Military and moving to Northern Virginia? Unsure if you should buy when you arrive? Read on…

It’s almost relocation time for military members, the PCS (permanent change of station) season starts generally in the spring and rolls through the summer. With a change of station comes many decisions, none the least of which is whether or not to buy at your next duty station. Some military members have bought and sold homes at each installation they’ve been assigned, but the current housing market is cause for some potential home buyers to pause and survey the market where they’re soon to call home. Here are some things to think about as you consider whether to rent, buy or attempt to procure base housing…

If you’re buying, this is a BUYER’S MARKET… which is good if you’re moving to Northern Virginia right now. This means you can get more house for your money, and there’s many more homes to choose from than in the past. You can also take advantage of this market by looking at homes within the beltway instead of in the outlying areas of the DC metro area. The average commute for many military members to and from their duty station is between 30–45 minutes (especially at the pentagon, National Guard Bureau, JP1, Ft Myer and the like). If you have the opportunity to reduce that commute time to 10-20 minutes, why not take advantage of it and have more time at home with your family – something harder and harder to come by these days.

There are many different types of homes, neighborhoods, price ranges, schools to choose from, and all these options can be overwhelming when faced with moving to a new area. Although most military members are used to constant change, there’s always a steep learning curve when you arrive at the new duty station. The stress of finding a new home is can be quite intense, and yet it is the anchor point for many other decisions. If you’d like help finding your new home and settling into the Northern Virginia area, please call or email me – it would be my honor to help get you settled into your new home and neighborhood.

Contact me any time, I’ll return your call or email promptly.

Your Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church, Virginia Military Relocation Specialist,
Mike Frank
myfrankrealtor@gmail.com
571-217-1690