Monday, July 11, 2011

Home Buying Military Style

As y'all know the hubs and I recently purchased our first home. As we are a military family I've had several people inquire as to how we decided to purchase a home due to the in-stability of the military lifestyle. We have also been warned that buying a home is pointless until the hubs time in the military is done.

Here are our reason's why we decided to buy. First, we were sick of living in an apartment. Second, when we looked into renting a house we were unable to find one that allowed dogs. Especially big ones. Third- the hub's move was due to a base realignment. His whole unit within the army moved and it's a permanent move. Unless he takes a different job we will be staying here.

However again the military lifestyle is unpredictable and you never know what will happen.We decided that since we wanted to buy we were going to go about it the smart way. We sat down and discussed the price we were willing to pay a month. WE paid out of our butts for our apartment in NC, much more than most of our friend's mortgages so we knew we wanted to pay less than our current monthly rent. We also took our lifestyle into consideration. We like to be able to go out to eat when we feel like it, or take that last minute weekend get away.We didn't want to become house poor and not be able to do things we enjoyed. We also were dropping down to a one income family and adding an addition. So we settled on an amount that we were comfortable paying. Don't let realtor's try and convince you to increase your price points. Only you know your finances and what you are willing to pay

Amazingly we found a steal. Due to the previous owner's financial situation we were able to find the perfect house we wanted at a great rate. There are so many deal's out there to be had. Lot's of foreclosure's and short sale's. It's a buyer's market out there, unfortunately for many seller's but it is what it is.

So we bought our first home. It's exactly what we were looking for. It was built in 06, has three bedrooms and two full baths and is 1800 square feet. The perfect home for us. The backyard is awesome which means we have two happy dogs!

Lot's of our friends that made the move with us went all out with their houses. Building these huge houses in brand new developments in town. Since I had picked out our house when the hubs was deployed I worried that he wouldn't like the one we bought after listening to his buddie's descriptions of their 5000 sq ft home, 5 bedroom house. I know the guys made comments to him about how our house didn't have granite countertops and this and that. Luckily he loves ours! That's always a plus since I love it too.

This weekend we had everyone from his team over for a cookout. And one guy kept commenting on how he couldn't live in a house as small as ours. Ugh how rude! Don't you hate how people have to turn everything into a competition. As much as it upset me when it happened I'm over it. We are so blessed, lucky and fortunate to have found the house we did. God has provided for us in so many ways and we are so thankful. No matter what anyone else says.

So my advice to military families who are looking to buy a house, make sure you decide on a payment that fits your budget. Take into consideration that you may not be there long. Research the housing market in the area you plan to buy. Do houses sit for a long time or do they sell or rent quickly. Don't make a rash decision. And look for the short sales and foreclosures. Just because it is a foreclosed home doesn't mean it's a dump. Trust me we looked at so many houses and the dirtiest, nastiest, outdated houses that needed the most repairs were some of the higher priced ones. So don't let the terms short sale, bank owned scare you.

Good luck house hunting

6 comments:

  1. We bought a house at our last duty station. It was 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and we finished the basement to make a family room. It was your basic house. We didn't have all the fancy extras like granite and hardwood floors. They'd be nice, but it's not necessary. We also had a house payment that was about $400 less than our BAH. We have since PCSed, rent the house out for the BAH equivalent and I don't have to worry about all that extra nice stuff getting trashed. We don't want to be house poor. You can have a nice house without all the extra. We are a family of 4, but fit just fine in there. Ignore what they all say. If for some reason you guys do have to up and move, you'll be the one who can sell easier than they will.

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  2. Great post with lots of good advice. I just dont get the guy, how rude is that? As long as you guys are happy with your home, that all that should matter.

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  3. Great advice for house-hunting in a military lifestyle. We did a very similar thing as you and your Hubs when we were in Texas. Too bad for us, the market completely crashed when we had to sell and move - it was awful awful timing, and not only did we lose thousands and have to ask family for help bailing us out at closing, but we lost all of the money that we put into the house as well. We could have easily rented a nice apartment and forgone adopting a dog and saved lots of money. . . there is always a risk, especially when you bring home-ownership into a military life. But it sounds like it's a good idea for your position in Hubs' career, and I wish you all the best! It's an exciting time!

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  4. Glad you guys found a great house to fit you! What a jerk to make a comment about how your house is small. He is probably in debt up to his ears just to say he has this huge mansion, but what fun is that?!

    P.S. LOVE your new blog design! So glad you got Bre to work with you...she's great!

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  5. So glad you got the house you wanted. :) What a jerk to say the things he did. We are one of those military couples who won't but until the hubby retires his job is just to unpredictable.

    I love our new layout!!! :)

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  6. We bought too! It turns out our stay here may end up being up to 5 years, so for us it worked out. We also don't plan on selling it when we move. My husband received the advice early on to buy a place everywhere you are stationed and then turn it into a rental when you leave.

    And as for that guy, how rude!!! 1800 sf is plenty big!!

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