Buying and renting in Pcola area

[slabicro]

It is a BIT premature but we are headed to Pcola next weekend to relax and just see the area. I am just curious if you do primary at Whiting (which I hear if you are married is likely) if most families buy or rent during that time? We have a big dog so we need to have space and an apartment is really not an option. I cannot imagine putting him on a leash any time he needs to go out! I would like to buy but if you are only there a year or so the resale in the area might not be high enough to make it worth while. Also, we would need to live in between NAS and Whiting which means Pace or Milton. I haven't seen the area yet but I am assuming that means in the middle of nowhere which I do not want! I just wanted anyone who has rented a home or bought tell me their experiences. Are there any certain communities that are more military filled? How about realtors and renting companies?

Thanks
Renee

 

[Dupe]

Renting is pretty much what everyone does. The Navy might decide to change their mind and send y'all off to Corpus after API. How much would that suck if you'd just bought in? The rental market here is huge. If you're here over a weekday, give some realty companies a call.

 

[navy101]

That is reassuring, at least there will be options. Renee, post how Pensacola is after you get back. I am curious, but too busy to visit! Maybe one of these days we'll be neighbors! Navy101(my husband) has 25 days till he goes, we have the official countdown now.

 

[jas78]

oops accidentally posted under Jeff's name.

 

[av8tor]

By all means rent! Any town which has an all you can eat catfish restaurant is going nowhere. The only are I would touch near P'Cola is in Gulf Shores, AL. But that is way to far for your husband to drive.

 

[Rainman]

I know a couple people that bought in the Whiting Field area (Pace / Milton). . In the situation I'm most familiar, he and his wife own for about $150 cheaper than renting same size house after all taxes, insurance, P&I, etc. Apparently, the market is still good for SNAs who need to rent and it's profitable.

He waited until he had orders to Whiting for primary and hoped to get helos, but is just using it as a rental property after that. There are several companies that can take care of maintenance and admin and leasing if you want. Of course, it probably isn't as easy as it sounds, but many studs/ips have made it work. Whatever you're into I guess.

 

[Naida]

My husband just started OCS yeasterday and when I'm going to join him in December. I looked on the internet and it looked to me as if housing isn't very expensive in Pcola. I did hear from my mother in law that it's a very dog-unfriendly area to live in and so I was hoping one of you who is allready down there can comment on the cost of living and the dog situation. also, anyone else who's hubby started Oct 5th?

 

[slabicro]

Naida,
Please let us know what you find. I will be moving there in the spring and have a big dog and that is a concern for me as well

 

[jthorp]

Renee,
have fun when you come down to Pensacola. I really like it down here. We're down here right now and are just selling our house. This could get tricky and very stressful if my husband selects helos, we'll have to move on our own to a rental place. . aaah! If he selects props or jets, our plan will have worked perfectly. I wouldn't recommend buying unless you know for sure helos is the aircraft of choice for you, which means you'll be in Pepsicola for a good year OR you're o.k. with renting your home out after you leave the area. We bought our house (it is so adorable-I love it) in March and we should be closing the sale the beginning of November. We've gotten all the money we put in to it back out and have lived for free. Our mortgage was the same as all of our friends' rent for their apartments, yet we got to live in a two story 3 bedroom 2 and 1/2 bath HOME. If we didn't mind dealing with renting, we could rent this place out for $100-200 over our mortgage and it would be a great investment. It's kinda funny because we're sort of looking forward to renting (or trying out on base housing) and now a couple of our friends are wanting to buy after seeing us live in our own home. O.K. I'll quit rambling. All in all, I would say to rent, unless you want an investment property.

 

[slabicro]

Interesting JTHorp.

I called a realtor and they said with closing costs to buy and sell that you really would not break even. They didn’t recommend buying unless we wanted to rent it out afterwards. I thought that was pretty honest. I don’t know if it is worth all the stress.

My SO has thought about P-3's but they are fading them out so I have no clue what he will end up with! At this point his has never mentioned necessarily wanting jets but of course if his grades qualified him he would jump at the chance

I guess , as with you, a lot of where we live and if we buy or rent will depend on what he ends up with. So, you guys are breaking even with all the closing costs? That is great if you are!
Keep us posted once he selects and what you decide to do for living. I go to school with a girl whose spouse is in the Navy. Her thoughts on base housing, “Oh I would NEVER live in it!” Well, we did four a few years and it wasn’t bad at all. I actually loved it.It was with the air Force. With a family and a little love any house can be a home. We were right near everything and he didn’t have to drive but ¼ a mile to work! Plus all our friends surrounded us…I would do it if we get that option. Best of all, it’s FREE!

 

[slvinst8]

Hey ladies, There is a good realty company out here called EXIT, they have decent rentals as well int eh Pensacola-in between-and Milton area.

 

[jthorp]

Hi again,
I definitely have to back the realtor up. . .just RENT. . or do on base housing. I haven't seen the base housing here, but I've heard it's pretty decent. It's about 10 minutes from Whiting. Buying is really not worth the hassle. . it takes a lot of timing, which we screwed up on. I thought it would take longer to sell than it did, so we kinda jumped the gun and sold the house too early (better than not selling it at all, though) Yes, we're breaking even. I'm a real estate appraiser and really love real estate. I'd love to say that it was great talent and skill, but mainly it was just luck. In order for me to be happy and say I "broke even" on a home, I add all the closing costs, every penny we spent fixing up the house (our house was a fixer upper), all the interest we have paid monthly, eating out while we were moving in, and also trips down here to go house hunting. . that is breaking even to me.
Oh, we did the "inbetween" NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting thing and lived in North East Pensacola. So do a lot of other people. I really like our location. . it's close to everything, about 20 minutes from base. Of course, living in Milton would have the benefit of less driving time. Calling the EXIT realty people sounds like a good idea!
Thanks for the positive note on base housing. I'd like to try it the next time we can get the opportunity. Is Air Force housing better than Navy/Marine? I've heard people say that. Do they let you have big dogs on base???
My hubby's about to select next Thursday, and it's really strange. I thought he would know for sure what he wants, but other than C-130's (which, like the P-3, there aren't many slots) he doesn't know what he wants. I put out a question pleading for some wives to give some advice on which is better in the marine corps-jets or helos? All I ever hear about is the pilot's view (and let's face it-they all think they're the coolest). I am curious to know the family side of it.
Happy house hunting!

 

[jaerose]

jthorp, how much of a fixer was your house? Cosmetics, or major stuff? Just curious 'cause I'm thinking of doing the same thing...eventually.

JR

 

[jthorp]

Hi JR,
our house needed mainly cosmetic work. The two areas we put the most effort were curb appeal and the kitchen. We pulled out all the old nasty appliances and replaced them, I painted all the cabinets white (inside and out-what a chore!), and my husband retiled the floor while he was waiting to start API. The kitchen is always the biggest bang for your buck. If you can find an o.k. house that just needs some paint here and there and a couple of plants and some mulch in the front but has a disgusting kitchen, that's the one you want!! (Nobody else wants it, and it keeps your price on the house lowww) What's even better is when the kitchen is horrible and the cabinets look horrible, but they're actually in good shape. That way you don't have to replace them (very pricey); you just have to paint them and maybe put some new hardware on them and they'll look brand new!! This is the third house we took that approach with-and it's always made us money, except here, we just lived free. It's really fun to do and very rewarding. . if you can handle living in a disaster area for a while

. Hope that helps.