Military Set-Aside Program

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taylorm19832001

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Hello all,
Currently looking to rent in the Bethesda area for my upcoming residency at Walter Reed. I am Army. Has anyone had experience with the military set-aside program? The place I like requires a statement of eligibility for this program. Is it better to just rent as a civilian, because it seems like I have to fill out a bunch of forms with no real obvious benefit. Thanks for any response.

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Hello all,
Currently looking to rent in the Bethesda area for my upcoming residency at Walter Reed. I am Army. Has anyone had experience with the military set-aside program? The place I like requires a statement of eligibility for this program. Is it better to just rent as a civilian, because it seems like I have to fill out a bunch of forms with no real obvious benefit. Thanks for any response.

I had no clue what you were talking about at first, but after some research it basically looks like your landlords want you to sign up for this so they are guaranteed their rent each month. Sounds like it is basically a system where you agree to set up an allotment for your rent each month directly to them and in return you get stuff like maybe 5% off rent and no deposit, etc.

Only problem with this I see is the allotment. Allotments can be nice, but they can also be a pain to turn off sometimes. If you don't feel comfortable with your rent coming directly from your paycheck I would look elsewhere. If you are okay with that then it sounds like one less check you have to write each month.
 
Hello all,
Currently looking to rent in the Bethesda area for my upcoming residency at Walter Reed. I am Army. Has anyone had experience with the military set-aside program? The place I like requires a statement of eligibility for this program. Is it better to just rent as a civilian, because it seems like I have to fill out a bunch of forms with no real obvious benefit. Thanks for any response.

Don't do it.

They are going to want all of your BAH, just like military housing, without any of the benefits (except for perhaps a slight "deal" or no security deposit). There is no reason to set up allotments for housing unless you are living in military housing, everything about allotments that the previous poster said are true. If you are worried about forgetting to pay your rent, then set up your bank to send it automatically every month.

Rent from the outside and receive BAH - 03 BAH is 2400 in the DC area, you can rent (big) houses north of the Beltway for that, or if you want an apartment you can pocket tax free money.
 
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Thanks backrow/grotto. I thought it was a shady program to begin with, and you guys confirmed my decision. I'm just going to rent an apartment as a civilian and write my checks every month. The place I'm interested in seems almost too eager to get me enrolled in this program (probably because that means my entire BAH every month - 2433 with a dependent).
 
seems almost too eager to get me enrolled in this program (probably because that means my entire BAH every month - 2433 with a dependent).

I think the reason why properties like this program is the guaranteed rent check every month. If I was a business and had the capability of guaranteeing my cash flow each month I'd want people to sign up for it as well.

If they get people to sign up for this there is no way someone becomes delinquent on rent, which probably occurs quite often in today's world (even with some military people).
 
Thanks backrow/grotto. I thought it was a shady program to begin with, and you guys confirmed my decision. I'm just going to rent an apartment as a civilian and write my checks every month. The place I'm interested in seems almost too eager to get me enrolled in this program (probably because that means my entire BAH every month - 2433 with a dependent).

Good call. The housing market in DC can be confounding, but my wife and I just put our deposit down on a good sized, modern house with a huge yard in Kensington/Silver Spring for less than 2 grand a month. We were pretty depressed for a while because I'm going from LT BAH to ENS BAH at USUHS and it didn't seem like we would find anything in our price range. I would recommend you hunt around militarybyowner.com and craigslist for deals.

Going to Walter Reed, there are tons of places along the metro red line in downtown Silver Spring and off of Sligo Creek Pkwy that won't be too bad of a commute. Even on 2400 dollars a month, you probably won't be able to afford anything west of Georgia inside the beltway. PM me if you want more info because we have been searching around for a while.
 
Thanks for the heads up grotto. My wife and I are looking at apartments in Bethesda close to the hospital. I'd like to get something close so the commute isn't too long (possibly a short walk away) and has a gym to destress with after work. I liked Silver Spring for myself back when I rotated, but concerned a bit about safety. At this point, would rather pay a little more for a little more peace of mind.
 
Thanks for the heads up grotto. My wife and I are looking at apartments in Bethesda close to the hospital. I'd like to get something close so the commute isn't too long (possibly a short walk away) and has a gym to destress with after work. I liked Silver Spring for myself back when I rotated, but concerned a bit about safety. At this point, would rather pay a little more for a little more peace of mind.

Apartments within a short walk: None
Apartments within a short walk of a metro to NNMC: quite a few, but in the end you probably won't like this option.

There are quite a few apartment options in the downtown Bethesda area which allow for a very easy commute (opposite normal traffic flow). You can also look north along the Red Line (such as North Bethesda). One way I looked for apartments was to simply turn Right out the gate and head north stopping at all the apartments I saw along the way. Worked out well for me for a couple years.
 
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