PCS'ing to Air Force News Center (Spring, West: lease, insurance, house) - San Antonio - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

peacepiece · 02-18-2008, 10:14 PM

I have not heard a lot about base housing, but I know it is privatized so you will end up "Paying rent" if you will. I've lived in base housing, not here, but I had a great experience with it. If you go with FHA or VA, your payments on a $105K house should be about 1000, I would guess, including insurance and tax. How big of a house are you looking for? I suppose you might be able to find something on the 151/potranco area- a ton of military live there.

rd2007 · 02-18-2008, 10:50 PM

It is good to see people living within or below their means. We definitely need more people like that. For this particular case, it might be best to rent somewhere for 6 months to a year and get to know the area, then buy something. By then you should have more income, a much better feel for the city, and maybe a second income source. There's nothing wrong with a single income family, but it is hard. My wife works and it helps out a LOT, but then again I'm probably older and both kids are over 18..

beedar · 02-19-2008, 11:20 AM

Thanks to everyone for your advice!

beedar · 02-19-2008, 06:35 PM

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful responses!

We are a single income family, and we are trying to get the whole BAH to stretch and pay for EVERYTHING (Insurance, Taxes, Mortgage, Electricity & Water)

I am in Nursing school, and will be relocating to a medical school in San Antonio. This being the case, I am afraid to committ to working because of my school. It has been pretty difficult so far. Add to that, daycare costs for two children, and we are just not going to be able to cut much more than $1200/mo. for a house. Sorry for all the info, but we are a bit frustrated at the moment. Even if we were to rent, it would cost us about the same.

I do have a question though, what is the average electricity and water bill for San Antonio? It seems that taxes are massive. My friend used to live in Bridgewood subdivision (78254). She is recommending that area or 78251. What do you all think?

firstclassflyer · 02-19-2008, 07:38 PM

What about phone service, TV programming, repairs and maintenance to the home (this is the big one), alarm monitoring, natural gas service, trash service, HOA dues (if applicable)...hope you are not trying to pay all of these with that $1200 as well.

My electric bill was $115 last month. Some have reported as high as $250 for a month. It really depends on the home.
Water bill was only $34 last month...but we have spring water delivered. That probably cuts a small amount of the water consumption. We are a family of 3. Our son just turned 1 last week.

For a small home in an average area...you have to figure circa $400/month for taxes/homeowners insurance. That'll leave you with $800 for water, electric and mortgage (and anything else that you were hoping to pay out of this)...it's a tall order...very tall.

beedar · 02-19-2008, 07:50 PM

yes . . .the phone, the tv, internet, etc. will not be covered by the BAH. we are paying all of that now and that won't be an issue. not sure if i mentioned, but we live on base now in florida. we pay everything except electricity and water. of course, we are concerned as well about the maintainance and up-keep of the home and are finacially prepared for that. thank you for the good information though!

firstclassflyer · 02-19-2008, 07:54 PM

Can you live on base in SA? I'm not in the military, so I know nothing of base living...not meaning to insult.

beedar · 02-19-2008, 08:17 PM

No offense taken! Yes, I think we can live on base, but we have been told over and over that it is not a good area. I have to admit, however, I am getting more discouraged by the minute about moving to SA. Seems like the only areas we can afford are not worth living in. I feel for the people in SA, who aren't rich! Sorry, but I don't feel that a $1000 a month mortgage is "chump-change", but that seems to be the general idea of all the locals.

rd2007 · 02-19-2008, 09:55 PM

$1000/month mortgage that includes an escrow is on the low end or completely impossible to find for pretty much the entire nation. I honestly think you should go with an apartment until you finish nursing school and then get a house. You won't have a problem getting a well paying job after school and will be able to afford almost any area in the entire city. Buying a house right now is going to cause you to settle for something and that is never a good idea, especially when we're talking a HUGE investment..
Also, the electric bill around here in the summer is crazy high unless you can handle a very warm house. I don't like warm at all, so my monthly bill is $175. That's with the CPS program that takes a full year and divides it by 12 and is for a 2700 square foot house.

Don't get frustrated, everything will work out in the end as long as you continue to play the game with your brain first. and the on base housing here has a very long waiting list. I applied to it before I got here in Spring 2001 and wasn't accepted until the Fall of 2002.. By then I had already bought a house.

Steel Man · 02-19-2008, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beedar

yes . . .the phone, the tv, internet, etc. will not be covered by the BAH. we are paying all of that now and that won't be an issue. not sure if i mentioned, but we live on base now in florida. we pay everything except electricity and water. of course, we are concerned as well about the maintenance and up-keep of the home and are financially prepared for that. thank you for the good information though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by beedar

No offense taken! Yes, I think we can live on base, but we have been told over and over that it is not a good area. I have to admit, however, I am getting more discouraged by the minute about moving to SA. Seems like the only areas we can afford are not worth living in. I feel for the people in SA, who aren't rich! Sorry, but I don't feel that a $1000 a month mortgage is "chump-change", but that seems to be the general idea of all the locals.

"...more discouraged by the minute about moving to SA." That shows in only 27 minutes between your two posts. No one said that $1,000 a month is "chump-change." You can find houses for rent (check mysa.com) in that range in the 78245, 78251, and 78253 zip codes. Here is a zip code locater to help you.

San Antonio ZIP Codes, Texas

BTW, what is wrong with Lackland AFB housing (especially on the main base)? You have everything you need, including daycare in one area. The houses there are a lot nicer than the base housing we lived in on the old Kelly AFB and Yokota AB (Japan) back in the 80's.

Bottom Line: Don't be discouraged, and don't give up! Good Luck!

Steel Man (Retired 26-year AF Enlisted)