Military Monday

Today I wanted to talk about finding a house in a new location. We all know that housing has a list of approved and non approved areas. But did you know that once you found a house you can call the local sheriff’s office and ask for recent activity in that area.
I also recommend calling local leasing agencies. When you rent from a person verses an agency you do not know what you are getting. If you lease through an agency then there is less guilt about calling when something is wrong.
When we were moving here, I found a ton of houses on line that were beautiful and in our price range. I looked forward to moving here. Then we got here and realized that those houses were in a bad area of town.
My other suggestion is if you have houses to rent use a leasing agency. The going rate is they receive 10%. That 10% is tax deductable. This is a benefit to you for several reasons. One it gives you a reason to go back to that town. Two, you do not have to worry about middle of the night calls about a leaky sink. The leasing agency has local repair companies they have worked with before and trust.
So my question to you is do you rent or own or live on post. We currently rent this home. We lived on post in Alabama and we owned a home in Kentucky.
On another note, I want to tell you about a wonderful company. Build a Sign.com. This fall they had a special on their banners. So I ordered a welcome home banner for my husband. I was beyond shocked at the quality when it came in. It was amazing. I knew it was water proof. I did not realize the print quality would be so amazing. I made sure I ordered it with words I could use for several deployments. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by buildasign.com and asked if I would do a review. I jumped on the chance. I also wrote back and said I could do the review even before receiving any product because of I knew of their quality.
I received a Jumbo card. I designed it myself (although they offered to help). Again I made sure that used wording that would be able to use again and again. The good thing about being a Warrant Officer is you will always be a Chief. This is a sign I will be able to take to all of our future welcome home ceremonies. Not only did they give me a jumbo card but they have given 50 of you a bumper sticker. This is not your normal give away. To receive one all you have to do is e-mail me your address to prmpetrie@yahoo.com. I have 50 and am willing to send all 50 out.
Not only am I offering a giveaway today but our host, Army Wives Live is offering a giveaway from Lifetime. How cool is that?
Pam