Living on base?

[justgamma]

My daughter just called, said they are going to look for places off base to live. Apparently the Air Force is privatizing the housing on base. That means they will be paying about $150.00 more out of their pocket a month. They can't afford it. Guess that's what you get when you turn things over to private for profit companies.

[Ezlivin]

1. Their goal is to strip the armed forces of all power

The rapid pace at which elements of the armed forces are being privatized is alarming.

When my wife and I were stationed at Pearl Harbor, we applied for housing. Apartments in Honolulu were damned expensive and her BAQ and my Hazardous Duty Pay (submarines) still didn't amount to enough.

We ended up in a new Army housing area in Aiea. It was nice; we got a four-bedroom, two bath house. It seemed huge to us (with two pieces of furniture and no children).

I'd been sleeping in the barracks (as would my wife) if it weren't for housing.

This is very sad news.

[Cleopatra2a]

2. Our AF base housing is privatizing also,

but I am not moving. We will have to start paying for our utilities, but they will give you the money to pay them. You will just be the middle man for the payment. Anyway if you had a neighbor like mine that waters every day, even after it rains, this can be a good idea. How did she come up with the 150.00 dollar figure??

[justgamma]

5. I think she said that

the utilities would be out of pocket. Maybe she got it wrong. She must have estimated what they would be. They are at Lackland.
Where are you?

[Cleopatra2a]

6. I'm in Oklahoma

I used to be at Kelly, right next to Lackland. They just built new housing there didn't they? I like San Antonio, but would never want to live in the city, too much traffic. My base is under the same command - AETC, they are privatizing everything.

[HawkerHurricane]

3. That's not how it's supposed to work...

The 'privatized housing' was supposed to charge exactly what the government gave you in your 'housing allowance'... so you didn't lose a dime (although if you could find cheaper housing, you could pocket the difference).

I need more information, this ain't right... and if true, I'm calling congressmen. Robbing servicemen in time of war is wrong twice.

[Cleopatra2a]

4. I doesn't sound right to me either.

At our location they did raise the off-base housing allowance, so maybe she means she can actually make some money living off base. A lot of military married to military do this. They would each get the single housing rate, and if they had 2 kids, each could claim 1 dependent and each would get the dependent rate.

It is too convenient for me to move. I live 2 blocks from the commissary and BX/gas station. I drive maybe 2 miles to work.

[Herkdrvr]

7. Privatized housing shouldn't cost anything out of pocket

Privatized housing is supposed to charge whatever your BAH is. They are starting to charge for utilities, but people living in those units will get a utilities allowance. So as long as they don't abuse their light bill, that should be covered too.

The purpose of privatized housing isn't to totally replace all base housing, but provide more housing than the traditional base housing does.

[MADem]

8. Here is how they are handling it at Hanscom, FYI

http://www.hanscom.af.mil/hansconian/Articles/2003Arts/12052003-FAQ.htm

[BamaGirl]

9. My understanding of the way it is happening in

the Army is that they figure the "average" utility cost on post and meter your quarters. If you are over the "average" then you pay the difference. Now, the problem with that in my book is that, here at least, they have seriously overvalued what quarters would be "worth" off post. Our housing pay went up, but it is nowhere near what it costs to live off post. Ole Rummy has made it abundantly clear that he has no use for military families. He just figured out a way to screw you all the way around.

[DistantWind88]

10. HUH?

"they have seriously overvalued what quarters would be "worth" off post. Our housing pay went up, but it is nowhere near what it costs to live off post."

Have they overvalued or undervalued?

[BamaGirl]

11. They try to confuse you lol

I can only address Army housing, btw. The Army puts a "value" on quarters that supposedly tells you how much you'd pay to rent the same thing off post. In our area that value is about $200 more than most local rent. That's immediately around post. A pretty large area is included in the hp area, and where I live costs much more than around post. Housing pay is based on pay grade and is taken from an average of the rents reported by surveys of military personnel in a given area. So what happens is, your housing pay is lousy so you rent a crappy little place so you can manage the rent, and the housing allowances are artificially kept low. Housing pay is supposed to cover a certain percentage of off post expenses (I don't remember the number), but that is supposed to gradually be increased so that in a few years it's close to 100%. As it stands for example, the Army says the quarters on post for my husband's pay grade are worth $850-900/mo, but housing pay for his grade is only about $550/mo. Reality is somewhere in the middle of these numbers. And of course, off post we pay utilities. So anyway, the on post "average" is overvalued and the off post reality is undervalued. None of this takes into consideration the condition of post housing either, which should affect value. If the Army was forced to factor that in, their post numbers would have to come way down. Sorry I wasn't more clear on this.