We did it. We bought a home. And yes, my husband is still Active Duty in the military. Were we crazy? A little bit. But trust me when I say, this decision didn’t come lightly. In fact, it was about 3 years in the making before we decided to finally take the plunge. Finally, our military family bought a home.
We’ve been renting for years and it was kind of hard seeing all of our money not build up any equity. So we did our homework. We researched and researched. We waited until we were at a good place with finances. We weighed all of the pros and cons. It made sense for our family’s situation so a few weeks ago we bought our very first home using the VA loan.
Signing all of those mortgage documents was terrifying. My hand started cramping. After all was said and done, we got the keys and opened the door to our future. I knew when I saw the pictures online and through our tour, that this house was ours. Even if the military sent us elsewhere, we would do everything in our power to hold on to it.
Here are some things that made us sure that as a military family, we should buy a house.
-Budget: with the house we purchased, even if I did not have a job, we can still afford it under one income
-Location: we’re in a city we love (it’s actually the city in which we met), and we could see ourselves retiring here. This really could be our “forever” home.
-Rent potential: the city has a huge military population with multiple bases as well as a large college population. If the market is right, there’s lots of opportunities for renters
-Pets: we have a furbaby and she is a beagle (‘nuff said). She needs space (and soundproof walls)
-Support Network: we have family and friends nearby that can keep an eye on the house just in case we have to PCS
-Price: We got a great deal for an up and coming neighborhood. More and more housing and shopping centers are being built around it as we speak. Schools are the best in the county.
Those reasons worked enough for us. So here we are, staring at our moving boxes and our first water bill.
…whoa. Wish us luck!
(Since we got a spiffy brand new house, I will also be featuring some of it on the blog in the future. Yay!)