Moving in the Military – Purchase or Rent

 Moving is a way of life for military families and just because it’s done often doesn’t make it easy. Each time a family is up rooted there are many issues to consider; with every move there is the question of whether to purchase a home or rent accommodations. The average duty tour is about 18-36 months, so deciding to purchase or rent can be a major decision.Here’s the dilemma; if you purchased a home almost anywhere in the country prior to 2008 when housing prices were soaring; you would have been underwater with your mortgage in 2015 when the housing market bubble burst-ed and property values tanked. What would you decided to do today if your were in a situation where you were given military orders to transfer in an unknown housing climate?

It’s frustrating, because you can’t predict the market. Depressed housing values and over supply can occur at anytime. Sometimes price collapses are a regional event or it can happen on a national scale. For military service members who must comply with relocation orders, navigating a fluctuating housing market can be difficult.

Since military members know relocation orders are a possibility at any time, the Department of Defense encourages military employees to rent and not buy. However, the lure of buying a home is enticing because home ownership provides a military family with a feeling of permanence and a place to call their own. Also when a home is purchased in the right market there’s always a chance of turning a profit, keeping the home for retirement if the area is great, or renting it as an investment property.

Renting has issues for families too when it comes to the numerous relocations that occur over a military career. Each time you rent a different place you’re faced with a house or apartment with a difference configuration. The rooms in the new place may not accommodate that over-sized couch that fit perfectly in the previous living room. Invariable, families end up making purchases to accommodate the new living space.

Unpacking and settling into a new residence is a huge part of the moving process, along with coordinating the timing of the arrival of the family with the arrival of the furniture. At some point you can expect to live on blankets without furniture and personal items. The biggest issue with renting in an unfamiliar location is that over time, you get familiar with the new location and only then realize where the better schools are, where the best places to shop are and where that perfect neighborhood is located. At that point you already have a lease and have to stick it out before you can consider moving again. So what’s the solution?

Consider short-tern furnished rentals; either a furnished apartment or furnished house. Utilizing furnished housing gives you the chance to learn the nuances and environment of a new city before making a major commitment or investment purchase. Then, if you decided there is a better schools in a different neighborhood or more accommodating amenities elsewhere you could simply move or buy at the end of your short term lease.

Short term furnished rentals saves you the pain of packing and unpacking boxes, the costs of a full move, the uncertainty of committing to a large investment in furniture or property that you may come to regret later. Once you come to understand the real estate of market of your new area, you’ll be better positioned to make a wise property decision.

Some other pluses of renting furnished housing are, having everything you need for turnkey living already provided for you. The kitchen is already be stocked with everything you need to run a kitchen, glassware, plates, silverware, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, etc. The bedrooms come with beds, dressers, night stands, lamps, pillows and linen. All the utilities are included, like electric, gas, water, cable TV and internet service. And of course you have the option to add any items to make the rental feel more like home for you.

In the long run, renting furnished housing can actually save money. There is certainly less work and effort in using the rental option when relocating to a new city. You have to crunch the numbers for yourself, but it is an option certainly worth considering.

I’ve considered these options myself because I was a military spouse and learned from experience. I’m now retired and living in the Norfolk, Virginia area and actually rent off base militaryhousing. Visit my web site for furnished apartments in Norfolk.