When close to 80 percent of your clients are affiliated with the military, either as active duty or retired service personnel, you develop a level of expertise that stands out.
Crystal Guthrie, the managing broker of our Alamogordo, New Mexico, office, has cultivated this expertise even further. All of her agents are required to complete the Military Relocation Professional Certification.
Crystal Guthrie
For most of the agents who are known in New Mexico as brokers, the course is just a refresher in military housing policies that they are already familiar with from when they themselves were serving in the military, married to an active serviceperson or grew up in a military family. The team focuses on the unique needs of military home buyers and sellers.
But having the knowledge and expertise to serve the Army and Air Force personnel who have been stationed at either the Army’s White Sands Missile Range or Holloman Air Force Base sometimes isn’t enough.
The lack of affordable housing in the market is a growing challenge, but Guthrie and her team aren’t letting that stop them. They are actively looking for ways to educate and counsel newly stationed clients on the options that best meet their needs.
Frequent deployments are just the beginning
Military clients have unique circumstances that can make being a homeowner difficult. For one, they are deployed on average every two to four years, which makes it hard to build much equity. Further, every time they move, they incur closing costs, which they don’t often get a chance to recoup through home equity.
In Alamogordo, a few additional components are at play. The first is that there are limited housing options in the preferred housing choices, which are typically two- to three-bedroom homes. Servicepeople receive a monthly allotment for housing, called a Basic Allowance for Housing or BAH.
The amount they receive in each market is based on the average cost of homes across several tiers. But because the sample size of homes is so small, the BAH is not enough to cover monthly rents or mortgage payments.
Another factor is that many of the people deployed to Alamogordo are here for training, often only six months to a year. This makes it difficult for people to rent, given that they may get redeployed before the end of the lease. This could leave roommates in a difficult position financially.
Additionally, there is not enough dorm space on base, so many servicepeople previously in dorms need to find housing off base. And finally, military personnel living off base must live within a certain distance of the base.
It’s a complicated puzzle with many interconnected parts that don’t often fit together harmoniously.
Assessing buyers comes with many nuances
That’s where Guthrie and her team come in. They work with their clients to determine their specific needs, their budget and their length of deployment. These factors help to narrow down options, which is especially helpful when time is of the essence.
There are a number of lenders that have programs specifically for military, including Veterans United, Homes for Heroes, USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union. Guthrie’s team is also very familiar with the VA loan process and can move transactions more quickly than agents less familiar with the process.
In addition, the VA has an assumable loan program, which allows new homeowners to assume the loan of the home they are buying. This can be especially favorable for people assuming the 2.5 percent interest rate that was available during COVID.
Just like in many markets across the country, lack of inventory is an issue. Currently, Guthrie estimates the market is short about 900 housing units for the military personnel coming to Alamogordo. Guthrie is involved with the Alamogordo City Commission, the Military Housing Authority and the DOD to get the BAH adjusted and to petition for more affordable housing development.
There have been discussions about an 80-140 unit apartment building, but it may not be affordable based on the local BAH. Another proposed apartment building can house about 400 people in dorm-like settings.
Each person rents their own bedroom in a suite-like setup with a living room, kitchen and bathrooms for use by all the suitemates. When one suitemate gets redeployed, their room is simply rented out again.
The proposed building would have common areas for recreation and laundry. The building plans are currently stalled, so until more housing becomes available, Guthrie and her team are thinking outside the box to solve problems.
When people get release from the dorms on base, they often go in on leasing a three- to four-bedroom home together. Everyone signs the lease, but if someone gets redeployed, the remaining tenants are responsible for the lease and paying the full rent.
Determining and deploying tailored solutions for military housing affordability
Nicole Bedgood, a broker in the Alamogordo office who spent 14 years working on the Air Force base managing the dorm housing, leverages her insider knowledge and connections to come up with innovative solutions.
Nicole Bedgood
When a client reached out to her asking for help in finding a roommate, she realized that she might be able to create a civilian version of a military subletting agreement. She is now researching the type of contract that would be used in this instance.
For military homeowners who are redeployed, BHGRE Steinborn & Associates offers property management services so servicepeople can continue to build equity while covering costs.
Another key differentiator for our BHGRE office is their active participation in the community. Members of the office attend nearly every event as a way of connecting with the community and fostering trust with their clients.
This, coupled with their extensive expertise and above-and-beyond mentality when it comes to serving our servicepeople, has elevated their reputation considerably, which is why they are consistently a market-leading office.
Bedgood sums it up: “We have all been in our clients’ shoes at one point or another. The fact that we can leverage our personal experience with our professional knowledge is deeply satisfying. Yes, we work very hard, but the payoff goes way beyond our compensation. It fuels our desire to constantly up our game.”
Amy Hummer is broker-owner at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Steinborn and Associates. Connect with her on LinkedIn and YouTube.
