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Buying a house?
Hi, all. I came over from The Knot after getting married recently.
DH and I are both going into the Air Force. We've been talking a lot lately about purchasing a home instead of only ever renting. We've weighed pros and cons and we're pretty sure we would like to buy a house sometime soon. While having to move is unavoidable, we would like to have a place that will always be "home" even if we can't always be there, a place we can pass on to our children, etc. And when we do decide to leave the military, we would already have a house we've been working on paying off. When we do get restationed, we would rent the house out until we were able to move back. We've made sure to budget so that we would still be able to pay the mortgage if we weren't able find a renter to cover most of it and be able to pay for any repairs.
I know one woman who bought a house and is renting it out to fellow military while she is stationed overseas. It works well for her, but I want some more input from other people.
Has anyone else bought a home while in the military? Has it proved to be a good choice or a bad one? What are some things to take into consideration other than getting restationed? Someone let me know if this is just a completely insane idea lol.
Re: Buying a house?
There's a thread about this exact topic going on over the Military Families on The Bump and several people have given their perspectives. The general consensus is that it's not a great idea at the moment.
We bought, but there are a LOT of variables that go into making the decision, and although we've not yet tried to sell and will likely be here for a few more years anyway, I'm still nervous. If I could go back 2 years and umake the decision to buy, I would.
Honestly, I'm just not a fan of buying a home while on active duty. People don't always take care of the properties they are renting and by the time you find out, the damage could be extensive. I guess if you're going to do it, I'd recommend a property management company with a reputation of being hard asses on their tenents.
But I'd rather avoid buying altogether and save up enough money to put a significant downpayment on a house when you do get out of the military. There's no guarantee that the play where you buy will still have the same attraction 10-20 years down the road. What if the job market there plummets, the taxes rise or the school district turns to shiit? What if you're stationed somewhere you never thought you'd like but you actually come to love and enjoy it?
Click me, click me!
Aside from the complications associated with homeownership while in the military, I would first make sure you are financially solvent and will be able to afford all of the costs you will likely incur by purchasing and maintaining a home.
I would recommend getting a budget together and all pertinent financial information and heading over to the Money Matters board with those figures. They are great at analyzing one's situation and giving advice.
Some things to consider:
Do you have enough money for a downpayment?
Do you have an emergency fund?
Do you have money set aside for home repairs?
Do you have any other debt?
If you are unable to find a renter for your home if you PCS, how long can you afford to pay your mortgage in addition to living expenses in your new location?
Would you want to handle finding and dealing with tenants from abroad or would you need to hire a property management company? Do you have the patience to deal with any complications (damage to your home, eviction, etc.)?