CFHA Residential Housing Unit (RHU)-old PMQ [MERGED]

[Long in the tooth]

Next year my wife and I are looking forward to a posting to Kingston.  What are the PMQ avail and rates?  We have 3 kids.... Thanks

 

[kincanucks]

Next year my wife and I are looking forward to a posting to Kingston.   What are the PMQ avail and rates?   We have 3 kids.... Thanks

Try reading the first post of this thread.

 

[AirForceWife]

Next year my wife and I are looking forward to a posting to Kingston.   What are the PMQ avail and rates?   We have 3 kids.... Thanks

We just moved from Kingston. I posted our horrid CFHA experience on page 7 (2nd last post).  For a family of 3, your gonna get a 4bdrm (unless if you want 3).  A 4bdrm PMQ is about $800, plus heat and hydro (your looking at about $60-70 for hydro, and $190-$260 for heat)
There are PLENTY of PMQs available in Kingston, as everyone is moving out of them.  When we moved last year, it seemed like a quarter of them where empty.  Oh, no basements either.

 

[mike]

hi, are pets (small dogs) permitted in military housing if your family moves into such a thing?
thanks

 

[axeman]

generally speaking yes they are ,but if its an exotic you may have to check with the local regs

 

[Swin435]

Best thing to do is check with CFHA.  Everybase has it's own rules.  For example; here in Winnipeg it all depends on which PMQ's you are in.

 

[thehammer2001]

In edmonton what you can have depends on the countys bilaws in Edmontonyou can have up to a max of 3 domestic animals.

 

[shadow]

Next year my wife and I are looking forward to a posting to Kingston.   What are the PMQ avail and rates?   We have 3 kids.... Thanks

If you can scrounge up a downpayment, you will pay less for mortgage, property tax, and utilities if you buy in Kingston than if you were to move into a Q.  I left Kingston 2 years ago and my monthly living bill was $1000 and that included the above PLUS condo fees!!!  In addition, the money put on the principle is still yours!  I know it's sometimes difficult to get the initial downpayment, especially if you have 3 kids and your wife is searching for a new job, but the monthly expenses will be cheaper if you can.

Shadow

 

[TheCheez]

Q's will normally be OK.

Shacks not so much.

 

[jewel80002000]

Hello Everyone!

We recently got a message that we are being posted to Edmonton Just a few questions on the PMQ situation.

Can anyone tell me what the cost of a 2 bedroom PMQ and also if they are decent,   also i was wondering if there was any place online that would have photos of the PMQ's.

Any help would be greatful.   Thanks so much!

 

[Michael OLeary]

Canadian Forces Housing Agency - Edmonton

http://www.cfha-alfc.forces.gc.ca/locations/edmonton_e.asp

Edmonton area homes and rates:

http://www.cfha-alfc.forces.gc.ca/locations/edmonton_h_e.asp

 

[jewel80002000]

Wow,

Thanks Michael for the info on the PMQ situation, that is very expensive.

Does anyone have any suggestions of some nice areas that we should be looking at while we are on our house hunting trip, to buy a house!

We are only looking for something small as we don't have kids. any suggestions for some areas we should be looking would be great.

Thanks once again

 

[aesop081]

Wow,

Thanks Michael for the info on the PMQ situation, that is very expensive.

Does anyone have any suggestions of some nice areas that we should be looking at while we are on our house hunting trip, to buy a house!

We are only looking for something small as we don't have kids. any suggestions for some areas we should be looking would be great.

Thanks once again

Try the lago lindo area....castle downs area......St-Albert was getting expensive when i left........fort saskatchewan was looking prety good

 

[Gunner]

The housing market has been pretty good for the last couple of years in Edmonton (as well as the rest of Canada).  See the Edmonton Real Estate Board website:

http://www.ereb.com/

Their most recent news release on market conditions is below:

http://www.ereb.com/marketactivity/April2005.html

I live in St Albert (small city to the north west of Edmonton) and the prices are quite high.  While it is a beautiful community, you may not be able to afford it if you are a first time home buyer.  Property taxes are quite high as well.

If you are a first time homebuyer, I suggest you look at places to the north of the city (Morinville, Gibbons, etc) or to the east/west of the city (Stony Plain/Fort Saskatchewan/Sherwood Park) or in the north end of Edmonton (castedowns, castlebrook, etc).  Canada Lands Corporation is developing the old army base at Greisbach if you are interested in living in a newer area that is closer to downtown Edmonton.

For my 2 cents, I highly encourage soldiers to buy their own home.  While you may not be able to afford the newest 4x4 as those living in PMQs, your money (rent) is going towards something you will own once you retire.  The market has been rising steadily in Edmonton for some time but with interest rates still at their lowest levels in decades, home ownership is still an affordable dream.  Once again, my 2 cents, as everyone has different circumstances.

Good luck.

 

[jewel80002000]

In the event that we don't find a house..... are the PMQ's in Edmonton in good shape!  Hopefully we won't need to go that route but I just have to keep my options open..

Any info on the PMQ's would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[axeman]

some are being run totally by civies .. other then that they are pmq's

 

[Springroll]

We lived in the PMQ's in Victoria from 1999-2001. That was the worst 2 years I have ever had in a place.
We got posted to the US for a 3 yr Nato stint and when it was time for us to be posted, we chose Hfx since it is cheaper out here. We bought a house in Cole Harbour and have never been happier.

You could not pay me enough to make me live in another PMQ. I served on the town council in Belmont Park, and the BS that goes along with it just isn't worth it. You get wives calling you up and complaing because CFHA won't come by and do repairs and such.....

We had a severe carpenter ant problem. Took CFHA 3 months to come out, ripped off the siding and the house stayed like that for a month, then the contractor came back, turned the insultaion over and then put up the new siding....did I add that the isulation looked like an ant farm??

I took pictures and took them into CFHA and said this was unacceptable and that I was going to get my own building inspector and then take it to the papers....good thing we got posted out of there because most of those units would have been condemned due to the rats and other creatures taking up residence in the crawl spaces and walls.

 

[McG]

My rent will be chopped almost $50.  After a few years of $100 and $50 increases, Ottawa seems to have realized they've overshot the realistic value of what I'm staying in.  Hopefully this trend continues.  Anyone else get a rent cut?

 

[Springroll]

A rent decrease??

CFHS LOVES to jack the rent every September....they especially love to after a pay raise 

 

[axeman]

im here in Esqimalt and ive  gotten word of a rent drop .. well after them dropping the pld i would hope so . i winder if anyone doing these cost of living inquiries actully looked and saw the the AVERAGE priced house was over 250K here...