my husband & i currently live in a townhouse out in town & were wondering if its worth moving into base housing? i've heard its not worth it since bah would be taken away..what all do you have to pay for & which houses should i consider? 

All the BAH is taken, but you don't have water or elect bills 

If you're paying out of pocket to cover your rent and utilities now then it may be worth it to move on base. 

yeah. we are paying rent & utilities. but my husband says we would make crap if his bah was taken away. so i don't know whats best. i saw some of the houses online & they look really nice. especially the ones in slocum & binder oaks (i think thats what its called) 

Does his BAH cover all your expenses? Rent and water and electric, trash pick up, etc? 

yes. 

Then sounds like you'd break even. The risk of moving on base is that you may get a smaller house and still be out the same amount of money. Plus moving expenses, fees for transferring phone and cable services. It could add up. 

grr. alright. thank you for your help. 

yeah if u are breaking even it might not be worth it. We live in binder oaks and i love my house. 

thats where i am trying to convince my husband to move to. from the pictures ive seen online, it looks really nice. my main reason for moving is i need more space. another reason why i want to move is because i know no one around here. i've been here for about a year & i know like five people. 

Yeah my house is big but i have a 4 bedroom(dont know how i managed that one since i have one kid) but there are still a bunch that are being renovated. The only down side of the house is you have to fence your own yard if u want one. 

yeah. ive tried looking for apartments or houses for rent but everything that i need in a place is either taken or costs too much. so im stuck in this itty bitty town house out in town. i feel like im suffocating! i just need a 3 bedroom place..im doing my damnest to talk some sense into my husband. i just wish i knew what he would be making if bah were taken away. i need an estimate. 

take the ammount u make a paycheck and subtract what they give u for bah. I couldnt tell u exactly since bah is on rank. that will be how much ur paycheck is. Then all u have to pay for on base is ur internet, tv and if u want a house phone(we got magic jack since our cell phones dont seem to work in our house) 

wow. thats it? just internet & tv? because right now, we are paying $88 for both. it would be nice to not pay for rent, water & electric. 

yeah u dont pay rent, water, electric, trash etc. Housing takes all ur bah and that is what pays for your house. Just internet and tv. I wish we only paid 88 for tv! we paid like 89 back in arizona and then now here with time warner its like 120! 

we have time warner..but we got the basic crap. im ready for an upgrade because there is never anything on tv. 

yeah we have i guess the basic plus dvr and then internet. but on the bah thing u will have to look up how much bah u are making now then divide it by 2 and take that number and subtract it from what his paychecks are now and that is what you will be making on base. So say you make like 1500 every 2 wks with BAH and ur bah a month is 1000, then your paycheck every 2 wks would be 1000. not sure if that was confusing lol 

Look at his LES. Subtract what they pay you for BAH. Then take that number and divide it in half and that's what you'll make each paycheck. Also, Binder oaks is only for E-5 and below so if your hubby is staff and above you'd be in Nugent Cove or Grant's Landing. 

ok. thanks for all the help. 

no problem :) 

Yeah my house is big but i have a 4 bedroom L's Mommy -which housing do you reside in? Just curious because we need at least a four bedroom house too. 

We're also in a 4 bedroom in Binder Oaks. Totally love it. Plenty of room inside and if you're lucky enough to get an end unit you can have a pretty good sized yard too. 

We live in Binder Oaks. 

if my husband wasnt so hard headed, im sure we would have been in there already. im gonna have to talk some sense into this guy when he gets home from work. 

You can also throw in there that its somewhat safer to live on base when he deploys and that its closer to work. 

Thanks ladies! 

I'm not sure what your bills are compared to BAH, but you guys might actually be making money living out in town and that is what your hubby is referring too. His LES will tell you how much his base and BAH pays are. Add up the bills that you have that BAH covers in housing (rent, electricity, water, trash, lawn care) and see where that leaves you. Plus, do you have kids? If not, depending on your hubby's rank, you may only qualify for a 2 bedroom (isn't Lawson 2 bedroom?) There are a lot of things to take into consideration. I have friends that are making money living out in town, and others who are losing money by having to pay out of pocket. 

We're better off on base cuz we have a large family. 

We are too. 

BAH for Enlisted for Cherry Point w/ dependents is: E1- E4 - $1098.00 E5 - $1182.00 E6 - $1410.00 E7 - $1497.00 E8 - $1590.00 E9 - $1671.00 So if your husband is an E4 & you're paying $700.00 to live out in town, paying $100.00 for electric, and $60.00 for water = you are making money.