MilitaryByOwner Blog

PCS moves embody many elements; organization, excitement, stress and most certainly chaos. There is no getting around the eventual unloading of your household goods into your new home, quickly turning your empty space into a sea of cardboard and packing paper.

Yes, I called myself a “wife”, as opposed to a “spouse”, because today as we celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day, it occurred to me that during my life as a military wife we truly have evolved. Eighteen years ago when I married my Marine I was briefed on my duties as a member of the “Wives Club” and often worried when I heard it referred to as the “Knives Club”, which thankfully I found to be unfounded.

Military families prepare for a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) by making lists, many of them. At the top of every list is at least one item that embodies some aspect of military housing, whether it is notifying your landlord of your departure, renting or selling your current home or securing housing at your next military base. For military homeowners who choose to become landlords, this item will have more bullet points than most. While MilitaryByOwner.com is here to make the process of renting your home easier, there are many aspects to this task that warrant your time and attention.

Bold red bathroom, extensive snow globe collection and glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. While all of these touches may personalize a home, for military personnel on the move, these items may lengthen the time it takes to sell a home.

Whether you are a seasoned military mover or this is your first military relocation, the key to a successful PCS is organization. For some this exercise may be easy, but for others it can be a challenge to organize daily tasks let alone the mountain of tasks that lead up to and follow a military move.

Ah, spring has sprung! Hibernation is over and you are starting to see your neighbors again as the sound of lawn mowers and blowers fill the air. A change of seasons is the perfect time to take a walk around your house and examine the various items that may need maintenance or repair.

Written by:  Veterans United guest blogger

There is nothing fun about foreclosures, especially for military homeowners who used their VA home loan. But a loan program defined by big benefits has some even in the face of foreclosure: Defaulting on one does not mean another VA loan is impossible in the future. 

Using another VA loan after a short sale, foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is not out of the question. It depends in large part on how much VA loan entitlement you have remaining, since some is likely tied up in the foreclosed property.

NBC Nightly News reported this week that home prices are rising faster than they have since the peak of the housing bubble in 2006. Pair this with low home inventory, rising rental rates and more first-time buyers and we have frenzy in the housing market. But buying a home under pressure can quickly lead to the path of buyer’s remorse. For military families, this pressure can be intensified due to the need to find housing near their next duty station in a moments notice.

Military families are professionals when it comes to making a house a home. Whether residing in on-base or off-base military housing, those living the military lifestyle have figured out creative means to repurpose the curtains from one home into throw pillows in their next home. The creativity would impress even the most seasoned interior decorators.

The Washington Capitals may face-off against the New York Islanders at the Verizon Center on April 4, 2013, but it is gratitude that is in the air for our military personnel and their families.