military housing?

Question

how is it? is it completely free? are there electric or water bills? do you pay rent, or a mortgage? i know if you do not wish to live on-base then you're given an off-base housing allowance, how much money would be given to you? i have little understanding of how this system works, please explain.
soldiers please answer, any true responses would be appreciated

Answer 1

Okay, here goes:

Yes it is completely "free" to a point. If you live onpost, most post are turning to privitized housing which means that you will receive your BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) in your entitlements and then the same time it will be taken out for your deductions.
http://www.acq.osd.mil/housing/mhpi.htm
http://www.acq.osd.mil/housing/faqs.htm
http://www.gmhmilitaryhousing.com/

Otherwise if you live offpost you will see BAH in your entitlements and not deductions.
http://www.army.com/enlist/off-base-housing.html

BAH depends on rank and where you are located at and weather or not you have dependents and are dual military.
https://secureapp2.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/bah.html
http://www.defenselink.mil/militarypay/pay/bah/index.html
http://www.military.com/benefits/military-pay/basic-allowance-for-housing-rates
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/housingallowance/a/07avebah.htm
You usually do not pay any utilities. But alot of post are starting to make some people pay if they use over the alloted allowance for electricty. It is really quite high and not many go over that allowance.

Some post require to live on base if there is housing available and some bases (mostly overseas) won't let you even live offpost. Just check with housing when you first inprocess (which is usually a requirement).
http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB7527/index1.html

Hope this helps you.

Answer 2

Military housing (as long as you don't live in an apartment block buildings) is great. It is free, and you do not have to pay rent or mortgage. Not even electric and water bills. But....in some states like Arizona, base housing is no longer free, and you do have to pay rent and utilities. If you need something such as a new toilet seat, shower hose/head, bathroom cups, light bulbs, things to that effect, you can get them from the U-Fix It store (free of charge, but you will have to sign a paper and you must be over 18 to do so). And any damages done to your base housing unit or base apartment will usually be fixed by a contracting company hired by the military.

BAH is based on your rank, if you're single or you have dependents (husband/wife/child), and how much the rent and utilities cost each month. You will receive a down payment when your lease starts. Eventually over time, you will have to pay this back. Anything left over from paying the rent and utilities you can keep for house improvements or you can put it in your savings. Damages done to the house will have to come out of your pocket if you do not have some form of renter's insurance.

If you move into a rented house off base, be sure to use a contract that you can get from your local Housing Office. There is a Military Clause in there that will cancel your lease and allow you to move in short notice with no repercussions if sudden damages appear (not caused by you) that the landlord did not tell you about when you first rented, if you were offered a base housing unit, or just in case you are given orders to another base. When you visit with your local Housing Officer advisor, make sure he/she takes you through the contract and be sure to read every in and out carefully and make sure you understand it.

Answer 3

Military members can recieve a housing allowance. The amount is determined by where you are stationed, your rank and if you have dependents. There is no way to quote an amount as the range is huge and wouldn't really give you an adequate reference. If you choose to live in base housing, the military simply keeps the housing allowance..you never see it. However, more and more bases have gone to privitized housing...letting a civilian developer build and maintain the housing units rather than having the military do so...and that has changed things. If the base you live on has privitized housing, you would get your housing allowance and then have your rent automatically deducted from that to pay the developer managing the units. At this time, I am no sure how water and electrical bills are being handeled in privatized units...when the military ran it, you did not have to establish your own accounts to pay these bills. It is safe to say that living in privatized housing will cost you most, if not all, of your housing allowance.

If you choose to live off base, your housing allowance is included in your pay check. Living off base can be a bit of a crap shoot. Often times, it can be very tough to find a place to buy or rent where your housing allowance will cover the rent/mortgage, utilities and insurance costs. The military figures the housing rates should require the military member to pay about 15% of costs out of pocket, but most will tell you that isn't how it works out.

We spent the majority of our military lives (14 years to date) living in base housing. It wasn't bad. Our apartment in Japan was exceptionally nice. We had a four bedroom home on base until this past Nov. We made the decision to move off base to get the kids into a better schoo district...a common issue for military living on base. Many bases were built in what was at the time, rural areas and had DoDD schools right on base. As time has passed and the areas around the base became more urban, the DoDDs schools were, for the most part, closed on US bases and the kids sent to the off base public schools. Many times, the military kids get split up into several districts as to send them to just the one the base is located in would be more than the district could accomodate. Unfortunately, in many areas, the bases are now located in failing school districts or areas with very limited educational choices. More and more military families with school age children feel there is no other option but to move off base and we are seeing a lot more families struggle to live in good districts (which tend to have higher costs) on military pay.

Answer 4

Living in on base housing is completely free. There are no electric, water, sewage, and garbage bills to pay. Nor is there rent or mortagage.

If living off base, you will be given a ceiling, based on rank, of how much you can spend on a place. That money should cover rent and all the bills, but sometimes it don't, which means out of pocket expenses.

Answer 5

MFH will vary in size and quality from location to location. What you get is based on your paygrade and number of dependents. some places are very strict about the Bedroom allocation( all children under 6 share a room, same sex under ten share a room and 12 and up get their own room. ) BAH is based on yoru paygrade and the zip code of your duty station, based on the average rental cost of a unit that you would otherwise have qualified for in base housing. so an E2 with no children, for instance, would only get enough BAH to cover a 2 BR apartment in town.

some housing areas have gone PPV: managed by civilians. In this case, you would get BAH as normal, but the ENTIRE amount is immediately taken away as an allotment for rent. some have also gone to billing for utilities. there is a base amount that you are given credit for, which is part of your BAH/Rent, but if you go over, you are paying out of pocket. if you are under, you get a rebate at the end of the year.

If you choose to live off base and find a unit that is under BAH, you get to pocket the difference.

Answer 6

It's adequate, and sometimes nice. You "pay" for it by relinquishing the base allowance for housing (BAH) that you would otherwise get for living off-base. No utility bills; you pay your phone and cable. The exterior of your home, including the yard, must be kept up to strict standards (and they do inspect). If repairs are needed, the base housing office is the "landlord" and sends out someone to fix whatever is broken.

I lived in base housing on several bases, and I thought it was one of the best benefits of being in the military. Much safer for kids.

Answer 7

Can the parent of someone in the military get approved for military housing?

Answer 8

Military Housing is completely "free" with stricter "homeowners association" rules! noise, lawn maintenance,etc...
off base housing is not available in all areas,
If you are at a Post/Base that has ample housing, you don't have a choice but stay in military housing.
The allowance for off-base housing depends on your spouses rank!

Answer 9

I've only lived in the barrack, so I'm not sure how housing works. All you pay for is a phone in your room if you want one. The barrack are different everywhere you go. They provide the basic furniture you need.

Answer 10

"Wow and to think of an prolonged time in the past, pit bull terriers have been scuffling with beside squaddies. Now they're banned. " I ditto that concept. i won't be able to undergo in recommendations the canine call, yet he helped locate injured soliders, alerted his people whilst the different ingredient became attempting to ambush them, issues like that. yet yeah, permit's ban a breed of canine that worked alongside with our soliders. outstanding. is this already in result or can we write and tell the legistlators we disagree?