Plan Your PCS Move Around the Home Decisions That Take the Longest

Write your report date at the bottom of one page, then work backward: when household goods are picked up, when you want to be out of your current home, and when you need housing at the new duty station. Home sales, rental set-up and loan approvals usually need the earliest start dates, so place them first.

Military OneSource and your installation's relocation and transportation offices can explain the move steps and shipment options that apply to your orders. Confirm those before booking movers or setting a closing date.

If you own, list the questions for each path: what a sale would net after costs, what renting it out would involve from a distance, and what keeping it empty would cost each month. Ask a real estate professional and your lender the same questions so the answers can be compared side by side.

If you rent, ask your installation legal assistance office how the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act applies to your lease. Eligible servicemembers may be able to end a residential lease after receiving PCS orders or deployment orders for at least 90 days. The 90-day threshold concerns deployment orders, not PCS orders. Written notice, supporting orders and effective-date rules matter; have the office review your paperwork before relying on a termination date.

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is based on local housing costs, pay grade and dependency status, so it can change with the move. Look up the official rate for the new duty station and compare it with the full monthly cost of a home you are considering: loan payment, taxes, insurance, any association fees and utilities.

Treat the allowance as one input, not a promise of what you can afford. A lender and your own budget decide the rest.

A Certificate of Eligibility (COE) confirms to your lender that you qualify for the VA home loan benefit. Many lenders can request it for you online; you can also request it yourself. Active-duty servicemembers usually need a signed statement of service. A COE is not a loan approval; the lender still reviews credit, income and other requirements.

Ask each lender how the VA appraisal and closing timeline fit your report date, what occupancy expectations apply, and which fees apply to your situation. Write the answers down so you can compare them.

Closings, inspections, repairs, key handoffs and final utility readings often happen after you have reported. Write down each task, who will cover it and how they can be reached, and keep copies of the important records with you.

If someone may need to sign for you, ask your installation legal assistance office whether a power of attorney is appropriate and what kind; title companies and lenders may have their own requirements.