Is Your BAH Enough to Buy a House?
Buying A House JBLM Real Estate — 25 April 2012
Is Your BAH Enough to Buy a House?
For many, base housing is a temporary situation. While it can be convenient when you’re first moving to an area, the urge to find a nice place to call your own is strong. Since the median home price in Pierce County is currently about $169,000 finding a home off post is surprisingly easy for soldiers at almost all ranks.
We spoke with local Realtor Cyrus Bonnett about what you can get for your BAH (Base Allowance for Housing) here in Pierce County. “E-1 to E-4 receive about $1,293/month for BAH with dependents, ” says Cyrus. “If soldiers have decent credit and not too much debt they usually can use their housing allowance and VA Certificate to buy a home 0 Down. At today’s rates (3.76%) around a $150,000 home!”
With experts across the country agreeing that the housing market is bottoming, and larger posts like JBLM giving their soldiers longer dwell times, this might be a golden moment for military families in the Pacific Northwest. “Many homes are very affordable for soldiers but they get into the mind set of living on post is better because they don’t have to worry about selling if they PCS, ” says Cyrus. “The truth is by they are more than likely going to be staying at Ft Lewis for quite some time.” More and more soldiers are realizing that if they choose not to sell when they PCS they can rent out their place and have someone else paying for their mortgage, turning them into investors.
