Active Duty seeking advice

[Gregory Hunter]

I have been reading through this site for days basic guides, searching, etc. I have learned a ton from this site. But I have not made a decision so I figured I would post all this up and see what the experts say. So here goes.

I am active duty in the Navy, and my wife and I are playing with the idea of purchasing a house at my next duty station. The main reason is because the rent in the area would put us in a tighter monthly budget than we are used to since rent is high compared to my housing allowance. The low housing market and interest rates are a plus too. I will be going to the Dayton area to be a local recruiter, and I have been looking at the Huber Heights and Vandalia areas. The only thing that is holding me back is that I will be moving in 3 years and if I can not sell the house I will have to rent it out, or leave my family and go by myself to my next station.

My current scenario is using a VA backed loan financing between $110,000-$130,000 for a monthly payment between $650-$780 with estimated taxes and insurance. Before the housing market downturn houses in this neighborhood were going for $140k-$180k. Rent in the neighborhood is currently $1,000-$1,800, which is a big range IMO. I would try to rent for $1,100-$1,200 based on current market. So that is about 35%-40% to set aside for repairs, vacancies, etc. I will need to use a property manager if I need to rent it out. I have no idea what that costs yet, I am guessing 10% of monthly rent then a fee to place tenants.

There is so much more info e.g. what shape the house is in etc but I am trying to keep this short.

So to all the experts out there how am I really sitting in regards to selling after 3 years and my possible renting scenario. If rent goes up in the area after 3 years I should be sitting nice on that end since I am basing everything off renting right now.