Military Relocation
PCSing to Joint Base San Antonio?
Most relocation pages hand you a list of neighborhoods. This one covers the two Texas benefits that are worth more than any neighborhood guide, and where people actually live relative to each installation.
Where people live, by installation
San Antonio's three installations sit in three different parts of a large metro, and the commute is the thing new arrivals underestimate. Loop 410 and Loop 1604 both back up hard at peak, and the I-35 corridor northeast is its own problem.
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, central and northeast. Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Windcrest, Live Oak, Converse, and Schertz all put you within a reasonable drive. Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills carry a significant price premium and their own school district.
JBSA Randolph, in Universal City on the northeast side. Schertz, Cibolo, Garden Ridge, Selma, and Universal City itself. This is where a lot of newer inventory sits, and much of it is inside a MUD, which changes the tax rate.
JBSA Lackland, southwest. The southwest side, Alamo Ranch, and parts of Helotes. Living on the north side and commuting to Lackland is a decision people regret in year two.
The disabled veteran homestead exemption
This is the largest housing benefit in Texas and it has nothing to do with your loan.
A veteran with a 100% service-connected disability rating from the VA, or a determination of individual unemployability, is exempt from property tax on the total appraised value of their residence homestead. Not a discount. The whole thing.
In a state with no income tax and correspondingly high property taxes, that changes what you can afford more than any interest rate will. Veterans with ratings below 100% may qualify for a partial exemption under a separate section of the Tax Code.
A surviving spouse who has not remarried can continue the exemption on that homestead. If they move, the exemption carries at the dollar amount from the last year on the former home, which can mean partial rather than full coverage on the new one.
Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Apply through the Bexar Appraisal District. Confirm your own eligibility with them directly.
The Texas Vet loan is not the VA loan
The Texas Veterans Land Board runs the Veterans Housing Assistance Program, a state program that is separate from the federal VA loan and frequently missed by people who assume they are the same thing.
- Competitive below-market fixed rate, with 15, 20, 25, and 30 year terms
- Loan amounts up to $832,750 as published by the Texas General Land Office. The cap is adjusted periodically, so check the current figure
- A further rate discount for veterans with a VA disability rating of 30% or greater
- Texas residency required, primary residence in Texas only
- No refinancing of an existing loan
Eligibility runs to active duty, Texas National Guard, reserve component members with 20 or more qualifying years, and veterans with 90 or more active duty days, with an honorable, general, or medical discharge.
PCS season is the market
Activity concentrates from roughly May through August. More inventory comes on, and more buyers compete for it. If your report date lands in that window you are moving with everyone else. If it lands in the winter you have less to choose from and less competition, which is often the better trade.
Buy, or rent, on a three year assignment
The honest answer is that it depends on whether you would keep it.
Buying and selling inside three years frequently does not clear the transaction costs on both ends. Buying and keeping it as a rental when you PCS out is a different calculation entirely, and San Antonio's rental demand near the installations is steady for exactly the reason you are reading this page.
That is a real conversation with real numbers, not a slogan. We will run it with you either way.
You cannot look up what the neighbors paid
Texas is a non-disclosure state. Sale prices are not public record, so you cannot verify a price from out of state before you arrive. Zillow shows estimates, not closings. Ask to see the actual comparable sales, and ask which ones were rejected.
A VA appraisal is not a conventional appraisal
It carries minimum property requirements a conventional appraisal does not, and on an older home those can surface repairs that have to be resolved before closing. Build it into the timeline rather than discovering it two weeks out from your report date.
Tell us what you need
Send your report date, your installation, and your price range, and we will come back with neighborhoods that fit the commute and the budget. If you are out of state and cannot get here first, say so, because that changes how we work the search.
