PCS to Tinker, Fort Sill, Vance or Altus: A Home-Buying Checklist

The short version: Request your COE and get pre-approved with a lender who does VA loans every week as soon as your orders drop. Pick a town by measured drive time, price and house age, not by someone else's recommendation. Before you close, read your wind and hail deductible, plan a remote closing if you need one, and set your closing date from your report date with a buffer. File your homestead exemption by March 15.

Orders to Oklahoma? Start here.

I spent 26 years in the Air Force. I've made the PCS moves, bought on a deadline and sold from overseas. I served my last years at Tinker and retired as a Chief Master Sergeant out of Vance.

This is the checklist I wish someone had handed me. It runs in order, from the day your orders drop to the day you get the keys. Most of it applies at any base. The Oklahoma parts are the ones people from out of state don't see coming.

Step 1: The week your orders drop

• Get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE). You can request it on VA.gov, or your lender can pull it in minutes.
• Get pre-approved with a lender who closes VA loans every week. Not once a year. VA files have their own appraisal and paperwork, and an inexperienced lender is how closings slip past report dates.
• Know your funding fee. VA charges a one-time funding fee. How much depends on whether you've used your VA loan before and how much you put down. It's waived if you receive VA disability compensation, and it can be rolled into the loan. (VA's current funding fee table)
• Look up your BAH. Use the DoD BAH calculator for your new duty station, rank and dependency status. Your BAH is a budget number, not a target. Your lender decides what you qualify for.
• Call the base housing office. Ask about on-base housing wait times, even if you plan to buy. It's your fallback if a closing runs late.
• Call me before you pick a town. Most families arrive already holding a recommendation from someone who's never lived here. I'll give you the facts behind it: drive time, price, housing age, utilities.

Step 2: Pick where to look by the facts

The question isn't "what's the best town." It's what each place costs you in drive time, price, house age and upkeep. Those are things you can measure.

• Drive time at your shift start. I checked live Google Maps drive times from each town near Tinker AFB to the main gate on a Tuesday morning in September, at rush hour. Midwest City and Del City: 6 minutes. Moore: 19. Edmond and Yukon: both 27. Norman: 29. Piedmont: 37, and the fastest route has a toll.
• Know the communities around each base. Tinker: the Oklahoma City metro. Fort Sill: Lawton, Elgin, Cache and Medicine Park. Vance: Enid and the surrounding area. Altus: Altus and the rural area around it.
• Your address doesn't lock your school district. Oklahoma's open transfer law lets students request a transfer to any public school district, any time of year. A district can turn a transfer down if that grade is full, but not for a military-connected student whose parent has orders for a transfer of more than 30 days. Look up any district on the Oklahoma School Report Cards and read the numbers yourself.
• Check the age of the housing. Construction eras vary a lot from town to town around each base. Older and newer homes both have their place, but they cost different amounts to maintain. Look at the year built on every listing.
• Ask what utilities the property has. City water and sewer, or a well and septic? Natural gas or propane? On rural property, these change your monthly costs and what to inspect.

Buyers are encouraged to research and decide which community best fits their needs.

Step 3: Buying before you get here

Many military buyers are still at their last duty station when they make an offer. That's normal, and it works if you set it up right.

• Get video walkthroughs, not just photos. Ask your agent to walk every room live and show you what the listing photos leave out: the street, the backyard, the neighbor's fence line. I've had clients buy without ever touring in person because the updates were thorough.
• Order a home inspection, separate from the appraisal. The VA appraisal checks value and basic condition. It is not an inspection. Pay for a full inspection, and on rural property add a well test and a septic inspection.
• Plan the closing early. If you can't be here, talk to your lender and title company in the first week about a power of attorney or a mail-away closing. Requirements vary. Finding out at the end costs days you don't have.
• Know the occupancy rule. A VA loan requires you to move in within a reasonable time, generally 60 days after closing. If you're deployed or on temporary assignment, your spouse can meet that requirement. If something about your timing is unusual, raise it with your lender before you're under contract.

Step 4: The Oklahoma parts nobody mentions

• Read the wind and hail deductible before you bind insurance. Most Oklahoma policies carry a separate wind and hail deductible, often a percentage of your dwelling coverage instead of a flat amount. At 2% on a $300,000 home, you pay the first $6,000 of a hail claim. Get insurance quotes during your option period, not the week of closing.
• Ask about the roof's age and material. Hail replaces roofs here on a schedule. A newer roof, or an impact-rated one, shows up in your insurance quote.
• Ask whether the home has a storm shelter or safe room. If it doesn't, find out what adding one would cost.
• Know Moore's building code. Since 2014, Moore has required new homes to be built to a 135 mph wind standard. It's the only city in Oklahoma that does.
• File your homestead exemption. If Oklahoma is your legal residence, it lowers your property tax. File with the county assessor by March 15 for that tax year. If you keep legal residence in another state, ask the assessor whether you qualify.
• If you're rated 100% permanent and total by the VA, you may owe no property tax on your primary home. File OTC Form 998 with the county assessor. 100% disabled veterans can also apply for a state sales tax exemption. (Oklahoma Tax Commission)
• Retiring here? Since tax year 2022, Oklahoma exempts military retirement pay from state income tax.

Step 5: Line up the move with the closing

• Use your Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE). For a move between two stateside duty stations, TLE covers up to 21 days of lodging and meals. You can split those days between your old and new stations. Keep every receipt. (DoD TLE rates)
• Set the closing date from your report date, then add room. In my experience, VA closings usually run 30 to 45 days. Build in a buffer so a late appraisal doesn't leave your family in a hotel past your TLE days.
• Coordinate household goods delivery. Schedule delivery for after closing, or arrange storage in transit. A truck with nowhere to unload costs you money.
• Do the final walkthrough. If you can't be here, have your agent do it on live video. Check that every repair you negotiated is done.

Questions? Ask before you sign anything.

I'm happy to walk through your situation, even if you're months out and just have orders. Straight answers, no runaround.

Selling a home in Oklahoma before you PCS out? Start with a free home valuation.

Call or text (405) 451-1411 or email mikejones@mjonesrealtygp.com.

Mike Jones | Realtor | MJones Realty Group | Real Broker LLC | License #205560
Brokerage: Real Broker LLC, (405) 400-1611

Equal Housing Opportunity. This post is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Confirm loan details with your lender and tax details with a tax professional.