Military
Real Estate.

Sometimes while you’re in service, you get deployed or relocated. If this happens and you’re renting your place, you have one of two options: try to break your lease, or sublet.

Subletting is the process of subleasing a property to someone else under your lease. Before you decide to do this, speak with your landlord to confirm they allow it.

If you’re renting out your house, start by establishing rent. This means researching and understanding your local real estate market. The price should reflect a combination of utilities, amenities, furnishings, nearby attractions, and the cost of homes that neighbor yours. Look closely at each of these so you don’t sell yourself short.

Trends change over time, so keep checking each factor throughout your renting journey and raise or lower your price accordingly.

Repair and renovate anything broken or outdated before someone moves in. It helps get you referrals and can raise your rent over time. Photograph everything as well, so at the end of a sublease you can charge for any damage.

Before anyone signs a lease, look into who they are. Prepare a series of relevant questions and meet them face to face. Check their credit score and any eviction reports to gauge whether they’re reliable renters, and ask for reference letters from previous landlords. Proof of income helps confirm they can pay on time.

Once you find a suitable subtenant, put the terms in writing. The lease should specify the rules, the amount owed each month, and the consequences if any term is broken. Add a military clause, which lets a renter know the lease can be broken at any time due to active duty orders.

State your requirements explicitly so you don’t run into problems while you’re away.

Selling a home takes preparation. Start by making sure you have enough money set aside to handle renovations and repairs on anything that needs work.

Sell through a listing agent and you give up roughly 3% of your sale price in commission. Sell the home yourself and you keep that money — often thousands of dollars.

Give yourself as much time as you can. Sell in a hurry and you settle for a lower price. With a longer runway you can negotiate properly and earn more in the end. Look up the average time a home in your area takes to sell, and plan around it.

The condition of the market matters just as much. If there’s little activity, consider waiting. When you choose to sell has a real impact on what you walk away with.

To set your price, start with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of homes similar to yours. A CMA shows the similarities and differences between houses around your size and value, so you can land on a realistic asking price.

As you compare houses, note any amenity a home has that yours could match. Attending open houses is also a good way to pick up selling techniques.

Once you have a list of improvements, contact an inspector who can tell you which repairs are necessary, then work through them in order of importance.

Trends worth matching include:

• Kitchen: buyers pay more for a modern kitchen. Look into current trends to see how yours could improve — islands, counters, cabinet styles, and lighting all count.
• Bathroom: bathrooms are a deal breaker in many final decisions. Updating counters, mirrors, shower heads, and lighting makes yours more desirable.
• Exterior: first impressions happen outside. Repaint where needed and fix holes and chips in the fence. In the yard, curb appeal reels people in — add seasonal plants, simple decor, and keep the grass in pristine condition.
• Roof: weather wears a roof down over the years. Have yours inspected, and repaired if needed, before you list.

When you write your listing, emphasize the strong points: malls, grocery stores, recreational facilities, schools, and anything else that draws buyers in.

To sell your home, look at it through a buyer’s eyes. It helps to remember how the house looked when you bought it, and what convinced you to go through with the purchase.

For repairs, hire a professional to help you work out what actually needs doing. Plumbers, contractors, and handymen are worth the call.

The goal of selling is to make your home feel like a great place for someone else to start a life. Buyers need to picture themselves comfortable in it, and that usually means spending some of your savings on repairs and updates.

Decluttering, staging furniture, and finding your pets somewhere else to stay during showings all make a home feel more liveable.

To save the commission we mentioned earlier, list through a service that gets you on the MLS directly, such as beycome.

Write your ad plainly and say exactly what you’re selling. Lay out the facts, and show why your home is the better choice next to the others around it. Classifieds and social platforms are easy places to share the listing once it’s live.

Offline still works too: signs, posters, flyers, lawn signs, and word of mouth.

As you plan your move, temporary or permanent, there are a number of things to line up so you’re ready to go.

Several organizations, such as Military Relocation Services, exist to make the process run more smoothly.

The Department of Defense reimburses service members for moving costs, and that assistance takes several forms. There’s a transportation allowance for the drive to your new duty station. Per Diem covers lodging and food along the way. The Dislocation Allowance (DLA) helps with the extra costs of a permanent move, and a Temporary Lodging Allowance (TLA) covers temporary housing.

The government also pays to ship your belongings, as long as they meet the weight requirements. Unaccompanied baggage is usually delivered separately after you arrive, but still counts toward your weight limit.

If you’d rather not move everything, storing your belongings while you’re on active duty or relocating can save you thousands. National operators like Extra Space Storage and Public Storage are a good starting point, but compare them against local units near your base or your current home — the best deal is often local.

Knowing what you’re entitled to makes moving, buying, or leasing far simpler and safer.