Blog Posts by Guest Author

Living life as a military family, with 8 moves in 18 years, priorities in mylife has scattered in many different directions and are constantly changing. Getting orders can be an exciting, excruciating, and/or exhilaratingly emotional time for you and your family and the feelings can shift from one moment to the next. There is always going to be the bitterness of saying goodbye and the nervousness of saying hello to friends, neighbors and communities. In this unpredictable world that the military has created for us, I have always strived to find and hold on to my constant. I have cherished the... read more

Military Online Rentals - Renting Online The term “slum lords” is typically used for poorly run management groups, which often have expensive rents and low quality housing. We like to think these companies don’t exist, but unfortunately they do exist and usually prey on military families. To help you avoid this nightmare, I have put together a few tips on how to find military rentals online. In our last two moves, we were looking to rent and both times we did not do a house hunting trip. It wasn’t feasible and we didn’t have the time. Here is what I did, where I looked, and how I started my o... read more

Off Base Housing near Quantico One of the most stressful things for new couples moving to Quantico for TBS is finding a place to live. Often, this move is the first real move after college and can be extremely intimidating. Distance from base, safety of area , and cost are just a couple of the unknowns that can make an already stressful situation seem even more overwhelming. Luckily there are several great options in the area, filled with dozens of lieutenants and their families who went through the same search. The first and most important factor to consider is distance from the base . Durin... read more

Some things are just so hard to capture if you haven't experienced them. Like the commute North on th e George Washington Parkway in the mornings. This morning, I was barreling down the parkway to my office to blow up balloons for an Open House. There was a huge blanket of fog over the river and hundreds HUNDREDS of ducks sitting peacefully by the shoreline. I had to slow down to take it all in an amazing sight to behold. There was a photographer with a tripod trying to capture the scene and runners and walkers and bikers slowing down like me. If you live in the Mount Vernon or Fort Hunt area... read more

Many real estate listings frequently contain language about the property beingsold in “as-is” condition. Sometimes it is hidden in the bowels of the listing – where only realtors know to look – and it states “as-is addendum required. ” #1 Know the Definition of Buying a Home 'As Is" There is a lot of confusion about what this really means.Does it mean “ what you see is what you get !” or does it mean that the seller will make no warranties and no repairs . BOTH ! Unfortunately, many people misunderstand the term to mean the property is in need of significant repair- which is not necessarily t... read more