Is military housing on base allocated irrespective of rank or segregated by rank?

Question

When my husband finishes his regimen of Infantry training he will be assigned to a permanent Army Post for a period of zero to 12 months, before the unit he is assigned to deploys. I'm trying to figure out if there is a glimmer of hope that I and our newborn son (he will be about 2 weeks old when my husband graduates, I already know the gender of the little cutie) can live with him rather then remaining home. As of now, I and junior will live with my parents in law. I'm thinking that I might be able to apply for on base housing when I find out where my sweetheart (opps husband!!) will be assigned. Also when they tell him where he will be assigned, do they give him paperwork so I can send a copy to the Base Housing Office? My husband is currently a Private and I don't expect he will be any higher in rank when we need the housing. I spoke to my dad abt living on the Post and he's ok with that but very negative abt off post. He's a Police Detective @ a little paranoid (lol lol).

Are the neighborhoods near a base normally safe for families and crime free? Also if there are military dependents living there do the MPs patrol along with the city police?

Answer 1

There is a waiting list for housing , most base housing is no longer ran by the Military it is contracted out , I would wait unti lhe gets orders and its clear you have internet then find the base in which he will PCS to then look up housing and find out IF you can put your name on the list before getting there,
Housing is broken down by rank as far as sections , since he is a PVT you guys wil llive in an area on post with E1- E5's.
Housing is just housing depending on where you will be stationed.. you will meet people who are very nice and meet those who have alot of issues.. my suggestion keep to yourself and dont share personal business with anyone other than your family.

Good luck!
Armywife & Soldier

Answer 2

Base housing is generally grouped by rank, although it can vary a bit if there is a need for a larger house with a lower rank family. Getting military housing takes time. Your husband wil have to be the one to submit all the paperwork..you can't do it unless he is deployed and you have a power of attorney. It is not difficult and should be able to be done as soon as he has official orders after he is finished all of his training. The wait, especially for units for lower enlisted, can be long..anywhere up from 6-18 months. Once you know where he is going, you can contact the housing office to get a general idea of time frame, but I would plan on having to live off base for close to a year. Off base housing is just like renting a place anywhere else..some neighborhoods are better than others. How the neighborhood closest to the base is depends on a lot of things and again, until you know where he is going it will be hard to find out. Some bases (usually ones in urban areas that have limited space) do have "off post base housing". Living in these units is the same as base housing..everyone will be military, either the base or the private company running housing handles repairs, etc. Generally, these housing units are not in a gated community and are not patrolled by MP"s...it is just like renting off base. Unfortunately, even if you find a place off base that is ina good area and that you can afford, there is a very real likelihood that you will not be on base before your husband has to deploy. This is part of military life. If you are not comfortable with the idea of living alone, than I would wait until after he deploys. Financially, you may not have much choice...housing allowances for lower ranks are not high and if I recall, you and your husband are without a car, which will make it tough for him to get permission to live off base.

Answer 3

None of the housing on any base is what you'd call wonderful, but I never had a horrible housing unit either. It's split up by rank just as many people said and waiting periods can be long. However, if your timing is good and housing is available, they may be able to bump you and hubby up a notch because Uncle Sam would rather have you in housing than pay you any dough for off base rentals. Don't rely on that, but it's happened to me.

Overseas, at Zweibrucken AB, Germany (now closed) we had base housing but it was off base and the Security Police did patrol it but that was overseas.

Your hubby can put your name on the housing list the moment he knows where he's going. Like others have said, you might go straight into housing or it could be awhile. Good luck.

Answer 4

Hi again! Housing is allocated according to rank - but it depends on the post as to how integrated things are. Some are strictly segregated and some not so much. You would be on a lower enlisted two bdrm wait list (possibly a three bedrm is you're lucky there's lots of housing available) and it just depends on how much housing is available as to how long the wait would be. Usually 3 & 4 bdrm lists are the longest. Hubby would get orders with your names/housing allowed on them and he would have to be the one to sign up when he arrives at his duty station. You can't do it until he has orders or without a general power of attorney - it's a fact that wives have very little ability to sign up for anything without that! Some allow online registration now but he would still have to produce the orders when he gets there. If you have anything to ship he would have to send you copies and you go to the nearests post/base transportation office with 10 copies to schedule said shipment.

Yes there is a glimmer of hope but you can't find out anything until you know where he's going-- for example: Fort Irwin right now has a surplus of housing and you would probably get right on or wait less than three months. Fort Riley on the other hand has extensive waits at present - I don't know for E-2 thru E-4 but E-7/8 is almost two years. Once you know where he's going you can look up that post's website and get an idea - however it won't be totally accurate until he signs in as it can say 3-6months on the web and you get there and they offer you a house in 3 days. Part of the adventure of being a military wife!

Most military towns are safe as long as you don't live right off post (girly bars, pawn shops). Again it just depends - you can look up crime demographics online though. There are often discussion boards where you can chat with ladies in the area as well - militarywives.com; myarmylifetoo.com; sgtmoms.com to name a few.

Blessings!

Answer 5

You've got pretty good advice on base housing so I'll answer a bit for off base. Off base you're going to be renting just as if you were a civilian except for a couple of things. You should stop by the base housing office first and check for any advice on in town rentals. They may have a list of people who prefer to rent to military and they may also have a list of properties or management companies to be aware of or stay away from. It's important to find that information out so that you don't get stuck in a lease that's bad for military members.

Also, check with them on correct wording for the Military Clause in your lease. That clause needs to be added to your lease because military orders can change unexpectedly and you may have to move to a new base before your lease is up. Having the clause added makes things easier if that does happen.

Some sites you can use to check base housing and communities around the military base:
http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/portal/page/itc/MHF/MHF_HOME_1?section_id=20.40.500.400.0.0.0.0.0
http://militaryavenue.com/?

Some sites to use to look for rentals:
http://www.apartmentguide.com/
http://www.apartments.com/
http://www.move.com/
https://www.rent.com/account/login/?next_url=%2Faccount%2F
http://www.apartmentratings.com/
http://www.rentsearch.com/
You can also search for local real estate companies and property management companies for smaller complexes and individual rentals.

Bear in mind that some areas look really good when you first visit them. Before you sign anything you should check back at night. I had a few friends wish they'd done that as the character of the area changed and they always felt unsafe at night until they could move out.

But usually living out in town is just a different choice than living on base. Some families like the feeling of getting away from the job every day. Others like the feeling of a military community. Personally, being young and a new mom I'd recommend trying for the base housing first and then looking for a family friendly rental if it's not available.

Answer 6

Base housing is assigned according to grade/rank with the officers and enlisted having their own housing communities. The highest grade/rank the better possibility of obtaining base housing. The lowest grades normally do not get base housing. Sorry.

Answer 7

Base housing is segragated by rank.

Usually they have :

Lower enlisted housing. Like apartments or town houses

NCO housing . Duplex's or singles

Staff NCO housing. Singles.

Warrent Officer housing. Duplex, apartment or single.

Officer housing is also divided by rank, Jr Officers, field grade officers and Col's row.

Off base housing can go from safe, to not safe. It's just like housing in any other city.

As a PVT. more than likely, you will go on a waitin list for post housing.

So you either live off post, or wait untill housing becomes avail.

MP's do not patrol off post.

As soon as he gets his orders, you can put your name on the housing list.

Answer 8

Housing goes with your army rank ( and thus $$$allotment, which is not much for a private). But check with the base housing unit, I'm sure they'll be glad to answer

Answer 9

until eventually you're legally married you are able to't stay at the same time in militia housing. you gained't have get entry to to the bottom or the bottom centers as well. the fee of your going to Hawaii and your issues will be your man or woman fee. the militia will purely pay for the cargo of the valuables of advert on orders and their dependents. To qualify for housing he could favor to be finished time nationwide guard and performance observed orders meaning he has custody of the youngster more desirable than 50% of the 365 days. ETA: If he has custody of his toddler then he will qualify for militia housing, 2 bedrooms oftentimes with a million toddler. you'll not be able to stay in housing in any respect until eventually you're married, he could then qualify for a three bedroom position. He can continuously be certain to stay out on the city and use the BAH w/dependents which for an E5 w/dependents is $2094 in line with month to pay for employ/utilities if it quite is an option for you. you should pay for medical coverage for your self and toddler until eventually he does undertake her then she could be coated by using Tricare

Answer 10

It is normally segregated by rate/rank, and waiting lists can be rather long.