Fort Drum Guide › Buying
Chapter · Buying near Fort Drum
Buy or rent? Run your numbers.
Check a home payment against your 2026 housing allowance, then compare renting and buying with North Country utility bills in the math. No sign-up, and nothing you type leaves this page.
What your VA loan does here.
The VA loan is a home loan benefit for soldiers and veterans. The VA backs part of the loan, so lenders ask for less from you.
No down payment
If your lender approves the loan, the VA doesn't require a down payment. Closing costs still apply, and you and the seller negotiate who pays them. Only the funding fee below can be added to the loan.
No loan limit
With your full VA entitlement (you haven't used it, or you've restored it), there has been no VA loan limit since 2020. Your income and credit decide how much a lender approves.
No mortgage insurance
Conventional loans with a small down payment usually add private mortgage insurance (PMI) to the monthly bill. VA loans don't.
The VA funding fee
A one-time fee, usually added to the loan: 2.15% on your first VA loan with less than 5% down, 3.3% if you've used it before, 1.5% with 5% down, 1.25% with 10% down. You pay no fee if you receive VA disability compensation, would get it but take retirement or active-duty pay instead, have a proposed or memorandum disability rating before closing, are on active duty and received a Purple Heart, or are a surviving spouse receiving DIC.
First step: get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), the document that shows a lender you qualify. Your lender can request it for you.
Your payment against your BAH.
Pick your rank and it fills in your 2026 Fort Drum housing allowance. Change any number and the payment updates.
Freddie Mac's weekly average for a 30-year fixed loan was 7.03% on Sep 24, 2026; your lender quotes your real rate. This estimate covers the loan payment and property tax only, not homeowners insurance. Talk to a VA lender for exact numbers.
Want homes that fit this payment?
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Free for military families. We connect you, never spam you.Rent or buy? Side by side.
Put in a real listing and your real bills. The comparison uses the down payment, interest rate, funding fee and tax rate you set above.
| Each month | Buy | Rent |
|---|---|---|
| Housing payment | – | – |
| Heat + electric | – | – |
| Water, sewer + trash | – | – |
| Total | – | – |
| BAH left over | – | – |
| After 3 years, before selling costs | ||
| Loan paid down | – | – |
| Equity if prices stay flat | – | $0 |
| Equity if prices rise 3% a year | – | $0 |
Estimates only. The 3% yearly rise in value is an assumption, not a forecast, and prices can fall. Equity here doesn't subtract closing costs or the cost of selling (agent and closing fees), which matter most on a short tour. Talk to a lender and a real estate agent before you decide.
Buying
- With a VA loan: $0 down and no monthly mortgage insurance
- Each payment builds equity instead of paying a landlord
- Your house, your rules on pets, paint and changes
- Repairs, heat and snow removal are yours
- On a short tour, closing and selling costs can eat the equity
- Renting it out from your next duty station takes planning
Renting
- Federal law (the SCRA) lets you end a lease early with PCS orders
- The landlord handles repairs
- You learn the area before you commit to a town
- Rent builds no equity
- Pet limits and pet fees are common
- Rent can go up, or the landlord can sell
New York money you have to ask for.
None of these arrive on their own. File for them, and check the deadline with your town or city assessor.
Veterans property tax exemption
New York's Alternative Veterans Exemption takes 15% off your home's assessed value for wartime service, another 10% for combat-zone service, and half your VA disability rating, each up to dollar caps set locally. It lowers county, city and town taxes, and school taxes only where the district opts in. Still serving? You can qualify once you have at least 10 years of active service and reenlisted past your first obligation; otherwise it starts after you're discharged. File Form RP-458-a with your assessor (New York's veterans exemption page).
Other veteran exemptions
New York also has a Cold War veterans exemption and an eligible funds exemption. You generally get one veteran exemption, so ask your assessor which saves you more.
STAR school tax credit
New homeowners get STAR as a credit, a check from the state toward school taxes, if household income is $500,000 or less. Register once at tax.ny.gov/star.
New York income tax
If your legal residence (domicile) is another state, New York doesn't tax your military pay. If New York tax shows up on your LES, ask your finance office to check your state of legal residence. Military retirement pay, including what a beneficiary receives, is fully exempt from New York income tax.
Checked Sep 24, 2026 against the VA's loan limit and funding fee pages, the 2026 DFAS BAH rates for Fort Drum (MHA NY225), Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage survey, the New York State tax department (veterans exemption manual, STAR, military pay, county sale prices) and the City of Watertown refuse page. Rates and rules change, so confirm with your lender, assessor and finance office.