Hi Anny, what armychick said is pretty true. Except I'd like to stress that even the minimum wage, run-of-the-mill Tim Horton's jobs seem hard to get. I've been in Petawawa (I'm a spouse) for 7 months now and have yet to find a steady job with loads and loads of searching. It's tough here, but I know some people that have miraculously found some form of okay employment to get them by. It's great you went to the PMFRC for your questions, but if they couldn't cover anything you want answers from a spouse about then feel free to send me a message!
Petawawa Thread- Merged
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Hello,
My husband will be done his infantry training in Meaford by the end of March and we've been told we'll most likely be posted to Petawawa.
I'm new to all this and don't know to much yet, but we'd like to get a PMQ. I've been told there is a waiting list and we'd be set as priority but
Does anyone know just how long we could be on this waiting list? Our daughter and myself have been staying with family through all his training and it would be nice to live together again soon lol. Are we better off waiting for a PMQ or should I be looking for apartments? I've also been told its not easy to find apartments there either. If anyone could help me out with some info i would appreciate it
Thank You :yellow:
My husband will be done his infantry training in Meaford by the end of March and we've been told we'll most likely be posted to Petawawa.
I'm new to all this and don't know to much yet, but we'd like to get a PMQ. I've been told there is a waiting list and we'd be set as priority but
Does anyone know just how long we could be on this waiting list? Our daughter and myself have been staying with family through all his training and it would be nice to live together again soon lol. Are we better off waiting for a PMQ or should I be looking for apartments? I've also been told its not easy to find apartments there either. If anyone could help me out with some info i would appreciate it
Thank You :yellow:
MonB when my dh recently spoke with base housing in Pet, he was told families with children get priority, and that once the active posting season arrived things would quickly open up. There were somewhere around 170 people/families on the wait list for pmq's though, seems awfully high, but with the priority preference you would get, I doubt it would be a problem for you to get one.
Thank you everyone for your kind replies to my questions. We are still hoping to buy right in Petawawa but the lack of quality housing seems daunting. Part of me thinks if we're only there for a few years then why not just buy something that is easy to resell. Does anyone else here think the same way?
One more question, if we buy a house really close to an elementary school, would that make it more sellable? My real estate agent just said it's difficult to find houses within a block or two of schools which I guess was her way of avoiding answering the question.
Thank you everyone for your kind replies to my questions. We are still hoping to buy right in Petawawa but the lack of quality housing seems daunting. Part of me thinks if we're only there for a few years then why not just buy something that is easy to resell. Does anyone else here think the same way?
One more question, if we buy a house really close to an elementary school, would that make it more sellable? My real estate agent just said it's difficult to find houses within a block or two of schools which I guess was her way of avoiding answering the question.
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The long wait list is for single pers. I was in the housing office yesterday and was told that I could get a PMQ (married, no kids) within a few weeks. I have two friends that are both married, without kids that got a PMQ within days of going on the list recently.
When does the housing market start to heat up for posting season in Petawawa? I checked online and there's not much for sale right now, and it appears the mediocre selection currently for sale is either nothing exciting or horribly over priced!
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Anny said:
Commences approximately in April / once the posting messages start being sent by the career managers. The current demand is higher than the supply, and sorry don't expect it to get any better this summer. Agree fully with the previous advice about looking outside of the village. Anything you see online will likely be sold by the time you do your HHT. All the best, Dan.
Thanks cdnleaf. Does this mean that there should be no problem selling a house during posting season? I know at some smaller postings it can take forever for a house to sell, but it seems this won't be an issue there (I guess not unless your house is really crappy?)?
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Anny said:
I'm not qualified to respond to that one and a great factor to discuss with your real estate agent i.e. having a home will be marketable and sell quick in 3-5 yrs. My uneducated observation at the weekly listings in the paper, is that there doesn't seem to have been a market correction in this area. There are alot of new builds going up in Pet and another completely new subdivision going in on the west side of Doran. All the best to you and family.
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lol...you think it's overpriced NOW??? Just wait till it heats up.Anny said:
It's pretty much the same in all small town housing markets where the military is the only driver. Isn't it? Or is Petawawa a tad different because there's a couple communities to consider buying homes that are in a reasonable driving distance away?
justmyalias said:
I don't know about other small military towns, but I have been told prices in Pet go up around 20K during posting season, but really when you see the majority of the decent housing listed for $340K, some even over $400K, $20K difference isn't a huge deal in comparison. I assume housing prices go up per square foot come posting season in places like Oromocto and Greenwood as well, but I really don't know for sure.
I'm more surprised to see a tired, old 2 bdrm bungalow listed for $200K... (one that need at least $40K in updates and only has one bathroom). To me it seems worth it to pay for a 4 bdrm thats nicer and rent out a room or two. Not sure if this is exactly what we're going to do, but it's an option.
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Anny said:
In 2005 I sold my three bedroom, two bathroom bungalow with carport and garage on Herman St for $134K. Kelseys was just over my back fence, and I was within walking distance of the Beer/Liquor Store, and five minute drive (40 in Rush Hour) drive from work. If houses are in the $400K range now then there are a lot of speculators in the area again.
Now remember; you can place conditions on the seller before you purchase, such as that you will purchase only as long as they make the $40K updates/renovations/repairs. You don't have to buy if they don't.
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George Wallace said:
That house now would likely be in the 230k region now....I paid 102k for mine in 2002and could double my money but would still have to find a place to live with a reasonable mortgage...not going to happen
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riggermade said:
:cheers: Concur / George would have +/- doubled up by now. Crazy market, anecdotally I had a friend that was posted from Edmonton in 2002 and returned several years later. Needless to they had a hard time affording a similar house. Deals are always there, and I like the idea of looking outside the village as mentioned earlier in this thread.
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As for living outside of Pembroke/Petawawa, I have known people to not only buy in Chalk River and Deep River, but to the South in Eganville, and many of the small villages and towns to the East as far as Arnprior. It will all depnend on how far you may want to commute. What you save in the cost of the house, may be wasted on gas consumption during your commute. You also have to think about how easy it may be to sell when you are Posted out. It is all about "location, location, location".
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George Wallace said:
I too have known people to live quite a distnace away and George is right it easier to sell a house in Petawawa than in a place like Eganville. I haven't checked housing in Arnprior recently but there is alot of new construction since it is fourlane to Ottawa I think there is quite a few people who are choosing to commute into the city
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PanaEng said:
Definately just under....$269-$299 range, depending exactly where it is.
To continue on the other thought; people are not going out as far as Eganville and Cobden as much anymore, but the new trend seems to be to Chalk/Deep River, and down the small highways to areas around Rankin and Alice to get nice acreages in that area.
