Finding a House...

DaKelliAB09 · August 2011

Ok, so FI will be moving up here to AK in about a month or so. About how long in advance do you usually start looking for houses or apartments? Because he keeps saying "well, I'll have a week to find a house when I get there..." I've been searching and looking on everything (internet, newspapers, etc..) and looking every day for apartments and houses for rent and everytime I see one that seems like a good deal I will send it to him. Well, I was asking him today if he had called on any of those places and he said no and that he has a month or so, so it's too early. So, I guess I'm just wondering how far in advance you guys searched for houses before moving...

He says he really wants me to help pick a house, even though I'm not going to be living there, but I feel like I'm wasting time... am I? lol because I have no idea!

LetsHikeToday · August 2011

I've looked for apartments a month or so before. Their tenets give them a 60 day notice so they know which ones are free already. Hope that helps.

shan87 · August 2011

We put outselves on a waiting list 6 months in advance. We have a dog so that limited our choices significantly. If you are looking to purchase a home I would look a couple months in advance, especially with closing etc. The AF will only reemburse for 10 days in a hotel while you house hunt. IMO that is not enough time to find a house. If you are not picky you can find an apt easily during that time.

GL!

LetsHikeToday · August 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_finding-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ffce9bca-1225-419a-bc33-8aa2ef9f0cc1Post:f93440af-db41-4661-b6c0-b58b851b12b4">Re: Finding a House...</a>:
[QUOTE]We put outselves on a waiting list 6 months in advance. We have a dog so that limited our choices significantly. If you are looking to purchase a home I would look a couple months in advance, especially with closing etc. <strong>The AF will only reemburse for 10 days in a hotel while you house hunt. IMO that is not enough time to find a house</strong>. If you are not picky you can find an apt easily during that time. GL!
Posted by shan87[/QUOTE]

Exactly- same with the Navy. That's why we will be living on base and then looking for a house.

Shan- Do you live on base?

firsttimersluck · August 2011

yeah, that's why we'll take house searching leave... Idk how that works with other branches, but when we get orders, FI gets leave for a week or two (depending on how slow his schedule is) for us to fly to the area and look at houses... Which sets us up nicely for a move since timelines tend to be easier to work with when you find a place well in advance.
I think it's sweet that you're helping him look for housing even though you won't be living there, and it's never too early to start browsing places. I have seen places for rent asap all the way up to 90 days out.. so when you're looking, just make sure you are keeping in mind when the place is ready. :]

SamiJoeB · August 2011

We'll PCS in Feb, but we've already found our apartment. We got lucky though. We didn't want to live on base, and we found an apartment complex 20 mins from base that's still under construction. So we applied and cause we're military we were accepted flat out. I mean, a month is perfect timing, even possibly a little late. Most landlords or property managers require 30-60 days notice..

Your FI just graduated from flight school right? Some CoC require paperwork, or just flat out won't let junior enlisted or officers live off base right off the bat. I'm not sure if this is the case or not, but it never hurts to double check.

10 days is not enough to time to find, pay, and move into a new house..

DaKelliAB09 · August 2011

Thanks for all the advice! It really does help. Sorry it takes me forever to get back, I'm at work ... anyways He thinks he can find a house in ten days and I think he can, but I thought if he searched ahead of time then he would find something he really likes and since I'm up here I can go look at anything he likes, but he keeps saying it's too early. He's really appreciative of what I'm doing, but like I said he keeps saying it's too early. He keeps saying nobody will hold an apartment or house for that long, but I don't think it hurts to try.

@samijoe He says he can live off post, but I'll ask him to make sure and I agree with you on the 10 days

shan87 · August 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_finding-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:ffce9bca-1225-419a-bc33-8aa2ef9f0cc1Post:1fbd3d4f-640d-46c4-b81d-d0093f130fc8">Re: Finding a House...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Finding a House... : Exactly- same with the Navy. That's why we will be living on base and then looking for a house. Shan- Do you live on base?
Posted by LetsHikeToday[/QUOTE]

Nope but we are on the same street as the gate and only 5 or 6 miles south of it. H loves the easy commute. There were only 2 or 3 apartment complexes that accept dogs within 20 miles of base. Of those the pet friendly units are pretty competitive. For instance... our current apartment complex has 400 some units, its huge but only 24 units allow pets. They have since zoned another building to have dogs so that brings the total to 36. The chances of those people moving is very low too because this place rocks haha.

This is H's first base so we were reluctant to purchase right away since we don't know how long we will be here. Estimates range from 2 years to 6 years.

prettyirishgirl · August 2011

Well we actually moved to an apartment ad then house hunted afterward when we had more time. We just didnt unpack and it was a little different because we were getting rid of all the old furnishings and getting new stuff which meant we didn't have to move much that wasnt like 3 truck loads we just had friends help that time. We have about 3 weeks until FI's report date this go round and we will look at apartments nowish but he wont be moving until after WOC so we figured thats a 2 month window incase of doggie issues.

ps you have a PM DaKelli

DaKelliAB09 · August 2011

That makes sense.
I'm not sure what FI is going to do. I don't think he's sure either. We were talking today about it today and he's thinking about living on post. Then (jokingly... I think) He started talking about just renting a dry cabin (no water) .... I was like by all means don't let me stop you! haha! It's just crazy because up here everything is so much more expensive, even renting! I'm still looking at places for him and will make some calls this next week! He's really not too concerned about it, so I guess I really shouldn't be either... lol

DaKelliAB09 · August 2011

@prettyirishgirl sent you a PM

shan87 · August 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_finding-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:ffce9bca-1225-419a-bc33-8aa2ef9f0cc1Post:4b71b87a-069b-4f16-b1de-83234c24e57e">Re: Finding a House...</a>:
[QUOTE]That makes sense. I'm not sure what FI is going to do. I don't think he's sure either. We were talking today about it today and he's thinking about living on post. Then (jokingly... I think) He started talking about just renting a dry cabin (no water) .... I was like by all means don't let me stop you! haha! It's just crazy because up here everything is so much more expensive, even renting! I'm still looking at places for him and will make some calls this next week! He's really not too concerned about it, so I guess I really shouldn't be either... lol
Posted by DaKelliAB09[/QUOTE]

We made the decision to rent because we wanted to be in the area to research it for a home. Like I said before our time here is still unknown too.... for us his BAH covers our rent and ulities so we can put our extra money towards trips since we already have plenty for a house fund.

Knowing your budget is key. You shouldn't spend more than 35% of your monthly budget on housing, according to several sources. Just some food for thought. :)

Sammy0709 · August 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_finding-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:13Discussion:ffce9bca-1225-419a-bc33-8aa2ef9f0cc1Post:4b71b87a-069b-4f16-b1de-83234c24e57e">Re: Finding a House...</a>:
[QUOTE]That makes sense. I'm not sure what FI is going to do. I don't think he's sure either. We were talking today about it today and he's thinking about living on post. Then (jokingly... I think) He started talking about just renting a dry cabin (no water) .... I was like by all means don't let me stop you! haha! It's just crazy because up here everything is so much more expensive, even renting! I'm still looking at places for him and will make some calls this next week! He's really not too concerned about it, so I guess I really shouldn't be either... lol
Posted by DaKelliAB09[/QUOTE]

The other night DH told me we should sell our household furnishings and buy a camper to live in. As much money as that would save I don't think I could do it.

calindi · August 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_finding-house?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:ffce9bca-1225-419a-bc33-8aa2ef9f0cc1Post:1076b703-15cd-407d-aa7f-a0ee7b355e73">Re: Finding a House...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Finding a House... : We made the decision to rent because we wanted to be in the area to research it for a home. Like I said before our time here is still unknown too.... for us his BAH covers our rent and ulities so we can put our extra money towards trips since we already have plenty for a house fund. Knowing your budget is key. You shouldn't spend more than 35% of your monthly budget on housing, according to several sources. Just some food for thought. :)
Posted by shan87[/QUOTE]

Gah, I wish we could only spend 35%! If I did that, I'd either be making twice what I'm making now, or we'd be forced to live in an area where I'd end up spending the difference on alarm systems and replacing broken car windows. No joke. Once we get out of Miami, hopefully it'll be easier to find something more affordable so we can save some!

DaKelli, he'll be renting, I assume? It really depends on where you are - when I was looking in DC, you had to sign ahead of time to get anything good. Like the other girls said, most places get 60 days notice from their tenants, so they can give some advance notice and prefer to have future tenants locked down early. However, I realized down in Miami, most places wouldn't even let me look more than 30 days in advance! So I had to fly down beginning of December 2009 when FI was in finals for his first semester of law school (i.e. locked in the library, not showering or eating, surviving off coffee and 3 hours of sleep) so I had to look on my own and in a hurry! I used a realtor - have you thought of doing that? She didn't just do sales, she did rentals. So I was able to see 30+ properties in 2 days, and she spent a lot of work trying to narrow it down to my needs (she refused to show me a place that I liked in pictures because I told her that a dishwasher was a necessity - she was right, we'd be miserable without one). Maybe that could help?

DaKelliAB09 · August 2011

@ Shan - Thanks for the advice! FI is actually amazing when it comes to budgeting. He already knows how much he will be making and how much he will be able to spend on housing. I, honestly, used to be terrible at budgeting and he has helped me a lot. He's makes spreadsheets and is always on top of his finances. He's the ultimate saver too.

@Sammy - Yeah, I am with you on that. FI is always talking about how he wants to hike through the woods here in AK and cut a trail and then build a house and live and survive for a year... obvoiusly when he's retired... I'm like you go right ahead and have fun doing that! I love to go camping and hunting and fishing and all of that, but that's a little extreme for me.

@Calindi - Yes, he will be renting. He was talking about buying at first but he will be up here for 3 years and then he will go back to Ft. Rucker for a year and he MIGHT come back to AK, but we're not sure yet. Renting just seems like the most logical thing right now.

My brother is in the Air Force and he's the reason I moved up here to begin. ( Long story short I was taking classes online and working for a family business and was looking to move and he was getting deployed so I moved up here to house sit.) But he bought a house back in November because he was told this is where he was going to be for the rest of his career and he found out a few months ago that he now has orders to a new base in February. So that's one reason why he's hesitant about buying and he knows we could rent out a house, but he's like what if I'm in FL and things go wrong and I have to trust people to work on things and I have to trust people not to trash our house since we won't be around to check on it.

OH and about talking to a realtor, I've actually been in contact with one. Also, FI jokes that he has his own personal realtor aka me lol... He hasn't really made up his mind about what he wants to do so it's hard to look at houses and apartments all day long when I have nothing go off of.

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