Buying in San Antonio When You Might PCS in Three Years: Plan the Exit Before You Buy

Start with the monthly comparison, in writing

The first column is the full cost of owning: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and a realistic allowance for maintenance. The second column is the rent for an equivalent home in the same area. The gap between them, positive or negative, is the cost of owning each month.

These are estimates, not guarantees. Payments change with rates, taxes change with assessments, and rent changes with the market. The point of the comparison is direction: how much does ownership cost per month over what renting would?

Budget the exit costs before you buy

Selling costs money: agent commissions, title and closing costs, repairs, and often seller concessions to the buyer. As a rule of thumb for planning only, selling costs in many Texas markets often run in the mid-single digits as a percentage of the sale price, though the actual figure depends on the specific terms of the sale.

For example, on a $300,000 sale, a 6 percent combined estimate would be about $18,000 before any repairs or concessions. That kind of number belongs in the upfront comparison, because the exit costs have to be recovered by appreciation or principal paydown for the purchase to break even on a short timeline.

When holding makes sense

Holding can make sense when the monthly ownership cost is close to or below local rent, when the home is expected to appreciate enough to cover the exit costs, or when the plan is to keep the home as a rental after the PCS rather than sell. Each condition has to be stated as a question, not an assumption.

The other holder-friendly case is stability: a fixed-rate mortgage payment that does not inflate over the tour, against rent that can. That stability has value, even when the rent-versus-own gap is small.

When it does not

Buying becomes harder to justify on a short timeline when the monthly gap is large, when the market is flat enough that appreciation cannot recover selling costs, or when the household would need to sell at a fixed date regardless of conditions. A forced sale on a deadline is the most expensive kind.

The honest version of the decision requires looking at the current data for the actual area: recent sale prices, days on market, and how long sellers are waiting. That is the difference between a plan and a guess.

Run the numbers both ways

For a military buyer weighing a three-year tour, Tami Price puts the purchase and the exit on the same page: payment versus rent, estimated selling costs, and the rental option if the home would be kept. Her Air Force background means the PCS timeline is treated as a real constraint rather than an afterthought.

The scenarios in this article are estimates for planning, not promises. A lender quotes the payment; Tami sources the rent comparables and the selling-cost ranges for the specific home. That is how the decision actually gets made.

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