Would you rather live on base or off in the Air Force?

Question

My husband is going Air Force. We are still waiting for orders, etc, but I want to start thinking early. We will have to sell our house, and I know this is time consuming. We are thinking of renting it out, but not sure yet.

so really their are two questions
1) On base or off?
2) Rent or sell
50,000/house with 7,000 equity.

Answer 1

THe answer actually depends on several things. First would be how long is the waiting list to get on base? In most places it is six months to a year...many families decide that once they are settled in an off base house, they simply don't want to go through the hassle of having to pack it all up to move on base.

If you decide yes, you would want to move on base even after living off base for some time, the next factor is always the cost of civilian housing. We live in DC and housing is nearly almost full at all times. Living off base here is outrageously exspensive. OHA is high, but in most nieghborhoods it is barely enough to cover rent/mortgage and some utilities. In other areas, where the cost of living is not so high, you may find more families off base than on. Next you need to consider that by living on base, you must follow base regs for things like painting, how the yard is maintained, etc. Living on base is like living in a small town...there are always people watching and talking. The upsides are the houses on most AF bases are really nice...some of the best in the military...you won't have to pay utilities and there is always someone on call to fix things when they break. Finally, if you kids, many parents take into consideration the schools their kids would be attending if they lived on base. There are very few stateside bases that have DoDDs schools anylonger. Many bases are now located in areas that while they were originally very secluded, are now more urban or suburban and often times the schools in the immediate area are not the best. We had lived on base the majority of our military lives, but when we were stationed at Andrews and saw the school system, we made the decision to move off base, to a completely different school district.

As for selling vs. renting...again that will depend. To rent, your best bet is to use a management company to handle things while you are gone. They will get a percentage of the rent, so you may have to consider if you can charge enough in the way of rent to cover mortgage, taxes, and the fees. I do know real estate in general is having a tough time in most areas, so you may have to consider renting at least for a short amount of time til things get better...or maybe seeing if you can structure a rent to own agreement through a broker.

Answer 2

For living in base housing or not, it really can depend on what area you are going to and what you want. We have done both and each place there was a different reason. It can depend on the economy, how close it is to work, how far away everything else is , and so on. Some military housing is actually off the base in many areas.

For renting your place if you can do it then definitely keep your house and rent it out. It is a smart financial move especially if you have owned it for several years and the rent will cover the mortgage. Make sure you hire a good property manager to look after it and the tenants for you.

Answer 3

It really depends on where you are stationed and what your interests/wants/needs are. Some folks want to live on base which is nice if you have kids because there are always gads of kids around for them to play with. This is especially nice if you are stationed overseas. Also, some people like the appeal of living in a secure gated area (not all base housing is on base though) or having like-minded peers nearby.

In my husband's 13 year career, we have only lived on base once. We chose to live off-base during both of our overseas tours because we could get better quarters off-base and we liked living with the local population. We are currently living off-base stateside in a house that is under our cap and approximately 1000 SQ FT larger and is nicer than the FGO quarters we would have been in on base. We are very conveniently located so running errands on base is no big deal. Also, I am entitled to the same privileges during my husband's deployment as those who do live on base and my off-base living arrangements in no shape or form have any affect on my receiving a daycare slot at the CDC in my current situation nor have I ever talked with anyone who has had this problem.

As far as renting or selling your house, I haven't a clue. You may want to check the housing market in your area and see how quickly comparable homes are selling to get an idea of how long it may take. You can always take your home off the market if it is not selling quickly enough and rent it out through a property management company.

Good luck to you.

Answer 4

Jen,
Living on base or off really depends upon you, the base, the area around it, and the availability of housing.
Housing is very much a fish bowl. If you don't mind that type of atmosphere, you'll do great!
Lots of rules and regs. Me, I like that... keeps everyone looking good. Others, it's too much!
Last base... 20 minutes to town and rough weather... we opted for the base. No worries about the roads and hubby getting to work. (Plus housing was great!!)
Availability - some bases we have walked right into housing. Others we have left after 3 years with our name still on the waiting list!
We've lived on base at 3 bases, and off base at 3. It just really depends. This base... would NEVER live on housing. Too cramped, too close together, and too many kids running wild.
Always get yourself on the housing list to begin with, and then you can make a decision to stay on the wait list or take yourself off.

Good luck!!

Answer 5

entirely depends on where he ends up getting stationed( what if his first duty station is Korea unaccompanied? then what?)

or even if base housing is even an option.. on some bases the waiting list can be two years long. What's the market like where you live? how long are homes on the market before they sell? how much are they selling for? For instance, here in the Ft Meade/Wash/Balt/Annap. triangle, homes are on the market easily 6 months or more and are NOT selling for their original asking price.. in fact the homes we have been looking at have been reduced an average of 25-50K ..

Do you plan on ever returning to the location after he is done with his service?

Answer 6

Hard to say since you don't know where you are going and we don't know where you're from. You may have major sticker shock in some locations and buying a home would be out of the question. Most bases are pretty nice, and that would probably be an easier option. Especially if there is a lot of traffic in the local area. Your hubby would probably be a lot happier not having to sit at the gate in the morning also.

Answer 7

In my opinion. You should live on base because it is nicer. Plus there are strict rules that you need to follow. But keep in mind, it's like living in your own gated safe community that is guarded by the Airforce. As for your current house. You might want to rent it out, but keep in mind that renters sometimes will wreck your house or try to take advantage of you. If you don't want to deal with the headaches of renters, then you should just sell it, before the housing market goes any lower.

Answer 8

If you live on base, you can have free child care during deployment and a lot of extra perks with different types of organizations helping you. Your utilities are paid for. You can get involved with your community easy. Your housing is paid for.
If you live off base, they will give you a housing allowance and if you find a place thats cheaper than the allowance they give you (don't forget to factor in utilities) then you keep the extra money. It depends on where you live. I don't know how airforce works, but it might be harder to register your child on base child care. You don't get the during-deployment perks living off base (some of them). it just depends.
I would sell after reading about bad renters taking advantage of you, but some women in your situation think the best financial decision is to rent.

Answer 9

Well the question you need to ask,

Is can you afford to rent your house out ?

Will you be able to charge enough rent to pay the mortgage ?

Will you have enough income, to pay the mortgage, while the house sits empty between renters ?

Is there a reputable company locally that you can trust, to rent your house out for you, while your are living somewhere else.

As to living on base, vs off base.

Most base housing, is in the apartment/ townhouse/duplex vararity.

Not untill you senior in the service, will you ever get a stand alone housing.

BAH, the military housing allowance, is calculated to rent apartments or townhouses off base.

Not to be able to rent stand alone housing.

So if you wish to continue to live in a regular house, you are probally going to have to use part of your paycheck, to afford it, BAH, just isn't gonna cover the rent.

Base housing does have benefits.

a. it is safer, less crime
b. elec, garbage and water are included free
c. it is alot closer and easier to access things on base.
d. base schools tend to be better than off base schools.

You have to live on base, to send your children to on base schools.

Answer 10

Live on base !! I lived in base housing at Carswell AFB and it was great. I made friends there that will last forever even though our husbands are retired and went different ways are friendships will always be there ( Just a phone call away and we always have a place to stay when we travel ) Pluse if you have children they will be safe.