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New Listing – 2221 Soundview Ave NE – Manette Neighborhood in Bremerton
Desirable Manette
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Overview Maps Photos Description Neighborhood |
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Jo Soss
HomeFront Realty
(360) 830-6195 jo@homefrontrealtyonline.com http://www.homefrontrealtyonline.com
Listed by: Jo Soss |
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Kitsap Harbor Festival May 29-31, 2010 (Memorial Day Weekend)
Festival events will take place on the waterfronts of both Bremerton and Port Orchard and will include Tall Ships, Vendor Booths, Farmers Markets, Classic Car Show, Seagull Calling Festival, Taste of Kitsap, Sailing Regatta, Live Music, Beer Gardens, Virginia V and Boat’s Afloat Show. You’re also invited to attend a Memorial Service aboard the historic USS Turner Joy on Monday morning.
On Saturday, May 29th, from 7:00AM-10:30AM enjoy a Pancake Breakfast (where Mayor Lent will be cooking until 9:00AM) on the Bremerton Boardwalk prepared by the Bremerton Lions Club.
For more information, including festival schedule, please visit theKitsap Harbor Festival website.
Bremerton Farmer’s Market | Thursdays 4 – 7
The Bremerton Farmers Market is now open! Every Thursday, 4-7PM, at Evergreen Park you’re invited to come on down and connect with your local farmers and community members.
Check out the Bremerton Farmers Market website details on vendors, live music performances and more!
VA Home Buyer | Saving for a Down Payment Depolyment Pay!
LEAVING ON A JET PLANE……
That’s the song that I sing when my husband heads out on a deployment. Yep, he is in the Navy but I have never had the pleasure of being involved with a Navy command. We have spent all of our years together hanging out with the Marine Corps.
Deployment can be a very difficult time in a military family’s life so; we have to find the positives. Saving all the deployment pay is one! The first tour to Iraq that my husband went on was my first deployment experience as a military spouse. I knew a little about the extra pays and was eager to learn more. I did pay attention at the Deployment Brief. I took all the pamphlets and brochures I could carry. I remember the LtCol standing at the front of the meeting room leaning on the overhead projector and emphasizing about our budgets. He had projected up on the screen the extra pays that our spouses were going to receive.
- Hostile Fire Pay (HFP)/Imminent Danger Pay (IDP). $225.00 a month (HFP/IDP)
- Family Separation Allowance $250.00 (FSH OR FSA)
- Hardship Duty Pay-Location $100.00(HDP-L). Indicated as Save Pay on the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
- Depending on the Command and the Branch of Service the service member usually gets to keep their BAS – Basic Allowance for Subsistence . $265.00
That is a TON of extra pay!! But the bottom line gets even better because all the pay while deployed out side the country in several tax free zones is just that TAX FREE!!!!!
Now that does add up. Depending on the length of deployment you could end up with a pretty nice chuck of change for the purchase of a house, condo or vacant land. Remember how important it is for Military members to own real estate!!
Upon return service members usually receive per diem pay too – that rounds around $3.50 per day and adds up too!!
So add this all together and you could be saving around $800,00 – $1000.00 per month. Multiply that buy the normal deployment of 7 months – oh except for the Army and IA’s which is between 12-15 months and that is a huge amount to invest in your future.
Do you own your home? Are you afraid of having to sell in 3, 4 or 5 years? If you are smart and do the right things then homeownership for a military member should not be scary!!!!
VA Home Buyer |Turn BAH into Home Ownership
I am sure as a military member you have heard this phrase about a million times in the last several years. Interest rates have been so low for so long that home ownership has been easier than ever before for anyone and this especially includes the military population, who until recently didn’t feel like they could or should purchase properties.
Never before has the military population owned a higher percentage of homes. The days of base living has changed drastically. With most installations switching over to PPV the climate has changed. The thought of waiting until retirement to purchase a home has become a scary thought with the way housing prices in most areas have skyrocketed.
So as a military member do you purchase a home?
It is a very complicated process which needs some investigation and education before making a decision. You should ask yourself some questions like these at the minimum.
- Do I have upfront money to buy a home?
- Can I get financing?
- Is my tour of duty going to be longer than 2 years before the next PCS?
- Will I have the opportunity to do another tour here or will I have an opportunity to come back?
- If I had to be a long distant landlord would I have the time or recourses?
- Could I afford a property manager?
- What if I had to pay the mortgage for 2-3 months while the home is waiting for new renters?
BUYING VS. RENTING
| ADVANTAGE | THINGS TO CONSIDER | |
| BUY | Build Equity | Responsibility of Maintenance |
| Income Tax Incentives | Property Tax Payments | |
| Stability and Security | Loss of Equity | |
| Ability to “do what you want” | Less Mobile | |
| RENT | No responsibility for Maintenance | No Equity |
| Easier to Move | No Tax Benefits | |
Vanilla Walls  |
So after you have considered all the possibilities, searched the internet for information and asked around your shop. Are you ready to buy?
Being a military spouse and real estate professional it was still a decision that I wavered back and forth. After sitting down and writing out all the pros and cons my husband and I decided to purchase. My husband is in the Untied States Navy and at the time we decided to purchase we were looking at the second tour to Iraq, at living in southern California and at a PCS 30 days after his re-deployment. We didn’t know where we were going, how long we would be there or how the finance industry would view our dreams.
My husband left for Iraq and I knew that I wanted our next PCS to be a “door to door”. I started to look at houses in the Bremerton, Washington area over the internet. Having my license but not practicing in the state of Washington I had to find a real estate agent too. I was lucky because I had several contacts from my days of selling homes in Washington. On a trip up to Washington I viewed a property and made an offer with my POA.
My husband just so happen to call while I was in the process. I told him what I was doing and promised to email pictures when I arrived back home. I can tell you that it was not a totally smooth process, but I can also tell you that I am writing this article in the home office of the house that we purchased so, all in all a happy ending. Well, almost. My husband didn’t receive orders to the Bremerton area. He received orders to ALASKA!!!
We are now building equity in a home we will retire to in several years. I live here and he lives there and we are Continental frequent flyers. What’s that phrase “Semper Gumby”? Yes we are! I am back to the profession I love, he loves Alaska and we have the house we plan to retire in or so we think at the moment.
Do you own your home? Are you afraid of having to sell in 3, 4 or 5 years? If you are smart and do the right things then homeownership for a military member should not be scary!!!!