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Phil Sharp: Fort Lewis Area Home Buyers Representative

Not everyone understands the unique circumstances of a military move, or the urgency that military families face due to pending deployments, schools, and duty requirements. Since my retirement from the U.S. Army in 2004, I have continued my service to soldiers, airmen, and their families making the move to Fort Lewis and McChord AFB.

I entered the real estate business as an investor while I was in the Army. I purchased homes at all of our stateside duty stations, and several after my PCS to Ft. Lewis. These homes, now rental properties, are a major part of my retirement plan.

I have combined my years as a licenced real estate broker, my experiences investing, and my military experience to form a business specifically designed to support military home buyers and sellers. I understand what makes your situation unique and use that knowledge to create a personalized plan to help you with your relocation. You can expect attentiveness to your needs, communication that suits your expectations, and relevant information that is helpful and up to date.

As you begin your search, and begin to familiarize with the area, take advantage of my website with it's extensive information and tools specially designed for the military and military families. As you get closer to your report date, be sure to contact us to coordinate your house hunting and move. Myself, our relocation sponsor Gina, and our listing and transaction manager Stephanie will do everything we can to make your move a good one.

Respectfully,

Phil Sharp,

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Are You PCS'ing to Joint Base Lewis-McChord Washington?

Joint Base Lewis McChord Wa Real Estate information and homes for sale. Need information about what to expect when you PCS to Ft. Lewis Wa? I offer real estate education and information to the Soldiers and Airmen Stationed in western Washington.

JBLM BAH Rates: JBLM, Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB BAH rates; The Tacoma WA BAH rate is the BAH rate used for all personnel assigned to JBLM.

Ft. Lewis Housing: Fort Lewis Washington Housing information is available on this website. For the Ft. Lewis Housing Office serving all of JBLM, please visit the Ft. Lewis website or call housing directly at 253-912-2150.

Your PCS to Ft. Lewis Washington: Information about your PCS to Ft. Lewis is available here, and on my blog, the Lewis McChord Real Estate Guide.

Fort Lewis Washington Home Buyer Education and Representation

Fort Lewis Homes for Sale website offers First time (and second time) home buyer education, both on and off line. If you are a first time home buyer or if you would like to brush up on the home buying process specific to Washington, please check out our home buyer webinars, as well as dozens of pages of information available in the Buyers Tool Box.

If you are PCS'ing/relocating to Fort Lewis, and are curious about off post housing options, this website offers access to the local Multiple Listing Service, featuring homes for sale and for rent. The MLS covers all of Washington, and I have set up many "custom" searches for the ft. Lewis area. If you would like to us to create a custom search link that will integrate with the MLS, using your criteria, at the click of a button just call Phil or Steph.

As you have probably figured out, my name is Phil Sharp, and I am a real estate broker and owner of Phil Sharp Homes. I offer personal service from my self and my staff, and want to assure you that my services are personalized. I am the only "Realtor" in the office, and I will not "pass you off" to someone else.

I work the perimeter of Joint Base Lewis McChord, to include Tacoma, Puyallup, Spanaway, Graham, Roy, Yelm, Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater Washington. I also frequently respresent home buyers and sellers of rural properties in rural Thurston and Pierce Counties.

Why Purchase a Home During Your Assignment to Ft. Lewis

The Perfect Storm (in a good way) for Military Home Buyers
Going into Winter 2011/2012

Fort Lewis area home buyers are enjoying a number of factors that make purchasing a home more economical than ever. Payments on new homes are often less than rent (due to incredibly low interest rates), little or no cash required to move in (cash out of pocket is often less than a rental deposit), and most important of all….You Own the Home.

BAH rates at Fort Lewis start at approximately $1200 per month (E-1 w/dep). Rental price for a typical, newer, 1500 square foot 3bed/2 bath home are $1100-$1400. Rental rates for post housing = your BAH rate. The same home (the rental), located within 30 minutes of Ft. Lewis, sells for approx $200K.

At the time that I write this, home buyers using their VA loan guarantee are being quoted interest rates of 4-4.25%. The payment on a $200K home, including principle, interest, taxes and insurance, would range from $1100-1300 per month. You can own a brand new home for less per month than you can rent it for.

Back to VA home loans….They are Zero down! VA loans are guaranteed by the VA, they are not actually loans by the VA. Because the VA is guaranteeing (actually a portion) of the loan, the risk to the lender is reduced. Because of this, VA loans are one of only a few zero down mortgage loans still in existence. Conventional home buyers are being required to pay 10-20% down, which many simply can’t do.

The opportunities that are currently available to service members will probably not happen again for many years, if ever. The combination of buyer incentives, VA loan programs, and a depressed real estate market are presenting great opportunities for all home buyers.

Fort Lewis WA Information and Directory

PCS to Ft. Lewis, Ft. Lewis Information and Directory

Fort lewis real estate and homes for sale in the communities surrounding Ft. Lewis and JBLM WA. If you are PCS’ing to Ft. Lewis in the near future and are interested in purchasing home in the Fort Lewis area, you will find that the housing market is great for home buyers. Fort Lewis BAH rates allow for soldiers assigned to Ft. Lewis to own a home for less than rent, and less than quarters.

Fort Lewis area BAH Rates

As part of your PCS to Ft. Lewis, you may wish to check in with the Ft Lewis housing office for the availability of housing or “quarters”.…If you need to find out the BAH rate for your pay grade, follow this link to a Ft. Lewis and Tacoma Wa BAH chart. BAH for the JBLM (Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB) area is based on the Tacoma zip code 98433.

Fort Lewis WA Housing Office

If you are PCS’ing and wish to contact the Fort Lewis Housing office, located in the Waller Hall Central In and Out Processing Facility. The phone number to the Ft. Lewis Housing Office is 253-912-2150 . Housing at Ft. Lewis is currently managed by a private contractor, rents equal your BAH rate, and a lease is required. Numerous new and existing family housing units exist at Fort Lewis, with the goal being to have approximately 5000 individual housing units available by 2012.

Are You Selling Your Home in the Fort Lewis area?

If you are looking to sell your home in the Ft. Lewis area, I offer what I believe is the best exposure to the military housing market at Ft. Lewis. If you are considering listing your home for sale, and it is within 30 minutes of Ft. Lewis, I would like to list and sell it for you. If you are interesed in selling your home, and would like a Market Analysis of your home to determine it's value, you can reach me thru this website, or by calling directly at 360-970-9977.