Hi my wife and I will PCS to the National Capitol Region (NCR) next summer and are strongly considering purchasing our first home. I am hoping to hear from those of you with experience in the market and area. The numbers seem to suggest we can afford to purchase a home. We plan to build roots in the area and have some family already in the NCR.
For this PCS I will commute to Belvoir and the plan is to pick a location close enough to the Virginia Railway Express for my wife to commute via car -> train -> Pentagon. We are primarily looking in and around Fairfax but suggestions would be helpful. I may have to commute farther south in to Virginia from time to time. There is a possibility my wife will stay in for 20yrs whereas I will exit active service in March 2027 and plan to work in the area. She will PCS January of 2029 back to big army, hooah. Either she will geobach or if I get a remote gig I will travel with her. We would look for renters for those 2-3 years.
Current Ages:
- Me: 26yrs
- Wife: 25yrs
- Dog: 6 years
- Likely a kid in 2026
Income:
- Dual O-3 w/ BAH = $227,000
Savings: We have fluctuated in priorities (retirement / home / wedding) over the last three years at our first duty station. As of typing, we put about $5k month away for retirement.
Current balances:
- TSPs $50k
- Roth IRAs: $80k
- Taxable brokerage account: $14k
- Emergency fund/Cash on hand: $20k
Life insurance: $500k in regular/family SGLI (military) for each
Expenses:
- Fixed expenses: $5k/mo
Current Total Debt: None
Retirement plan:
There is a possibility my wife will stay in for 20yrs whereas I will exit active service in March 2027.
Assumptions:
- VA Loan
- Save about 40k over the next eight months specifically for house
- <7% interest rate
- New (used?) car purchase in conjunction with PCS. We currently share one car (paid off).
House purchase scenario:
- Price: $550-650k
- VA Loan
- Cash down: 5% (30-35k)
- Closing costs: 4-7% (22k)
- Mortgage: ~4k/mo
The adage is housing should be less than 30%. After tax we take home $15k/mo so a mortgage is about 26% of take home pay.
We've narrowed the NOVA areas down to minimize transportation in and around the area. A single-family home is the goal but based on the interest rates it is probably out of the question. A condo/townhome is likely more realistic.
Let me know what you think! What am I missing? Is this rational or just doable?
Buying a home in NCR as dual-mil
byu/fiscalsentinel inMilitaryFinance
Posted by fiscalsentinel
4 Comments
I currently live in the DMV…. If I were you I’d be looking at a 2 to 3 family house and Airbnb the extra space…. Easily the Airbnb will cover most of the Mortgage…. Just my 2 cents
Don’t rule out areas to the south (Woodbridge, Dumfries, and even Stafford). Many of which have direct bus routes that go to the Pentagon as well.
It depends on where you plan on living. To the south is Woodbridge and the South VRE line which will get you near the Pentagon as a drop off spot. To the southwest is Manassas and Gainesville which have a VRE line that does the same. To the west is Fairfax and Ashburn and they gave the silver line that just got completed. If you live near any of those that will take care of a lot of commute. The price range you will be looking at a lot of townhomes unless you push further out into the burbs and take the vre or metro.
If you buy something in that area, I would recommend you be ready to keep it and rent it out for a long time (decades). If you are going to want to sell it in 5 years to buy another house for a family, it may not work out well for you. The prices around NOVA are outrageous, so you will be in the townhouse area at those prices. Just think about what other renters would want in the future when you buy this so you will be able to rent to the future you 5-10 years from now (transportation options, schools, etc.). I think probably prices will just keep going up even if/when interest rates go down because of the significant supply-demand mismatch. You may be willing to deal with unpleasant things to save money (far drive to work, not great neighborhood, below average schools), but future renters will have more options and not choose your home. Or you get undesirable renters, which is probably worse.
Alternatively, you are at a time when rents are less than purchases (monthly payments) for the first time in a long time (source: [https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/rent-or-buy-home-mortgage/](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/rent-or-buy-home-mortgage/) ). For the same price as your mortgage, you can probably rent a much nicer single family home or get a townhouse for much less than what it would be to buy one in a better area, right where you want to be. This has none of the risks associated with buying of course (and none of the benefits either). You can take all the money you would have put towards the house, invest it in a multitude of ways, and not be tied to the home ownership.
My house would cost 50%+ more per month to buy right now than to rent it. Normally you pay a premium to rent/not right now. That’s why I said that unless you want to own it for decades, I would not buy. You can definitely buy something now and rent it when you leave. Rental market is hot. You also can use two VA loans, so you can leave on locked up in the NOVA home and then use the other for another home later.