Lizzie Biddle is a realtor with The Biddle Group located in Moorestown. Her business focuses almost exclusively on military families relocating to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL). Biddle is an Air Force veteran; her husband is active-duty and currently serves at McGuire Air Force Base.
Biddle spoke with Military Matters about the unique challenges military families face when relocating to the Joint Base area, and how these families deal with the New Jersey real estate market.
Military Matters: Your business focuses mostly on military families relocating to the area around the Joint Base. Why did you focus on this market segment?
Lizzie Biddle: I got into real estate after my frustration dealing with realtors who really do not understand military life and all the chaos that can come with the transition. We (The Biddle Group) understand the unique challenges of military moves.
MM: How would you describe your military clients?
LB: Most of the military people I deal with are between 25-40 and most have families.
MM: Given most military families move every two to three years, do they look at buying a house differently than a civilian family looking to put down roots where they buy?
LB: Transition is something that absolutely affects their decision making. In fact, it is something I bring up all the time. I counsel our military buyers not to put themselves in a financial bind.
In the case where there is a bidding war, and my clients might have to offer more than the asking price, I always caution them – even if they have the cash – what are you going to do to justify the price? Is the house a fixer-upper where you could add value? Or is it a turnkey home?
What are you going to do over the three to four years you are here to justify paying the high price?
MM: How would you describe the housing markets in the areas around the Joint Base?
LB: There are a lot of military bases where it seems the markets nearby are more affordable, so a lot of families gravitate toward those areas because of the affordability and the commute.
But the Joint Base is in a pretty rural area and there isn’t a lot of commerce or fun things to do nearby.
Clients looking for a few additional amenities – more stores or restaurants or commerce – they seem to be okay living up to 45 minutes from the base. A lot of families like to be in the middle of everything, and others want to be near schools. Schools are very important to them.
MM: Are military families coming to New Jersey ready for the cost of living here?
LB: People realize when they come here that we have very high property taxes and that can be a little daunting especially if they are coming from the south or a lower taxed state.
New Jersey’s taxes are pretty high, so that is shocking to a lot of buyers. The lack of new construction doesn’t help. We are such a small state there is not a lot of land to develop.
There are a lot of buyers looking for new construction and that is not something we have in abundance especially not in an affordable price range.
MM: You have lived the military lifestyle, so you are aware of the biggest challenges military families face in moving. What would you say is the biggest challenge?
LB: My biggest gripe is the ongoing perception that VA loans are inferior.
[NOTE: VA loans are a mortgage option specifically for eligible veterans, active service members and eligible spouses. These loans are provided by private lenders such as banks and mortgage companies and not directly by the VA]
There is a stigma around VA loans or FHA loans; people see them as substandard or inferior to conventional loans. So, buyers tend to shy away from military families who are approved for these loans, and it is very frustrating, because then, military families have to be satisfied with left-overs in the housing market.
People associate VA buyers as being credit challenged. Not true. A lot of military people must maintain good credit to keep their security clearances, so they are not credit challenged. Another perception is they do not have any cash. There are plenty of military buyers who have $50K or $100k in their bank accounts.
MM: Is there one particular town or area where you sell?
LB: No one specific area really, but I do sell a lot in Browns Mill because it is right alongside the base.
MM: How do military families deal with buying a house when many are at a duty station nowhere near New Jersey before they arrive here?
LB: There is a difficulty moving to a new area – you don’t know the neighborhood and you don’t know the difference between different towns. There are Fair Housing challenges. We cannot steer clients to or away from any towns. We try to educate them while adhering to the Fair Housing Law.
It is a huge level of trust on their part. They are buying in a state they have probably not been to before and they know nothing about the towns. They are making this leap of faith buying into this very expensive investment.
MM: How do you educate your clients?
LB: Some clients reach out to me up to six months prior to their move – others two to three months before their move, so I can get them pre-approved and start setting up virtual showings.
We try to let our clients know everything about the area – is there noise pollution? Are there railroad tracks nearby? Is there a highway nearby or a lot of cars passing by?
We check things like the water pressure and the circuit panels, and we run the water. We try to convey as much as we can so they can see what the area looks like – not just the house.
