As a veteran realtor with a team of Army, Air Force and spouse veterans, I run a business dedicated to helping military families relocate.  We focus on families stationed at JBLM, helping them to buy, sell or hold onto properties in Pierce and Thurston County in Washington State.

Why you should own in this market

This JBLM area housing market is an upside for you because, even with market fluctuations, high demand here for housing will be around for the next decade, and that means profit if you use our advice to both buy and sell your home at the right time.

If you are selling now and don’t see enough profit in this market, there are ways - such as renting out your property with responsible property management - to create a hassle-free delay in your home sale.  And even while you purchase another property in a new location!

And if you are just moving to JBLM, without a customized "Battle Plan," most families will start their new tour of duty crammed into a hotel for far too long.

Helping you manage your home situation in 30 days is my passion (really) because without insider knowledge, your homebuying or home selling journey at JBLM can be similar to the 78 day nightmare that my wife and I experienced years ago while in-processing at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska.  What happened to me drives my passion to help other military families.

Just like JBLM, I found hundreds were on the wait list for on-base housing, and as we tried in vain for off-base housing there were application fees for rentals, costs for background checks, and very soon we hit the wall at 78 days without a home. Hotel life meant my wife was in isolation with no transportation or new friends, and we were burning cash. Finally, we heard from base housing that in two weeks, we would get keys. And all this was on top of having to in-process into my combat unit while preparing to deploy at any time. I had no assurance we could first have housing, cars, household goods and stability. Not being settled was hell for both of us.

Early on I was told by a leader, an E-5 above me, that I couldn’t buy a house – couldn’t use a VA Home Loan because that was only for Veterans (he was wrong). Fast forward to finishing 8 years of service to my country.  Back in Spokane I was flabbergasted that I had thrown away my military housing allowance on rent instead of buying a home to build wealth. I had wasted more than $136,000 in BAH benefits from Uncle Sam!  Wish my wife and I had known what I do now.

But my story doesn’t have to be your story. As an Army Veteran I own and operate "Operation Red Dot," a real estate company with a military mission to help military families get quickly into quality homes. Whether you are buying or needing to rent in this hot and competitive market around JBLM, I can cut your family hotel stay in half and make you more competitive in homebuying.

At the end of the day, for combat arms military members, the person to your left and right means a lot when your life is on the line. That ecosystem in the military was very important to me and stays with me, and my all-veteran team, today.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, I’d love to get your feedback on what I just shared with you.  What housing challenges are you facing?  Go ahead and send me a personal email ( James@OperationRedDot.com ). I respond to every email I get.

Brothers in Arms, James Marszalek
Humanitarian Mission, Iraq/NE of Baghdad - I was popular with the kids : )