The Hunt Team - Coldwell Banker Realty
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A Blog Military Spouse Relocating to Fort Jackson Columbia SC

Posted By: In: Fort Jackson Relocation
Date: Sun, Sep 8th 2019 1:16 pm

Being a military spouse of five years, moving should be of a second nature to me. 

After all, we spouses have practically created our own set of vows when we take the plunge to say ‘I do’ to our soldiers. ‘Where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay’. And of course, ‘I will learn to live with white walls’. Because we all know the minute you put your own colors on those walls, your husband is coming home with soft orders to move. 

Still, I wasn’t ready. 

I am born and raised a Louisiana girl. My family didn’t travel much, so anything beyond the southern coast was foreign to me. A single mother at the time, marrying into the military was never anything I expected nor desired, if I’m being honest. But on a Friday the 13th I took the advice of a friend and went out on a date with my future husband, and the rest is history. For the next four years we remained at Fort Polk secretly hoping the Army had forgotten about my husband and that we would continue to live out our days in the humid, swampy state I called home. Then, he got the call. We were headed to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I hadn’t even realized there was an Army base there, but I was about to be educated. 

Named after Andrew Jackson, Fort Jackson is the largest and most active Basic Combat Training center that the Army has. Of all the soldiers who answer the Army’s call, 50 percent will train here including 60 percent of all female soldiers. It is located right outside of the state’s capital city Columbia.

It all sounds impressive until you realize the only information you have on your new future home is coming from social media and Wikipedia, and that the aforementioned information is about all you can find without dedicating yourself to an intense google research project. We were going into this new adventure almost completely blind. 

And that is where my future in real estate began.

In a scenario that is far too common for nearly every military spouse I’ve met, our move was mostly on my shoulders. My husband was away for intense training that I really couldn’t complain about because after all, our family’s future did depend on his success. I had a full-time job in a career that I loved, but his was going to carry us far further than mine ever could. 

As I mentioned before, we had become pretty comfortable where we were and had bought a home that we absolutely loved. It had its headaches, but it was our first home together and it was exactly what we had wanted and now we were being forced to say goodbye to it. 

Choosing to sell or rent a home you love is stressful in and of itself. Each side has its pros and cons to be considered. Add in having to decide on whether to rent or buy where you are moving to, with a dash of having to do it all on a timeline you don’t control and my friends, you have the perfect recipe for disaster. And it doesn’t take long to bake. 

Putting our home on the market was like walking through a dark tunnel. I had to hit every bump and curve along the way to finally find my way to the end. I had no guidance on what clients were looking for, no ideas on what I could do to make it more marketable, and as the weeks ticked by with no inquiries or viewings the panic was setting in. 

I didn’t know what I was doing here, my career was in journalism. This was out of my comfort zone. I thought that having a realtor meant that I would gain advice and guidance on how to make my home more appealing, but aside from a few nods on DIY upgrades I felt like I was on my own. 

At the buzzer, I took matters into my own hands and located a family who was interested in renting. Through yet another thorny trek we came to the decision to rent out our home while purchasing another. While my husband was still away, I had to pray the incoming family was cleared by our property management team who would oversee the property after we moved, interview multiple lenders who each wanted their own set of documents to review, and get multiple insurance quotes – each taking up a minimum hour of detailed questions on a home that we had not even seen yet. All while maintaining my full workload and playing both mom and dad to four children. To say it was stressful is an understatement. I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it. 

I still pity my husband when I remember his nightly phone calls to check in on his family. I’m sure he was expecting to hear from his sweet wife about how much she missed him and instead was met by a bitter wife who needed to vent about how much she hated the current situation. It was a tense time all around. 

The light at the end of the tunnel for us, the one glowing beacon of hope that we might not crash against the rocks, was our Realtor here in South Carolina; another military spouse. She was our saving grace, and what turned this rough and stressful experience into a positive one. For every situation I was facing, she had been there - and sometimes twice. While she had no control over our property in Louisiana, she listened to my concerns with a compassionate ear. She navigated us through the buying process with a sense of grace that no hurdle could discourage, and every time that I wondered if we could do this she assured me we could.

That experience is what ultimately gave me the final push I needed to become a Real Estate Agent. I wanted to be that agent for someone else. If I could spare just one person from the stress that we went through, then I would consider my mission accomplished. 

Even if you’re not moving across states, buying or selling real estate is an incredibly intimidating world. But it doesn’t have to be. Through my blogs, I’ll attempt to shed light on the several different moving parts that go into a real estate transaction, and often allow you to learn from my own personal mistakes. I’ll share insights into the communities and areas that surround Fort Jackson, and along the way I’ll share a little about our family with you. I hope you enjoy this journey with me and remember, “Bloom where you are planted” my fellow mil spouses. 

~Sincerely, Pam