Base Housing - info please!

[futurenavywife16]

We plan to start out with base housing to get familiar with where we are and to save money. What is it like? Any tips or advice for base housing? Does it fill up often? What happens if it is full? What if we have 2 dogs? Any info you might have would greatly appreciated :)

[Anti M]

Housing is privatized, so is not really on base  Where?  Because each housing neighborhood is different.  Some allow certain breeds of dogs, some do not.  There is more than one answer.  If housing is full, you go on a waiting list and must rent until it opens up.  Again, some areas are available immediately, some aren't.

[futurenavywife16]

Oh I was just curious. My hubby is about to enlist, and I'm an obsessive planner, lol. We want to live on base at first if we can. I just want to know what to expect... or sort of know what to expect.

[Anti M]

That makes sense.  Here is the link to Lincoln housing, they provide the housing services for much of the Navy (not all though?).  You can get a good idea of how things are.  You can save more money renting privately, but housing has advantages for new couples, less money management issues, military neighbors who know what you're going through, a sense of security.  Generally, housing takes all your BAH, while if you rent, if you find a place with utilities less than the BAH, you're allowed ot keep the extra.

http://www.lincolnmilitary.com/lmh/?gclid=CPXnhcT-3boCFYgWMgodP2IAoQ

http://www.ahrn.com/

[meagan5220]

Another thing to think about is housing is starting to charge for people that go over an average on utilities... I have heard of people all but eliminating their usage and still being told they are going over by $30-$70... and having to pay the extra. I have a friend that was told she was using $400 in electricity alone and they refused to look into why it was running her so much. I personally prefer living off base with no kids and just my dogs then I don't have to worry about breed restrictions because I would never give up my dogs and I can find a place to live that I want. I have heard too many horror stories. I know some people living in housing in itty bitty apartments and it's taking all their BAH. When they could get the same thing out in town and pocket some of their BAH.

[futurenavywife16]

I heard that how many rooms you have depends hoe many dependents you have. We have two kids, I can't imagine being in a tiny apartment...we just want to get familiar with everything before we live off base...well that's our plan anyways. We will see what happens!

[Anti M]

If you have a boy and a girl over a certain age (don't recall what it is just now), they each get a bedroom.  I always had my own room as I was the only girl!

But as an adult married sailor/dependent wife, I always chose to live offbase.  Three cats, no kids, housing didn't suit us.  It is good in that your kids have other kids to make friends with.  But if you're in a big military town, you'll probably have Navy neighbors anyway.

[meagan5220]

oh I didn't know you had kids, lol you mentioned the dogs but not the kids. :) But yeah if they are both the same age about and same gender I know some bases will still only give you a 2 bed unless there aren't any. It really varies from base to base as the condition, age, and size of the houses. Even at the same base! It also really depends on the area... honestly they say BAH is based on a set formula but its hard to see that sometimes. In Virginia where I am its hard to find a good place to live that's not in the ghetto on bah with a larger family but in some areas its a lot easier.