PCS (permanent change of station) orders rarely leave much time. Many military families keep their Colorado Springs home as a rental instead of selling, especially if they plan to come back or bought at a good rate. The hard part is managing it from another state, or another country, while you're settling into a new assignment.
Why so many military owners rent instead of sell
Colorado Springs is home to Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station. That means a steady stream of incoming military families and civilian contractors looking for rentals, often on short notice. Keeping the home can build equity, preserve a low mortgage rate, and give you a place to come back to.
If you bought with a VA loan, renting the home after you move out on orders is common. Confirm the specifics with your lender before you commit.
A realistic timeline once you have orders
- 60 to 90 days out: Call us. We'll walk the home, give you a rent estimate based on current comparable rentals, and flag anything that should be fixed before listing.
- 45 to 60 days out: We photograph the home and prepare the listing. If you're still living there, we schedule showings around your move.
- 30 days out: We screen applicants and sign a lease timed to start after your move-out.
- Move-out week: We complete a detailed move-in inspection with photos and video, so the home's condition is documented before the tenant's first day.
- After you leave: Rent is deposited to you monthly, with statements and repair documentation available in your owner portal.
If your orders came with less notice than that, call anyway. A compressed timeline is still workable.
Managing from anywhere
You shouldn't have to take an invoice on faith because you're deployed or stationed overseas. Every repair and inspection comes with photos, and video when it matters. For anything significant, we call you directly and get your approval before work starts. If a contractor finds work beyond the original scope, we verify it ourselves before it's approved. We explain why that matters in How Out-of-State Owners Get Taken Advantage Of.
If you'll be hard to reach, such as on a deployment or in a remote location, we'll agree in advance on a spending limit for urgent repairs and a backup contact who can approve larger decisions.
Renting to military tenants
Many of your applicants will be service members themselves. Federal law, the SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act), lets a military tenant end a residential lease early if they receive PCS orders or deploy for 90 days or more, with written notice and a copy of their orders. We plan for this with the right lease terms and by keeping good applicants on hand, so an early move-out doesn't turn into a long vacancy.
What it costs
Military owners pay the same published rates as everyone else: 8% of rent collected, a leasing fee of 50% of one month's rent ($500 minimum) when we place a tenant, and $250 for a renewal. See the full fee breakdown with a worked example.