PCS Orders? What Should You Do With Your Northern Virginia Home?
Sell, rent or keep it for now. There isn’t one right answer for everyone. The first step is understanding your options.
The path most PCS homeowners follow
Some owners sell right away. Others rent the home for a few years and sell later. Either way, it starts with an honest look at the numbers.
PCS orders
Orders arrive with a report date.
Evaluate
Value, rent, costs and timing.
Sell, rent or keep for now
Choose the path that fits.
Manage
Local management while you’re away.
Sell later
When the time is right.
Start with the numbers and the timeline
Before choosing a path, get clear answers to a few questions. We can help with the real estate side, including a pricing opinion and a rent estimate. For tax and loan questions, check with a tax professional and your lender.
- What is the home worth today, and what would you net after selling costs?
- What would it rent for, and would rent cover the mortgage, HOA, insurance, taxes and management?
- How much time do you have before your report date?
- Do you expect to come back to Northern Virginia?
- Does your HOA or condo association allow rentals, and are there minimum lease terms?
- How would owning a rental affect your finances, taxes and next home purchase?
Sell, Rent, or Keep it for now
Sell
Often a fit when
- You don't want to be a landlord
- You need the equity for your next home
- Rent wouldn't cover your costs
Keep in mind
- Selling costs reduce your net proceeds
- Timing the sale around your report date
- You can still sell after you've moved
Rent it out
Often a fit when
- Rent covers most or all of your costs
- You may return to the area
- You want to hold the home long term
Keep in mind
- Vacancies, repairs and tenant turnover
- Military tenants may end a lease early under the SCRA
- Tax treatment of rental income, so ask a tax professional
Keep it for now
Often a fit when
- Your plans or the market feel uncertain
- You want time to decide
- You'd like to see how renting works first
Keep in mind
- You take on landlord responsibilities in the meantime
- Set a date to revisit the decision
- A management-to-sale handoff keeps it simple later
A note on taxes: federal rules give members of the uniformed services, the Foreign Service and certain intelligence community employees on qualified official extended duty extra time to meet the home-sale exclusion’s use test. Ask a tax professional how it applies to you.
Your PCS home checklist
If you're renting it out
- Review your mortgage and HOA rules on renting
- Switch to a landlord insurance policy
- Handle repairs and deep cleaning before you leave
- Decide on pets, lease length and rent
- Leave keys, garage openers and appliance manuals
- Set up management so someone local is on call
If you're selling
- Get a pricing opinion and a net proceeds estimate
- Plan repairs, touch-ups and staging
- Decide whether to list before or after you move
- Line up a remote closing or a power of attorney
- Ask your installation's legal assistance office about a specific power of attorney
- Plan utilities and access for the final walkthrough
How Command Properties helps at each stage
Evaluate. A pricing opinion, a rent estimate and an honest conversation about the trade-offs.
Manage. Full-service property management while you’re away, with monthly statements and 24/7 emergency response.
Sell later. When you’re ready, we move the home from rental to sale without starting over.
Want to know what your home is worth? Fill the property Valuation form below!
Talk through your options
You don’t have to decide alone, and you don’t have to decide today. Call Angie at 703-677-6902 or schedule a consultation.