A Home of My Own!

Oh!  How I wish I had a home of my own!  

Alas, my situation is not set for home ownership!  

With moves coming at intervals of 1 to 3 years apart, it is understandable why home-ownership is but a dream for many military families.  In order to recoup the costs associated with buying and selling, the home a military member buys must see a tremendous price-increase over the span of his time on-station.  

A few years ago, some military families saw their wallets grow fat as they sold homes in the peak of the housing bubble in peak-growth areas of the country.  We, however, were among those who moved to a peak-growth area during the peak of the bubble.  Fortunately for us, we decided against purchasing a home at that time, and rented a nice home instead.  Now, we have moved to an area that is still seeing home prices decline, and it is not a "good" time for us to buy here.  If we were to stay past 2 or 3 years, a home purchase might be advantageous, but that's not the situation most military families are in.  

Sure, we could rent out a home, with much risk and trouble, but being a landlord is just that: risky and troublesome.  

We've seen many military families stuck with homes that they didn't want, but couldn't sell, and have had to deal with renters who have destroyed their properties.   Otherwise, people have lost tens of thousands of dollars in order to sell.

We live in many ways to protect the American way of life, and the American dream.  It would be nice for us to be able to own our own home as a part of our "American dream", too.  What I wouldn't give to be able to paint my walls, or plant a plant, or install curtains, or ceiling fans without having to ask permission.  I would love to skip replacing blinds or carpets or packing up my furniture every time we pcs.  The cost of moving is pretty high, when all is said and done.  

It would be nice, at the end of my husband's work for the military, to have a home mostly paid-for, but when we move so frequently, it's usually not smart to buy.  Our non-military friends, for the most part, will have been in homes, and been paying for their homes for 10 to 20 years before we can even begin to think about where we will settle.  We will probably be looking at a 30 year mortgage when they may only have 10 years left to pay.  This is one of the many prices we pay as an American military family: it is much more difficult to buy and keep a home. 

Still, we are proud to be a military family.   If you are reading this, please remember the numerous sacrifices that military families pay, and maybe pat them on the back, and say,"Thanks."

Thank YOU for listening. :)

C.M.