Marlene Scheffer, Realtor to Kitsap County, WA

Let me ask you this:

If your financial advisor suggested you buy a certain stock and the company tanked, costing you tens of thousands of dollars, would you keep asking the same financial advisor for his advice? What if your financial advisor declared personal bankruptcy? Would you rush to purchase the next stock he recommended?

Let's say you had your car in the shop getting the brakes changed. The day after the new brakes were installed, your new brakes failed and you almost hit a mack truck head-on. Would you take your car back to the same mechanic for new brakes?

So why would you use a real estate agent that has screwed up for you already?

Twice in the last week, I have had people tell me that even though they aren't happy with their Kitsap County real estate agent, they don't want to switch. One is afraid to switch because we they are afraid they will get a 'reputation'. Seriously?

The other put an offer on a home in Bremerton and found out after acceptance that it was a short sale and would need bank approval. Rather than putting it in writing and adding verbiage that no deadlines would begin until lender approval was received, the agent had them go ahead and deposit earnest money and had the inspection done. The deal fell apart.

The buyers spent $400 for an inspection on a Bremerton home that they could not buy, since they did not yet have bank-approval. Most experienced agents know that short sales work less than half the time. But these clients aren't switching real estate agents because their agent has spent "so much time" with them. Yeah, and she's cost them $400 already, with nothing to show for it.

Buying a home is the single biggest one-time investment most people will make in their lifetimes. Who do you want advising you on this investment?

Find a Kitsap County real estate agent you can trust! Find one who demonstrates competence, knowledge, and experience. Find one who knows the Kitsap County and Bremerton areas, and who has experience in your price range and with the type of home you wish to purchase. Find one that takes personal responsibility for you and your investment.

For a list of questions to ask before choosing a Bremerton Realtor, give me a call or shoot me an email. Know what you are getting into when you sign a contract with a Kitsap County real estate agent!

What? They didn't have you sign a contract? Oh, dear! We'll talk about that later.....

For more advice on buying a home in Kitsap County and Bremerton, click here.

"We want to buy a house, and we're probably going to use our VA loan. Can you tell us how much we can afford? We'd like to keep our payments below our BAH."

I can't tell you how many times I have heard young military couples (and a few singles) tell me this. It's a good goal, but I have to tell you that, depending on your expectations for a home, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish this goal. Don't get me wrong, it does happen, but it usually takes some re-prioritizing and perhaps settling a little.

Allow me to explain.....

The Basic Allowance for Housing was put in place to pay rent for military service members who either can not or choose not to live in military housing. That's right, I said rent. BAH was not designed to allow military personnel to purchase a home without taking any money out of their regular pay.

Also, different paygrades are given enough BAH to rent a home that is specific to the lifestyle that the military imagines that particular paygrade to have. For example, an E-3 with dependents are given enough to rent a two-bedroom apartment. An E-5 with dependents is given enough to rent a two or three bedroom townhouse. An E-7 should get enough to rent a single family home.

The same generalization applies to Officers and Warrant Officers too. The lower paygrades will have enough to rent attached family homes, while the higher paygrades will have enough to rent a single family home.

And remember, that is to rent a house, not to buy. Right now in Kitsap County, you can rent more house than you can buy for the same amount of money. In other words, you can afford to rent a nicer house than you can afford to buy.

With all that said, if you expect to buy a house and not pay more than your BAH, you will not be buying your dream home right away. Compromises will have to be made. And yes, you will probably end up taking money out of your pocket, as it were.

It all depends on what you are looking for, and what you can give up and what you absolutely can't live without.

Sit down with your lender and your real estate agent and decide what you are willing and able to pay, and what you expect to get for the money. Do this before you start looking at houses - it will save you a lot of heartache.

The good news is that BAH rates went up for every paygrade in Kitsap County in 2008. The bad news? Well, it didn't go up much for some paygrades.

For enlisted with dependents, BAH went up an average of 10%. Officers with dependents saw an average increase of about 12%. Don't get too excited, though. One paygrade saw an increase of less than 1%.

Check the chart below for the 2008 BAH rates.

2008 BAH for Enlisted with Dependents

2008 BAH for Officers with Dependents

The increase in BAH indicates that the military and the government expects rental rates to increase in 2008. To balance that, most real estate agents in the area expect home prices to continue to drop a little bit in 2008. That means that purchasing a house rather than renting makes more sense now than ever before. Now is the perfect time to buy a home!

Remember, you should expect to supplement your mortgage a little from your regular pay.