{"id":24654,"date":"2018-04-30T19:46:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-30T19:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/30\/beat-pcs-stress-5-steps-to-plan-for-your-jam-packed-house-hunting-trip\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:23:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:23:32","slug":"beat-pcs-stress-5-steps-to-plan-for-your-jam-packed-house-hunting-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/home-hq\/2018\/04\/30\/beat-pcs-stress-5-steps-to-plan-for-your-jam-packed-house-hunting-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Beat PCS stress: 5 steps to plan for your jam-packed house-hunting trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Service members can get up to 10 days of permissive temporary duty designated to help them find a home at their new duty station. But that leave doesn\u2019t always line up with family, spouse and other commitments; often, military families on the move are packing their house-hunting duties into a few days, or less, at their new location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re in that spot, schedules don\u2019t permit the luxuries of more relaxed home searches. You\u2019ll need to line up a real estate agent<\/a>, but that\u2019s not enough: Here are five tips to maximize your brief visit to your new installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Settle the financials.<\/b> Don\u2019t leave without your pre-approval letter:<\/a> Not only will it give your agent a ballpark figure around which to schedule visits, it\u2019ll make it easy to make out an offer on the spot if you find the perfect property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a less-tangible, but still important, benefit that was pointed out by several Realtors to Home HQ: The letter shows you\u2019re serious. Agents are more likely to go the extra step (or two) for families ready to make a purchase than for those who are a few steps away from actually making an offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\t