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I'm in a similar situation as you and I'm currently going through the process of buying my first home. Assignments are limited for my job and I expect to finish out my last 8 years at my current assignment. I might deploy but I don't expect to PCS. Also, my BAH should cover a mortgage payment. Right now it's just a good time for me to buy especially since the area that I'm in is expected to see a boom because of BRAC.
I would say hold off buying until you are at your last duty station and buy only if that is where you want to live after your 20 years.
Many posters say-" rent it out when you get transferred"
Do you really want to be 1,000 miles away when you found out your renter has moved out ( after not paying a few months rent) and trashed the place ?
Do you want to be stationed in a different country and have the head ache of going thru legal proceedings to evict someone?
Do you want to be far away and have the renter complain the roof leaks or he has other problems ?
Property management companies might work, but I think you better realize what their fees are. Many times they work for apartments but do a lousy job on house rentals .
I agree 100% and am a broker and appraiser. I know a lot about values and think they are still going down. Sellers are crying every where. I suggest you listen to Dave Ramsey a financial guru or read one of his books or read his baby steps www.daveramsey.com before making the biggest/riskiest investment of your life. Much luck and THANK YOU for your service.
It really depends where he is stationed. Here in NC Fort Bragg and Camp Lejuene are doing good when it come to the housing market. In my market our homes are still appreciating.
If the OP would tell us where he is stationed perhaps we can get him some local advice.
I just finished a deal tonight helping a single NCO buy a four unit townhouse with his VA entitlement. He is going to live there for free and have the other three units pay his mortgage plus some profit. He is one smart cookie and with the other three home he owns at former duty stations he is going be set when he retires in 10 years or so.
MarMac provides sage advice....so I'll just add something else.
Move on post and let the govt maintain your home. Save your money and when you retire, you can then make your buy decision based on where you want to settle for the next 20 years.
No one knows what the next round of BRAC will bring, and when. Very few bases are immune like Ft Bragg.
Look what they did with Pope AFB - and everyone thought SJAFB would be closed before PAFB.
If you decide to buy, buy in an established neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of military families. It may cost you more but it would be worth it.
This is because in a military neighborhood, when they get their PCS orders in a couple of years, they will have no option but to rent out their homes (due to the majority having 103% VA loans). The neighborhood now becomes transient.
Western Cumberland County outside Bragg is littered with rental communities...
Next thing you know, the whole neighborhood is up for sale/rent. What are the chances of you selling your home when every other home is competing against yours?
Additionally, when you do decide/have to sell in the near term, why should I buy your home when I can buy a new home right down the street for about the same price of yours but with all the latest options?
Appreciation in this scenario is next to nothing.
You can't beat the convenience of living on post although you do have to put up with some 'rules' but I think it would be worth it.
Not bad advice but living on post is not free anymore. They take your BAH and give it to private contractors. Use over your alloted utilities and they charge you. I hear many many complaints about on-post housing and the contractors who run it.
If they are going to give you BAH why give it back to the contractor? You are better off paying you own mortgage if the numbers work in your situation.
The advice about neighborhoods is good. Don't buy in early in a new subdivision. You will have to compete with new construction later. Buy one of the last lots in an established neighborhood if you want new.
Not bad advice but living on post is not free anymore. They take your BAH and give it to private contractors. Use over your alloted utilities and they charge you. I hear many many complaints about on-post housing and the contractors who run it.
If they are going to give you BAH why give it back to the contractor? You are better off paying you own mortgage if the numbers work in your situation.
The advice about neighborhoods is good. Don't buy in early in a new subdivision. You will have to compete with new construction later. Buy one of the last lots in an established neighborhood if you want new.
Living on post has never been 'free' and the private contractors perform all required maintenance - no out of pocket costs.
No matter where you live, if you run the HVAC 24/7, then you'll pay the price.
If you end up being deployed into the sandbox for an extended period of time, where would you rather have your family - in some subdivision or on the base, living in a gated community where you have your own security force?
That is the same story I heard for years and years. "Stay on base, don't risk it, It is safer on base". Being a Security Policeman (Law Enforcement) for 24 years, I know that living on-base does not make you immune from societies ills. I listened to that advice and was scared to buy a house until I had been in 18 years. Now I wish I had "risked it". I'd be reaping he rewards.
The OP has lived on baset and now wants to explore the possibility of buying. That is his choice and that choice can make sense in many parts of the country with record low interest rates and the $8,000 tax credit.
There are many many places country it would NOT make sense to buy now. Their markets are still in turmoil and will be for a few more years.
After reading your old posts you don't seem very enthusiastic about homeownership today.
I can't believe you've been in the military this long and are asking that question. How many times have you moved already? Do you imagine that the military is going to leave you in one spot for the rest of your career? When you get to the last year or two from retirement start considering buying. Renting is the only practical way for a nomadic military family. IMHO (traveling for 45 years and still on the move...). BTW, I owned a house and was an absentee landlord for 23 years. I don't wish that experience on anybody.
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I agree 100% and am a broker and appraiser. I know a lot about values and think they are still going down. Sellers are crying every where. I suggest you listen to Dave Ramsey a financial guru or read one of his books or read his baby steps 
