay your mortgage and when you sell you have all that equity as an investment. Lots of variables go into the decision such as how much the house is worth, how much equity you have in it, etc...

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 4 at 2016 6:30 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 18:30:32 -0500

I only own one house in my state of residence and I rent it out maintain my residency. I know folks that buy everywhere they go and have often been forced to rent when they couldn't sell.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Feb 4 at 2016 7:45 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 19:45:53 -0500

Situations and finances have everything to do with it. We were always adverse to living on base, hence bought a home. We rented it out when we got tossed OCONUS so had to live in Government housing. Having a good renter is everything. I've known officers who bought everywhere they went and then rented and by the end of their career, pretty much cashed in. However that works against you if the market flops like it did 8-11 years ago. One thing which I always thought was a big minus was all the effort and worry associated with managing the rentals from afar. Even the ones who made good money at the end were taken aback about how much it took out of their life, a nick at a time.

We had the opportunity to rent our home near Submarine Base Bangor, but now retired, I just didn't want to hear any noise out west. Bottom line, results will always vary.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2016 10:17 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 07 Feb 2016 10:17:06 -0500

We have done both, I have been more comfortable keeping the house and renting it out if it is near a military installation. But, we have sold our house when it was not near a base or post. We currently own 2 houses that we have rented out and have had good luck, so far. I have heard horror stories from others. I think the best advise is find a good property manager to take care of the place for you if you are not in the area.