Photo By Sgt. Eric Glassey | A snowman keeps watch over the neighborhood in Iroquois Village on Fort Carson, Feb....... read more read more
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FORT CARSON, Colo. - Permanent change of station orders comes across a soldier’s desk with an assignment to Fort Carson, Colo., “the best hometown in the Army,” and now he must find a new place for him and his family to live.
The Fort Carson Housing Services Office is ready to assist, educate and inform soldiers faced with making the choice to live on or off post.
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Dean Quaranta, chief of housing, HSO, often advises young soldiers to live on-post for the benefits of easy access to nearby services.
Convenience is a benefit of living on post, Quaranta said.
“Gas is getting more and more expensive,” he said. “If you live off post you have to build that into your budget. A lot of times, if a family only has one car, it makes it convenient for the Family to get around and do things. There is the commissary, PX, and child care, a lot of convenience of living on post.”
The benefits are not limited to the convenience of easy access to on-post amenities, but financial security and quality of price as well.
“Once they crunch the numbers, they realize that living on post is a lot more affordable than off post,” Quaranta said. “There are no deposits, no fees. I’ve also crunched the numbers and the typical family can save several hundred dollars per month living on post. These homes are nice and are well kept. They’re large, and when I say that they’re more affordable than living off post, especially the three- and four-bedroom homes, you get a lot of house for the money.”
In the 1990s, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act which transitioned military housing from the Army to private companies.
“One of the beauties of what is called housing privatization is that nobody has to live on post,” Quaranta said. “They can live off post if they want to, it’s totally their decision. We’ve been pleased by Balfour Beatty and they’ve been good partners.”
The MHPI was started to help Soldiers live in affordable, quality housing which was an issue in the 1980s.
The housing was completely Army owned in the 1980s, Quaranta said. “Why did we go to privatized housing? The decision makers, Congress, realized that the Army has certain core competencies and housing wasn’t one of them. They realized that there are companies that specialize in managing housing and building housing. So Balfour Beatty does two things. They manage the housing inventory and build all the new housing.”
Balfour Beatty began work in Aug. 2012 on the construction of 200 new units, which will be complete by April 2013, said Brande Johnson, leasing specialist, Balfour Beatty.
“It also works to the soldiers’ benefit,” Quaranta said. “It gives Balfour Beatty an incentive to keep the homes occupied by keeping the soldiers and their families happy.”
Just because there is on-post housing, doesn’t limit the soldiers’ choices on where to live. The Fort Carson Housing Office is staffed with volunteer realtors to assist soldiers in finding a home based on their families’ needs and wants. Retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Charles Douglas, a licensed realtor with the state of Colorado and member of the Pikes Peaks Association of Realtors, volunteers at the housing office to help soldiers house hunt and provides advice from his own experiences.
“I’ve lived on post or base myself,” Douglas said. “I didn’t have a problem with either one. The pros of living off post are if you are looking to buy a home, you could, and you could build the equity. On post, you wouldn’t have to pay utilities and it would save you money. Plus, you’ll be closer to work.”
Various factors such as schools, local activities, services, and work come into play when deciding to choose a home off post.
“I would think they would need to know what types of schools are in the area, and they would need to check those out for themselves,” Douglas said. “Or, if they’re looking towards going to college, both the 2-year, 4-year, and the graduate degree colleges, they should check them out for themselves.”
If a soldier decides to live off post, he has additional choices to make, to buy or rent.
“I don’t think one is better than the other, it’s what the individual wants and I’m here to help the individuals,” Douglas said. “If they want to rent; I’m here for that. If they want to buy; I’ll focus on that as well.
“I would think that you would want to stay in it for more than two or three years,” Douglas added. “You’re not going to go make any money if you’re going to sell it shortly. The chances of making money, the chances of breaking even or making money are better if you stay in it longer.”
Deciding where to live is a financial decision that should be weighed using education and research, said Quaranta.
“An educated consumer makes better choices,” Quaranta said. “They [soldiers] can go to the Housing Services Office. They’re here 40 hours of the week and they offer their services for free. They want to help soldiers.
“If you’re informed, and schools are important to you, if neighborhoods and libraries are important to you, then our guys downstairs in the housing services department can help them,” Quaranta said. “Every family has individual needs, and we’ll learn what your needs are. We just want to help people make informed decisions.”
To reserve on-post housing or to find out how long the waiting list is, call Balfour Beatty at (719) 526-1606. Waiting lists vary for on-post housing depending on rank and Family size. Fort Carson Housing Service Office is at 7301 Woodfill Road, Room 104 or can be reached by calling, (719) 526-2323.
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2013 16:16 |
| Story ID: | 102948 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, CO, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Soldiers’ money, choice for housing, by SGT Eric Glassey, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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