Why Military Members Should Buy A Home in Northern Virginia
There are a lot of great reasons why military members should buy a home in Northern Virginia. There are two reasons in particular that are especially advantageous to military members: tax benefits and the VA loan–but more on that in a moment. Deciding whether to buy or rent is a challenging decision for military members because relocating every few years may not feel conducive to home ownership, but I am going to explain why military members should absolutely consider buying a home.
Buy or rent?
Deciding to buy a home instead of rent is a huge decision and when you serve in the military, the decision comes with an extra set of questions and considerations that the average buyer does not typically face: relocations and tours of duty. As a Navy’s Commander’s daughter myself, I completely understand the challenges and it is one of the biggest reasons why I often advocate home buying. One benefit, is it can be easier to budget because housing costs are more stable and instead of giving your money away to a landlord you can build equity with your mortgage payments. Moreover, if you opt for a fixed-rate mortgage, the principal and interest payments are fixed for the life of the loan, which can be a significant savings in comparison to rental market fluctuations.
Decorate to your personal tastes
When it comes to styling your home, the options are nearly limitless. Between décor apps, social media, online shops, vintage restoration, second-hand stores, DIY channels, popular design TV shows, and more, there is no shortage of design inspiration these days. Buying a home means you get to decorate to your tastes with paint, fixtures, flooring, landscaping and more, which you typically cannot do to any great extent with a rental. Additionally, if you have a pet, it is much easier to manage in your own home versus rentals that often do not allow dogs or require a higher security deposit for your pet.
The best benefits of home ownership for military members
If you are active duty military and are eligible for a Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), this is a huge advantage because this allowance is tax-free giving you a have a tremendous opportunity to buy a home and build equity using tax-free funds. Further, as a homeowner, you may also be able to receive a tax deduction for 100 percent of your mortgage interest (if you meet the guidelines) plus other benefits as well.
The other great reason to consider purchasing a property is the VA home loan which is a major benefit to military members. The primary benefits include being able to purchase a home with no down payment and the ability to choose a fixed-rate or an adjustable-rate mortgage. Additionally, there are limits on the amount of closing costs you will have to pay and you are not required to pay monthly mortgage insurance or PMI.
What about relocations and tours of duty?
One of the benefits of purchasing property in Northern Virginia is the transience of the area. Northern Virginia has excellent proximity to numerous prestigious military bases plus an enormous federal workforce meaning there are always people in need of temporary housing (many with BAH allowances). If you do have to relocate or do a tour overseas, turning your home into a rental is an excellent revenue stream and a solid long-term investment plan. Additionally, Northern Virginia is a major technology hub with numerous areas of planned development and growth already in progress. If you are a military member looking for more great reasons why military members should buy a home in Northern Virginia, feel free to contact me with any questions you might have!
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