PCS-Move.com

The PCS moving roadmap

Orders to unpacked, one step at a time.

The entire PCS, sequenced. Ten stages from the day your orders drop to the day you're settled — including the one fork where you decide who moves your household.

Build my adaptive planOr ask the assistant

The stages below are the map. The plan turns them into your personalized, check-off-as-you-go steps — free; save it to keep your progress.

Before the move

Orders just dropped. Get oriented and get your money straight.

  1. Stage 1Week 0

    Stage 1 — You Got Orders. What to Do in the First 72 Hours.

    Your PCS orders just dropped. Here's exactly what to do in the first 72 hours — read your orders, request a sponsor, lock in your timeline, and avoid the four most expensive early mistakes.

    Read this stage
  2. Stage 2Week 1-2

    Stage 2 — Research the New Base. Without Drowning in Tabs.

    How to systematically research a duty station you've never been to. BAH, schools, commute zones, family resources, and the questions to actually ask your sponsor — without trusting any single rating site.

    Read this stage
  3. Stage 3Week 2-3

    Stage 3 — Money + Budget. The PCS Cash-Flow Gap Nobody Warns You About.

    The money you spend on a PCS before the government pays you back — and how to cover it. DLA, per diem, MALT, TLE, advance pay, the relief societies, VA-loan readiness, and the buy-vs-rent-out call on your current home.

    Read this stage

The exit

Cleanly close out your current location.

  1. Stage 4Week 3-6

    Stage 4 — Sell or Break Your Lease. Dealing With the Home You're Leaving.

    What to do with your current place when orders drop — selling the house, renting it out, or sending an SCRA lease-termination notice the right way. The SCRA termination is a federal right, and there's a correct way to use it.

    Read this stage

Find your new home

First decide whether you're buying or renting — then lock in where you'll live.

  1. First fork: buy or rent?

    Before you line anything up, decide how you'll live at the new base. Most PCSers rent; some buy — and the next few steps differ. Pick your path; both rejoin when it's time to schedule the move.

    Buying

    VA loan / purchase

    The stages below are your track — vet a military-savvy realtor, house-hunt remotely, and make the offer + close on your timeline. Run the numbers before you commit.

    Rent vs Buy Analyzer →

    Renting

    BAH / lease

    You can skip the buy stages. Check your BAH against real rent first, then find a military-friendly community near the base — your adaptive plan lays out the rest.

    BAH housing budget →Build my adaptive plan →

    Own a home at your current base? Decide whether to sell it or rent it out.

  2. Stage 5Week 4-8

    Stage 5 — Pick a Realtor at the New Base. Vetting a Military-Savvy Agent.

    How to find a buyer's agent who actually understands VA loans, PCS timelines, and remote buying — the questions that separate a military-experienced agent from one who'll cost you weeks. Plus when renting means you skip this stage entirely.

    Read this stage
  3. Stage 6Week 6-10

    Stage 6 — House Hunt Remotely. Buying (or Renting) From 800 Miles Away.

    How to run a housing search from across the country without getting burned — virtual tours, using your agent as boots on the ground, the house-hunting trip question, and the sight-unseen traps to avoid. Works for renters too.

    Read this stage
  4. Stage 7Week 8-12

    Stage 7 — Make the Offer + Close. The VA Loan, the Appraisal, and the Clock.

    Offer strategy on a VA loan, what the VA appraisal and funding fee actually mean, the Virginia termite inspection, closing costs and who can pay them, and keeping the whole timeline tied to your Report Date.

    Read this stage

The move itself

Choose how you move, then execute it.

  1. Stage 8Week 10-12

    Stage 8 — Schedule the Move. The One Fork: Government Move or PPM.

    The single decision that shapes your whole move — let the government move you (HHG/DPS) or do it yourself for an incentive payment (PPM/DITY). How each path works, who each fits, and how to start it in DPS.

    Read this stage

  2. The fork in the road

    Stage 8 is the one place the roadmap splits. Pick how your household goods move — then both paths rejoin at Stage 9.

    Military moves you

    HHG / DPS

    The government books a contracted carrier. Less work, less control, no incentive payment.

    You move yourself

    DITY / PPM

    You arrange the move and get paid an incentive (taxable). More work, more control, potential profit.

    Not sure which? Ask the assistant to walk you through it.

  3. Stage 9Week 12-13

    Stage 9 — Pack + Move Out. Pack-Out Day, Weight Tickets, and What Travels With You.

    Surviving pack-out day — what movers will and won't take, the high-value inventory that protects a damage claim, the weight tickets a PPM lives on, and the box of things that should never go on the truck.

    Read this stage
  4. Stage 10Week 13+

    Stage 10 — Move In + Settle. Delivery, Damage Claims, and Building a Life.

    The final stage — receiving your household goods and filing a damage claim the right way, the in-processing that gets you paid, registering vehicles and enrolling kids, and actually building a community at the new base.

    Read this stage