Aviation Pipeline as of 2019

[Charles T. Moore]

Howdy, all. I am currently in phase IV at TBS and set to graduate on April 24th. I have started to look for housing and such down in Pensacola but we are hearing some scuttlebutt that IFS is shut down for the fiscal year as of late February this year due to budget issues. I was just wondering if anyone has a relatively updated timeline for how long the wait times will be in between IFS, API, Primary, etc. Any information would be helpful as I am trying to decide if I want to buy a house in Pensacola or just rent if I will only be there for a short time.

Semper Fidelis.

 

[Flash]

...I am trying to decide if I want to buy a house in Pensacola or just rent if I will only be there for a short time.

Semper Fidelis.

Unless you have some plan to be some sort of long distance landlord, and even then I would advise against that, I would not buy a house in Pensacola as a flight student. Plenty of rentals of all types in different locations down there to burn your wait time at, in between trips to the beach and the bar.

 

[Brett327]

Doubly so as a pilot. You're just not going to be there that long - even if you go RW.

 

[Beamer19]

No one knows for sure about IFS. Been here since November and im still a month+ away from IFS, pipeline is as slow as its ever been. I bought a house and it has worked out well for me and others that bought one. A lot more people rent than buy however. You will be fine either way if you are financially savy

 

[Uncle Fester]

Don’t buy. You won’t be there long and the P’cola market is flooded with rentals already. It’s never really recovered from the housing bubble. You’ll need to be able to move on relatively short notice.

Maybe look at buying once you hit the Fleet - maybe. Depends on your community.

 

[wlawr005]

I agree with the new guy above. Nothing screams financial savvy like making a long term commitment to a property in an area you're going to live in for an undisclosed amount of time. At a time where you should remain flexible and be able to travel light on short notice, throwing out the sea anchor on a mortgage proves your ability to navigate the emerging global economy.

In other words....although it appears to have "worked out" for some guys who haven't even classed up yet, it is highly recommended by many people that you don't do what you're about to do.

 

[Meyerkord]

My roommate just started IFS last week. On day 1 they told them that funding might not be available, but then they came back and said they were good to go. Though they're only flying out of 3 airports instead of the standard 5. I wouldn't bother trying to predict anything, because it doesn't seem like anyone in the IFS office knows either. After IFS, you'll most likely class up for water survival the next week, and then a few more weeks to class up for API. Once you finish API, though, you'll be kicked to your primary squadron right away. I graduate API on a Wednesday, and I report to Corpus on that Friday. As far as wait times once you get there - that'll depend on your specific squadron and how backed up they are.

tl;dr: don't try to predict anything because everything changes all the time and you'll be wrong.

 

[Griz882]

Maybe buy a house in P'cola, Corpus, Kingsville, and Milton. Just to cover your bases.

42% chance you'll get a quick resale offer on the one's you don't need.

 

[RandomGoat1248]

My roommate just started IFS last week. On day 1 they told them that funding might not be available, but then they came back and said they were good to go. Though they're only flying out of 3 airports instead of the standard 5. I wouldn't bother trying to predict anything, because it doesn't seem like anyone in the IFS office knows either. After IFS, you'll most likely class up for water survival the next week, and then a few more weeks to class up for API. Once you finish API, though, you'll be kicked to your primary squadron right away. I graduate API on a Wednesday, and I report to Corpus on that Friday. As far as wait times once you get there - that'll depend on your specific squadron and how backed up they are.

tl;dr: don't try to predict anything because everything changes all the time and you'll be wrong.

Well the Marines graduating API and going to Milton are currently being held down at Pensacola for the time being.

Current wait in Milton in primary-pool is about ~2 months for Navy, ~3 months for Marines.

 

[rymo96]

How many people class up into IFS or API at a time?

 

[zippy]

Howdy, all. I am currently in phase IV at TBS and set to graduate on April 24th. I have started to look for housing and such down in Pensacola but we are hearing some scuttlebutt that IFS is shut down for the fiscal year as of late February this year due to budget issues. I was just wondering if anyone has a relatively updated timeline for how long the wait times will be in between IFS, API, Primary, etc. Any information would be helpful as I am trying to decide if I want to buy a house in Pensacola or just rent if I will only be there for a short time.

Semper Fidelis.

I’m going to disagree with the crowd. Don’t “not buy” for the sake of you don’t know where you’ll be in a couple of years and you can wait until the next duty station... you could spend your entire time in the Marine Corps not buying because of that and end up regretting it.

If you have knowledge about the housing market in Pcola to make an informed purchase for a long term investment/income property then buy if you feel so inclined. I know several people who bought in Pcola/Milton/corpus as students and rented out the property when they weren’t stationed there and living in them when they came back.

Buy if you want, but make sure you do the research to make a purchase that works for you. Don’t just speculate on properties in some hope to quickly and easily get rich. It doesn’t really work like that.

 

[SynixMan]

FWIW, I just sold my Pensacola (well, Pace, but PCola area) home, and it's a busy market, but it seems ripe for a correction. Lots of new homes being built at higher and higher price points. I'd stick to renting going through flight school and worry about buying if you come back through as an IP.

 

[Meyerkord]

How many people class up into IFS or API at a time?

Usually 30-40

 

[Randy Daytona]

If you are going to purchase a home and eventually rent it out, make sure you have a cash reserve for repairs, especially the big 3 of air conditioner ($5,000+), roof ($10,000+) and termites (don't ask, just pay for the full insurance and inspections). Do you want to pay a property manager 10% every month to manage one house or are you going to manage it long distance? Also, check your hurricane insurance... Finally, some of the real estate guys here can speak with more authority, but when you go to buy your next house, your debt to income ratio will be affected as a lender might not count your entire rental income (perhaps only 75%) as the bank could hedge against turnover and repairs. That said, I have several friends with 15+ houses / apartments and they all seem to be doing well with their portfolios.

 

[Brett327]

Usually 30-40

This post is a missed opportunity.