Selling Your Home When PCS Orders Come Around Camp Lejeune

Host: Okay so today we're talking about something that I think a lot of people don't even think about until it's happening to them — selling a house when PCS orders come through. Buddy, you've been doing this around Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville for a long time, right?

Buddy Blake: Almost thirty years now, yeah. Around Camp Lejeune, New River, Jacksonville — I've watched this play out over and over. Orders show up and they don't care what the market's doing, they don't care what's convenient. A family gets a date, and now the house has to move on that date's schedule, not the other way around.

Host: That's such a good way to put it — the house has to move on the date's schedule. So when a family gets that news, what's actually the first decision they need to make?

Buddy Blake: Sell or rent, and by when. That decision drives literally everything after it — your pricing, your timeline, whether you even need to be around for showings. Honestly I'd rather sit down with a family before the moving company's even got a date on the calendar than after. The earlier we talk, the more choices you actually have.

Host: Right, because once the truck's booked, your options start closing in.

Buddy Blake: Exactly. And this isn't just a Jacksonville thing either. If you're out toward Sneads Ferry, in New River, Holly Ridge, Hubert — we've sold in all those areas, we know what typically moves fast and what sits on the market.

Host: Okay so here's a question I bet a lot of people ask — what if you've already relocated? Like you're already living in a totally different state by the time the house needs to sell?

Buddy Blake: Yeah, that comes up all the time. And the answer's yes, you don't have to be here. I've actually written before about a client who'd already moved all the way to New York, and we handled the whole thing. Erin on our team stays on every single step — contract, inspection, closing — so the family's not flying back for a walkthrough or sitting at a closing table they don't need to be at.

Host: That's a relief to hear, honestly, because I feel like people picture having to fly back multiple times.

Buddy Blake: Right, and there's one more piece worth understanding if you're selling from a distance — sometimes the closing involves an out-of-state attorney, or funds getting wired across state lines. I wrote a separate post on who your closing attorney actually is and why that matters. It applies double when you're not physically here.

Host: Good to know — we'll link that in the show notes. So let's talk about the actual selling part. You mentioned there's more than one path depending on timeline?

Buddy Blake: Three, really. First one's listing for top dollar — if your orders give you some runway, that's usually the strongest financial outcome. We price it right, market it right, let the process do its thing. Second is what I call a guaranteed sale — we list it and line up a guaranteed cash offer behind it, so you know it's going to sell no matter what, but you still get the shot at a full-price buyer first. And you can cancel that guaranteed offer anytime a better one shows up.

Host: Oh that's smart, so you're not locked in, you're just protected.

Buddy Blake: That's the idea. And then the third path is a straight cash offer through our investor partner — no showings, no repairs, you pick the closing date. It's below market value, and I'll always show you exactly how far below so you're deciding with real numbers, not a guess.

Host: I like that you say none of these is automatically the right one.

Buddy Blake: It's not. It really just depends on how much time you've got and how much you need out of the sale. That's the whole conversation worth having early, before you're backed into a corner.

Host: Okay so what about the houses that are already sitting empty? I imagine that happens a lot with PCS moves — family's already gone.

Buddy Blake: It happens constantly, and it's fine, honestly. We use virtual staging so an empty room doesn't look empty in the photos, plus professional photography either way. A vacant house can still show really well. It just needs a plan behind it.

Host: And I'm guessing you don't want surprises popping up mid-contract when the family's already settled somewhere new.

Buddy Blake: That's exactly why, before a home ever hits the market, our team pays for a pre-market inspection. We find the problems before a buyer's inspector does. Because the worst thing is three weeks into a contract, you're already living somewhere else, and now there's a repair you can't easily deal with.

Host: That makes so much sense. Now, you mentioned Homes for Heroes — tell me about that.

Buddy Blake: Yeah, our team's part of Homes for Heroes, ranked number thirty-six in the nation. We've given back more than two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars to heroes — military families, law enforcement, firefighters and EMS, healthcare workers, teachers. It's not a slogan for us. If you or your spouse served, or you're serving right now, that program's just part of how we work with you.

Host: That's a real number, that's not nothing. What if somebody's next stop isn't even here in North Carolina — like they're headed somewhere completely different?

Buddy Blake: If your next stop's elsewhere in North Carolina, or down toward Myrtle Beach, I've got trusted referral partners in both places. You shouldn't have to start from zero trying to find somebody you can trust on the other end just because your orders took you outside our area.

Host: So whether it's Jacksonville, Hampstead, Hubert, or somewhere we haven't even named — what's the one thing you want people to walk away with?

Buddy Blake: The timeline is the thing that matters most. And it's worth checking current conditions before you settle on a plan — our Onslow County market insights page is a good place to see what's actually happening with homes like yours right now, and our Jacksonville selling page walks through how we handle listings in that market specifically.

Host: This has been really helpful, Buddy. If orders just came in and someone's wrestling with sell versus rent, or they just want to know what the house is worth before they commit to anything — what should they do?

Buddy Blake: Give me a call or a text, nine-one-zero, three-nine-five, one-thousand. We can talk through it before you commit to anything. No pressure, just a real conversation.

Host: Love that. And the full article's linked in the show notes if you want to read through it all again. Buddy, thanks so much for walking through this.

Buddy Blake: Anytime, thanks for having me.