Selling a Home in Virginia Beach › Selling on PCS orders
PCS orders to Virginia Beach? Make a plan for your home before you move.
Your report date is fixed. Your home’s next step isn’t. Compare selling with renting, understand what VA-financed buyers mean for your sale, and build a realistic plan around your move.
Virginia Beach • Hampton Roads • Military relocation and home-sale planning
The short answer
Your orders set a report date. Work backward from it: how long you need to prepare the home, list it and close, and whether you will sell the home or rent it out. Hampton Roads has a large pool of military buyers using VA loans, so knowing how VA financing works helps you price and negotiate. You may also owe no capital gains tax on the sale, and the rules give service members extra time to qualify, so check with a tax professional before you decide.
Your PCS countdown
Work backward from your report date.
A sale has four stretches that add up: getting the home ready, the time on the market, the contract period (inspection, appraisal and loan approval) and the closing. Each one can run long or short, so build in room. Many PCS moves cluster in the summer, which means buyer and seller activity can pick up then too.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 8–12+ weeks before reporting | Look at recent comparable sales for a rough sense of the market, but treat them as a starting point, since prices, rates and buyer behavior can shift over the next few months. Estimate what you owe (mortgage, HELOC and any other liens), request a CMA and run the net proceeds calculator. Compare selling with renting and note any repairs. |
| 6–8 weeks before reporting | If you decide to sell, aim to have the home prepared and listed. A couple of weeks before listing, have your agent provide an updated CMA to see if your pricing plan needs to be adjusted. Your listing price should reflect your market and your property, and your listing date should reflect your move schedule. |
| During the contract period | Your agent can help you coordinate inspection items, appraisal access, lender requirements and any agreed repairs. Plan to make your home accessible and to respond promptly to requests from your title company or attorney, including your mortgage payoff information, to keep the sale moving forward. Keep your moving arrangements flexible. |
| Before departure | Confirm the closing schedule, utilities, keys, final walk-through arrangements and any remote-signing or power-of-attorney requirements with the title company. |
Illustrative only. This is not a prediction of how long a Virginia Beach home will take to sell. Ask your agent for current days on market and contract-to-close times for your price range.
Reporting soon? You may not have time for a conventional listing and closing before you leave. Compare a sale that closes after you depart, a rental plan and other options with your agent and closing professionals. Do not assume you have to accept a rushed offer.
Sell or rent
Compare the two before you decide.
Start with these questions.
- Do you plan to buy or rent when you PCS?
- Do you need the money from this sale to buy your next home?
- Do you plan to use your VA loan eligibility again? If so, the entitlement tied to this home may need to be released first, so ask a lender how that works.
| Factor | Sell | Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Equity | Potentially accessible after closing costs and your mortgage payoff | Stays tied up in the property |
| Monthly costs | Ends when the sale closes | Mortgage, taxes, insurance and maintenance continue, and vacancy is a risk |
| Management | No ongoing landlord duties | You manage it yourself or pay a property manager |
| VA loan | Your loan is paid off at closing, which can free up your entitlement | Entitlement may stay tied to this home, and occupancy rules for your next purchase need review |
| Taxes | The home-sale exclusion may apply | Rental use, depreciation and the military extension can change the result |
| Best next question | What will my net proceeds be? | What is my rental cash flow after all expenses? |
A low mortgage rate does not settle it. Keeping a low rate can be worth something, but weigh it against the full carrying cost, a realistic rent, the tax result and how you will finance your next home. A service-member tenant can also end a lease on PCS orders under federal law, so vacancy can come at any time.
Using your VA loan again. Renting your home out can affect how you buy the next one, because VA rules cover occupancy and remaining entitlement. Your lender has to confirm your situation. Read the entitlement and rental rules explained →
Compare both scenarios.
- Estimate your home-sale proceeds with the calculator below.
- Request a comparative market analysis to see likely sale value.
- Ask a lender about your remaining VA entitlement and financing for your next home.
- Ask a local property manager for a rental estimate that includes management fees, maintenance, vacancy and insurance. Liz does not handle rentals.
Selling to VA buyers
A VA-financed offer can be a strong offer.
Focus on the buyer’s financing, the home’s condition, the appraisal, the contract terms and the buyer’s ability to close, not just the loan type. A few parts of a VA purchase work differently, so here is what to expect.
Appraisal and value
The VA appraiser sets a value, called the Notice of Value. If it comes in below the contract price, the buyer is not required to complete the purchase (the VA “escape clause”). The usual options are to renegotiate, have the buyer cover the gap, or ask the lender to request a reconsideration of value with additional comparable sales. In Hampton Roads, an appraiser who thinks the value may fall short can issue a “Tidewater notice” first, which gives the agents a short window to submit comparable sales. Your agent should be ready to supply comps, pending sales and improvements quickly (how it works for buyers). Pricing from recent sales is the best protection.
Property condition
The appraiser also checks that the home meets the VA’s minimum property requirements: safe, sound and sanitary. Problems such as a leaking roof, unsafe electrical, no working heat or structural defects can require repairs before closing, and defective paint on a home built before 1978 has to be addressed. Not every home needs repairs. The VA updated its appraisal requirements for appraisals ordered on or after May 1, 2026, so ask the buyer’s lender what applies.
Seller credits
Credits are always negotiable, and how common they are depends on the market and the home. Standard allowable closing costs are one thing. The VA limits certain other seller-paid items, such as the buyer’s funding fee, a temporary rate buydown, prepaid taxes and insurance, or paying off the buyer’s debts, to 4% of the home’s reasonable value. Your agent and the buyer’s lender confirm what counts before you agree to a credit.
Credit or price reduction? A credit usually helps a buyer’s cash at closing more. A $5,000 credit cuts the cash needed by $5,000, while a $5,000 price reduction lowers the loan and the monthly payment only slightly: about $30 a month at 6% and about $33 at 7% on a 30-year loan. Ask your agent to compare your net both ways.
Closing coordination
The appraisal, any repairs and the lender’s deadlines all feed into your contract schedule. Give the appraiser easy access, keep utilities on, answer repair requests quickly and choose a closing date that fits your departure.
Official VA guidance: VA home-buying process and VA loan fees and closing costs. Rules and limits change, so confirm specifics with the buyer’s VA lender.
Capital gains tax
Will you owe capital gains tax when you sell?
The main-home exclusion
If you sell for more than you paid, the profit is a capital gain. Eligible sellers may exclude up to $250,000 of it, or up to $500,000 on a joint return, if they owned and lived in the home for at least 24 months of the last 5 years. For the $500,000 limit, both spouses must meet the living requirement.
The military extension
Qualified service members may elect to suspend the five-year test period for up to 10 years. The qualifying duty can be yours or your spouse’s. It must be extended duty of more than 90 days or an indefinite period, at a duty station at least 50 miles from the home or in government housing under orders. The election covers one home at a time.
The rental complication
Depreciation you claimed as a landlord is generally taxed when you sell, even if the rest of the gain is excluded, and the IRS "nonqualified use" rules can also reduce the exclusion, though time after you last lived in the home and up to 10 years on qualified extended duty generally don't count against you. The extension is an election with eligibility requirements, not an automatic protection. Get advice before assuming that moving away keeps the full exclusion.
Official sources: IRS Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home and IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home, IRS Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide and 26 U.S.C. § 121. General information, not tax advice.
Hampton Roads market context
Military buyers are part of this market.
Virginia Beach is home to Naval Air Station Oceana, Dam Neck Annex and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, and Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Joint Base Langley–Eustis are a short drive away. Households arriving at these commands are a steady source of buyers.
BAH shapes their budgets, but it is not a guarantee. Basic Allowance for Housing depends on pay grade, dependency status and location, and it does not tell you what a buyer can afford. Look up any rate with the Defense Department’s BAH lookup.
What local sellers should consider:
- Location and commute. How the home’s location relates to a buyer’s likely duty station, without assuming every military household wants the same thing.
- Property readiness. Whether repairs, maintenance or documents should be handled before you list.
- Price and timing. Recent comparable sales, competing listings and your own departure constraints.
- Buyer financing. Understand the offer terms and the financing milestones rather than dismissing a loan type.
Go deeper
More on selling, equity and your next move.
Related guides: home value and assessments • closing costs and proceeds • flood zones
Questions
Selling on PCS orders: common questions.
Do I have to sell my home when I get PCS orders?
No. Orders give you a report date, not a sell-by date. You can sell the home or rent it out. The right choice depends on your equity, your mortgage rate, how long you expect to be away, what you plan to do at your next duty station and whether you can manage a rental from a distance. Decide early, because selling takes preparation, a listing period and time to close.
Will a VA-loan buyer make my home harder to sell?
Not by itself. Many buyers in Hampton Roads use VA loans. The loan adds a VA appraisal and minimum property requirements, so a home with safety or condition problems may need repairs before the loan can close. A home in good repair and priced from recent sales is generally in a strong position with VA buyers.
Who pays a VA buyer’s closing costs?
It depends on the contract. Seller credits are always negotiable, and how common they are depends on the market. The VA limits certain seller-paid items, such as paying the buyer’s VA funding fee or debts, to 4% of the home’s reasonable value, while standard allowable closing costs are treated separately. Your agent and the buyer’s lender confirm what counts before you agree to a credit.
Will I owe capital gains tax if I sell on PCS orders?
Often not, but ask a tax professional. Most sellers can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly) if they owned and lived in the home for at least 2 of the last 5 years. Service members on qualified official extended duty can elect to suspend that five-year period for up to 10 years, which can help if you move away and rent the home out. Depreciation you claimed as a landlord is generally still taxed when you sell.
Can I rent my home out and still use my VA loan benefit again?
Often yes, but the rules on occupancy, remaining entitlement and rental use are specific, and your lender has to confirm them. The VA loan reuse post on the Hampton Roads Real Estate Ramblings blog explains how entitlement and rental rules work in practice.
What if my orders change or I have little time?
Tell your agent as soon as you know. A short timeline changes the plan: pricing sharply from recent sales, prioritizing the repairs buyers care about most and choosing a closing date you can meet. Also ask about your options if you cannot be here for the closing, such as a power of attorney, which your attorney or title company can explain.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Last reviewed October 16, 2026. VA rules, tax law and BAH rates change, so confirm current details with your lender and a tax professional.
Your plan
Your orders are the deadline. Your plan should fit your life.
Whether you are considering a sale, weighing the cost of keeping the house, or coordinating a closing from another duty station, start with your timing and your numbers. We will work through the options before you commit to a plan.
350+ homes sold • REALTOR® since 2001 • RE/MAX Allegiance
Prefer to pick a time? Book a call with Liz.
Ready when you are.
Pick a time that works for you, and we will start with your home and the recent sales around it.