6 Tips for Finding the Perfect Rental Home
Consider your choice of a rental home a significant and definitive step in the PCS process. Here’s to one less problem to solve!
When it comes down to choosing a rental home, there can never be too many tips, but we’ve rounded up the best ones to point you in the right direction to hopefully avoid disappointment.
1. Don’t Dismiss a Pre-Move House Hunting Trip
Yes, a trip across the country to hunt for a rental can be very expensive, and it isn’t in the cards for every family, but it should be a strong consideration as the planning process progresses. Cleverly combining travel rewards or strategically aligning a work trip near your new destination helps reduce transportation and hotel costs.
There are creative solutions if you cannot inspect potential rentals yourself. Sending friends or family to record or live-shoot the property is second only to your presence. But, many don’t have someone to count on in their potential new neighborhood. This is when hiring a MILLIE Scout is a huge asset. They are military spouses trained to be the eyes and ears families need when looking for a new rental home.
Do note that real estate agents perform rental searches, but who pays for their services varies market to market. Most perform live walkthroughs and provide feedback, but these services can be attached to an agreement that says you’ll be paying for their exclusive representation while searching for rentals. Other agents receive payments directly from the homeowner, while others do not require a payment for a rental search. It’s important to ask early how payment is determined.
There is also no substitute for checking in with friends or friends of friends for insider information about the property for rent. Military spouse networking is a reliable source of direct details about a property or neighborhood. This network has strengthened in light of the severe problems with installation housing.
2. Evaluate BAH Constraints
Thoughtfully consider your budgetary constraints. Most military members head into a rental search within the confines of their BAH allotment. It’s definitely a strong number to start with, but rental prices and cost of living vary so much that BAH might not be the best gauge of what you can or cannot afford. Variables such as access to schools and commute to work certainly make a difference. Knowing your family’s priorities before searching will help narrow down home choices.
3. Try a Rent Affordability Calculator
A quick online search will turn up several calculators that show exactly the amount of money you need to have coming in each month to afford specific properties. They ask about your budget as a whole, including costs like utilities and groceries. The calculator “How Much Can I Afford for Rent? Crunch Your Numbers Here” from Realtor.com is a good one to start with.
4. Embrace an Off-Season Move
Finding a rental home during an off-season move might not be as difficult as you think. In fact, there’s a good chance it’s cheaper and easier! If a PCS move takes you to a base that happens to run a rotating military school, meaning families move every 6-8 months, it’s probably very normal for rental vacancies to peak during the off-cycle months like November, December, and January. Military families will avoid competing with civilians for rental homes during these months.
Moving during non-traditional months also offers the chance to save on rent. If the homeowners have missed the height of the rental season, they are likely open to negotiations on the amount of rent per month. As a homeowner, an empty rental home is a very expensive thing. Offer the owner a reasonable payment per month, and it you might just save some cash!
5. Consider a Different Type of Housing Style
Depending on the part of the country you live in, a single family home may not be the most affordable or available housing option. A townhouse, condo, or apartment could easily offer the same amenities than you were initially looking for and have more vacancies.
6. Expand Your School Search Options
A major stressor for parents is how to find the best schooling options for their kids each time they PCS. Because searching for a school is so time consuming and stressful, parents often take public and private rankings as hard facts, but most of the time, a school’s quality cannot be summed up by one website.
Consult multiple databases (especially your state’s department of education) and don’t be afraid to ask personal opinions from those who attend your preferred school. After compiling opinions and talking with the principal and/or staff, you’ll be able to make an educated decision before signing a rental agreement. By expanding your acceptable features in a school, you could turn up a community gem near a rental home you truly love.
With a little extra research and a couple of useful tips, the rental search can be significantly improved. Before each PCS move, check with MilitaryByOwner for additional advice in the form of base and city guides, city specific blog posts, and featured Homes of the Week to get a great head start on your next rental search.
By Dawn M. Smith for MilitaryByOwner
