Working With Military Families

Emily Cressey | Real Estate Broker, HomePro Associates at Keller Williams Greater Seattle

I help active-duty service members, veterans, reservists, and their spouses and families move to and from Naval Station Everett, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) near Tacoma, and communities across King County and Snohomish County, Washington.

I specialize in three things military buyers need most: an agent who understands a PCS timeline, an agent who actually knows how to use a VA loan instead of just talking about it, and an agent who can help a service member turn a first home into more than a place to live. I’m also a partner agent with PCS Masters, a relocation resource network that connects PCSing military families with vetted local professionals, real estate agents, lenders, and inspectors, in their new duty station area. If you’re moving to Everett or JBLM, that means you can find me before you ever start your home search, not after.

Why I Do This Work

Military service runs through my family. Both of my grandfathers served in World War II, one as a supply officer with the Flying Tigers in the China-Burma-India theater and the other in the Navy in the South Pacific. My husband’s grandfather served in World War I, and his father served in the Army Reserves during Vietnam. When I sit down with a young Navy family working out their first PCS to Everett, I’m not guessing at what that feels like from the outside.

I’ve been a licensed real estate broker since 2008 and a real estate investor since 2002. That combination matters here, because military buyers are usually asking two questions at once: where do we live, and does this purchase still make sense if we get orders again in two or three years?

Understanding a PCS, Not Just a Move

A PCS is not a normal relocation. Orders come with a reporting date attached, families are often evaluating a market they’ve never seen in person, and the timeline doesn’t bend for a slow closing or a financing delay.

I build my process around that reality. I provide virtual property tours, neighborhood and commute research, and school information before a family ever steps off a plane in Washington. If you’re stationed overseas or at another base and need to buy near Everett or JBLM without a house-hunting trip, I can run that search remotely and get you to a signed offer before you land.

Using a VA Loan the Right Way

A VA loan lets an eligible buyer purchase with no down payment, including owner-occupied properties with up to four units. I walk clients through what that means in practice: as of this year, VA funding fees run around 2.3% for a first-time, no-down-payment loan and 3.6% for a subsequent use, though veterans with a service-connected disability are often exempt entirely. VA rules and fees change from time to time, so I confirm your exact numbers with a VA-approved lender before we start shopping. No surprises at closing.

Buying Multi-Family Property With a VA Loan

This is where my own investment background pays off for my clients. A VA loan can finance a duplex, triplex, or fourplex as long as you live in one unit, and lenders will typically count around 75% of the market rent from the other units toward your qualifying income. I’ve personally owned rental property since I was 23 years old, so when I walk a buyer through a fourplex in Snohomish County, I’m not reading from a script. I know what a vacancy costs, what a tenant turnover actually involves, and what to check before you sign.

For a service member who might PCS again in a few years, that difference matters. A single-family home you have to sell at the next set of orders is one outcome. A duplex you can rent out and keep as your first investment property is a different one. I help you weigh both before you write an offer.

The Cash Flow Problem in Greater Seattle

I won’t sugarcoat this part. Seattle’s median home price sits well above $800,000, and rent alone doesn’t always cover a full mortgage payment on a single-family home here. That’s the math every investor in this market has to plan around.

It’s also exactly why the multi-unit VA strategy works better here than in a lot of other markets. A zero-down purchase on a two-to-four-unit property, with part of the mortgage offset by rent from the other units, can work in neighborhoods where a single-family rental never would. I help clients focus on specific submarkets, Everett, Marysville, and parts of Snohomish County among them, where that math has the best chance of working, rather than assuming any property will cash flow just because it’s a rental.

Local to Naval Station Everett and JBLM

Naval Station Everett sits about 29 miles north of Seattle and homeports seven guided-missile destroyers along with roughly 6,000 sailors and civilian personnel. The Navy has also announced Everett as the future homeport for its new Constellation-class frigates, so the base and the surrounding housing market will keep growing.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord sits just southwest of Tacoma and is one of the largest military installations in the country, home to I Corps, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 1st Special Forces Group, and the 62nd Airlift Wing’s C-17 fleet, along with more than 45,000 service members and civilian employees. Families relocating to JBLM are usually weighing commute times toward Tacoma or Seattle against home prices that shift a lot within a short drive.

I work both markets regularly, so I can tell you honestly what a budget buys near each base and how commute, schools, and rental potential differ between them.

Real Transactions, Real Complications

One Navy veteran I worked with, now at Microsoft, bought a three-bedroom home in Lynnwood. When an aging roof turned into a real issue during inspection, I negotiated a $15,000 closing-cost credit to cover the replacement after closing. Military transactions don’t always go according to plan, and that’s exactly when the agent you picked matters most.

Who I Help

Active-duty service members and their families relocating to Naval Station Everett or JBLM
Veterans and reservists using a VA home loan for the first time or a subsequent time
Military buyers exploring owner-occupied duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes
Families PCSing out of Washington who need a listing agent who understands military timelines
Service members stationed elsewhere who need remote support and virtual tours before they arrive

Let’s Talk About Your PCS

If you’re using a VA loan for the first time, thinking about a multi-unit purchase, or just trying to figure out what your budget buys near Everett or JBLM, I can help you build a plan before you set foot in Washington.

Text HOME to 206-245-8813, download my free guide, Using Your VA Entitlement, or book a call at bit.ly/call-emily.

Emily Cressey, Washington State Real Estate Broker License #201-093-99 Equal Housing Opportunity. Emily Cressey is a licensed real estate broker in the State of Washington, affiliated with Keller Williams Greater Seattle.