The department I work for will strip the home of roofing and certain other fixtures and arrange a dumpster to be hauled off as a way to decrease unnecessary smoke products. 

As a side note, there is a good article posted today regarding counties with the highest rent increases/decreases in 2015.  

For the time being (since we are not married) you can assume that I would purchase the temporary house/condo and we would be married and then purchase the long term house together.  

What I'm seeing in the market right now is banks are trying to get almost market rates for their REO properties, as foreclosure inventory is decreasing dramatically (30%+ down over last year).

The situation should be temporary and resolve itself within the next 12-18 months. 

In addition to the deployments, troop levels are decreasing at Fort Hood, so it's not an ideal time to invest. 

You may be able to decrease taxes based on new sale price

I have been decreasing the rental price of my 2 bed home in Madison Heights for several weeks.  

SELLER CONCESSIONSSeller concessions include, but are not limited to, the following:Payment of the buyer’s VA funding feePrepayment of the buyer’s property taxes and insuranceGifts such as a television set or microwave ovenPayment of extra points to provide permanent interest rate buydownsProvision of escrowed funds to provide temporary interest rate buydowns,Payoff of credit balances or judgments on behalf of the buyerSeller concessions do not include payment of the buyer’s closing costs or payment of points as appropriate to the market.Any seller concession or combination of concessions which exceeds 4% of the established reasonable value of the property is considered excessive, and unacceptable for VA guaranteed loans. 

The previous exemptions for "bridge" or "temporary less than 12 month loans" is gone.