The Hampton Roads PCS Home-Buying Playbook
Orders to Norfolk, Oceana or Little Creek? This is the step-by-step plan I use with military buyers: what to do 90, 60 and 30 days out, what the 2026 BAH covers by pay grade, how the VA loan works here, and how to buy before you arrive. Written by John King, a Navy veteran and REALTOR® with 189 VA-financed closings.
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The Hampton Roads PCS Home-Buying Playbook is a free guide from John King, a U.S. Navy veteran and REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty, for service members buying a home on orders to the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area. It covers a 90, 60 and 30-day buying timeline, the 2026 BAH rates for every pay grade ($1,707 a month for E-1 without dependents to $3,366 for O-7 and above with dependents), the VA loan funding fee and appraisal, buying sight-unseen with a power of attorney and remote closing, and the three main bases. John King has logged 441 closings since 2014, and 189 of his 428 MLS transactions were VA-financed. Request it by email above, or call or text (757) 270-3994.
Why a playbook, not a checklist
Most PCS buying mistakes are order-of-operations mistakes: house-hunting before the loan approval, writing an offer before checking flood insurance, or closing two weeks after the moving truck arrives with nowhere to put the furniture. The playbook puts every step in sequence against your report date.
It is the same plan behind the military clients in my record: 189 of my 428 MLS transactions were VA-financed, and I was one of you, a Navy Machinist Mate who moved here on orders.
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About the guide
Is the PCS home-buying guide free?
Yes. Enter your name, email and phone and John King emails you the link right away. There is no cost and no obligation to work with him.
Who is the guide for?
Service members and spouses with orders to Hampton Roads, especially Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana and JEB Little Creek-Fort Story, who are deciding whether and how to buy a home, including buying before they arrive.
Does the guide include the 2026 BAH rates?
Yes. It includes the full 2026 BAH table for the Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach housing area (MHA VA298), effective January 1, 2026, from E-1 through O-7 and above, with and without dependents.