Housing: Buy vs. Rent?

Once again, thanks to all for the continued input.

Pima, I know of several Lts that'll be joining me at Dover, but don't know anyone there yet so I don't have the most current sitrep about what to expect as a new 1Lt. But I certainly expect to be flying a fair bit so that's a good point about DIY home improvements to increase value. And my primary concern still is on the selling side, since I have little desire to become a property manager from Elmo, or McChord, etc.

I'm continuing the search!
 
buffalo said:
Once again, thanks to all for the continued input.

Pima, I know of several Lts that'll be joining me at Dover, but don't know anyone there yet so I don't have the most current sitrep about what to expect as a new 1Lt. But I certainly expect to be flying a fair bit so that's a good point about DIY home improvements to increase value. And my primary concern still is on the selling side, since I have little desire to become a property manager from Elmo, or McChord, etc.

I'm continuing the search!
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If you are willing to take the risk, it could your worthwhile with some luck. I roomed with a classmate of mine at my first duty assignment. He bought a house, took on two renters. I never asked, but I am pretty sure our rents covered the mortgage. All of us were Infantry LTs so we were constantly out training, but mostly at different times so house wasn't crowded. We were good roommates, so we took care of the house together. I moved out about after about two years PCSing another station. The other guy moved out too, but by that time he had a girl friend that he eventually married, so us moving out worked out for him. He was also fortunate as he sold the house as he left the Army, about a year before the housing market around the base crashed. No risk, no reward.
 
My son is doing the buying route. He has done a lot of research in the markets that he is stationed at and also is very frugal with his money so he has had large down payments. He skipped buying in Del Rio because the market just wasn't a good fit for him. When he got to Phoenix (which was at the bottom of the real estate crash) he had already done his research and had several properties that he was interested in. He was able to buy a 3br 3ba two-story for $100K less than the previous owner paid for it. It was a short sale and he got it approved because he had almost 50% down (proceeds from investing his career starter loan and savings from his two years in Del Rio). He now rents that house out to an O-3 who moved to Luke AFB when he left and he makes some money each month. He also pays a management company to rent and manage that house for him so he will not need to worry about it when he is deployed. When he got to Florida he found another depressed real estate market and bought another 3 br 2.5 ba home for a steep discount. The owner was facing foreclosure and was very willing to bargain. Once again he worked with an agent who knew the area and son had a large amount to put down so he was able to work quickly. When he leaves Homestead he should be able to rent that house out for a profit as well. Buying isn't for everyone, but for my son it has worked out so far.

Stealth_81
 
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