Now let’s make the move the easy part. (Yes, even the paperwork.)
Some of the smartest moves you’ll make happen before the hard orders ever arrive.
This guide walks you through all of it — the logistics, the money, and the housing decision that quietly matters most — so when your orders come through, you’re not scrambling. You’re already three steps ahead. Read it start to finish, or turn straight to the part keeping you up at night. Either way, I’ve got you.
I didn’t just sell homes on Oahu — I moved here on orders too. So none of this is theory. It’s the exact playbook I’ve run for my own family, and for 350+ others.
Seven years on this island. Three kids. More neighborhoods than I can count on one hand — Ewa, Kapolei, and a few in between — so when I tell you which commute will wreck your mornings or which streets to skip, it’s because we’ve actually lived there. And we’ve used our own VA loan five times — which means I don’t just close the process, I’ve run it, for our family, five separate times. That’s the difference between a relocation guide and a neighbor who happens to be really good at this.
Household goods, EFMP screening, shipping your car, and getting your pets to the island.
Per diem, COLA, DLA, TLA, and your full 2026 BAH breakdown — where the real money is.
On-post, renting, or buying — the honest math on each, plus the VA loan walk-through.
Where the bases sit, what to do first, and how to actually enjoy the place you’re moving to.
The questions spouses ask me every single week, answered plainly.
Ready to talk it through? Book a call right on my calendar — I’ll save you a spot.
The stressful part on paper — but the part that goes smoothest when you know what’s coming. Tap any step to open it up.
This is usually the most stressful stretch of the whole move. Once your move is assigned to a company, they’ll reach out to schedule a walk-through, weigh your HHGs, and figure out what supplies they need. Then pack-out day arrives — and that’s when it gets real. Here’s what we’ve learned, sometimes the hard way:
EFMP — the Exceptional Family Member Program — screening is required for every family member, even those without a current EFMP status, and it has to be complete before you come to Hawaii.
It exists to make sure any special needs can actually be met by the resources here on island. Your PCM (primary care manager) can answer any questions and get you pointed in the right direction.
Your POV needs to be cleaned inside and out with no more than 1/8 tank of gas to ship. The military covers one vehicle.
Additional vehicles can go privately — most families use Hawaii Car Transport, roughly $1,200 per vehicle, arriving in about 3–4 weeks.
Moving a pet to Hawaii is no joke — so start ASAP, even before hard orders are in hand. The state has strict quarantine rules, and the whole process rewards early birds.
Find a vet at your current station who actually knows the Hawaii process; it makes everything smoother. The Hawaii Animal Quarantine site has every rule and checklist you’ll need to hit the 5-Day-Or-Less (or direct release) program instead of a long quarantine.
Renting with pets: finding rentals that allow animals is genuinely challenging here, and it often means large pet deposits on top of first month’s rent and a standard deposit. On-post housing typically caps you at two animals per household. Worth factoring in now, not later.
When you land, you’ll need a place to stay while you find your home — and the good news is your TLA (Temporary Lodging Allowance) is designed to cover it: 30 days once you sign in, plus another 30 if you’re buying (60 total). A few things that make this stretch easier:
“When I arrive, what will my new pay actually look like?” We’ve collected every one of these entitlements ourselves — so let’s walk through each piece with real numbers.
A set daily amount for meals & incidentals during your hotel stay.
It’s based on family size, and here’s the quiet win: you keep the difference.
Extra money every month to offset Hawaii’s higher costs.
Food, gas, utilities — living here runs more than most duty stations, so COLA helps close that gap. For my family it’s about $650/month. Yours will vary by pay grade and family size, and I’m always happy to help you estimate it.
A one-time payment toward the unexpected costs of moving.
Every move comes with surprise expenses. DLA is meant to partially reimburse you for them, paid out once you arrive in Hawaii.
Covers your hotel while you first arrive and look for a place to live.
You’re entitled to 30 days of TLA once you sign in, with an additional 30 days if you choose to buy a home — up to 60 days total. While in temporary lodging you’re receiving TLA, Per Diem, DLA, BAH and COLA all at once, with no housing payment yet. It’s a real opportunity to save.
Booking tip: make sure it’s a TLA-approved hotel so your stay is reimbursable. My personal favorites are the Residence Inn in Kapolei and the Queen Kapiolani in Waikiki. 🌺
Base pay is set by rank and time in service. See the current pay tables →
Plug in your details to estimate your monthly COLA. Open the COLA calculator →
Remember: base pay is the only taxed piece. BAH, COLA, per diem and the rest all come to you tax-free — a bigger deal than it sounds.
BAH is your Basic Allowance for Housing — and over a 3-year tour, it adds up fast.
Tax-free · 2026 Honolulu (Oahu) rates. Your BAH is set by pay grade, dependency status & location — not years in service (that drives your base pay). Always confirm your exact figure before counting on it.
Rates shown are 2026 Honolulu County figures, here to illustrate scale — always confirm your exact number for your grade and dependency status.
The single decision that shapes your whole tour — and the one most families make on autopilot. We’ve done all three: lived on-post, rented, and bought here. So let’s slow down and look at every path honestly.
You move somewhere new, you don’t want to think about where to live, so you take on-post housing and move on. Totally understandable. But here’s the trade:
You’re handing all of your BAH (in most cases) to a private housing company that is incentivized to maximize profit by providing the minimum they can — and you have zero chance of seeing any of that money again.
Get promoted while you’re here, or watch your BAH go up? You won’t see a dime of that increase — the housing office absorbs it. You didn’t suddenly get a nicer house, so why should they get more of your money?
Let’s get straight to it. In Hawaii you’ll typically need first month’s rent plus a security deposit equal to about one month’s rent up front.
Quick math: rent a place at $3,500/month and you’re looking at $7,000 up front — before any pet deposits, assuming you can even find a rental that takes pets.
When you rent, you’re essentially paying off someone else’s investment for them. Glance back at the BAH chart and you can see exactly how much you’d be handing to a landlord over three years here.
I can’t stress enough how simple and affordable it is to buy here. The real problem I see isn’t the market — it’s the lack of education, both on the VA-loan process and on how this island actually works.
Buying may not be right for everyone, and when it’s not, I’m glad to help military families find rentals here too. All I ask is that you let me walk you through all your options so you can make the absolute best choice for your family — not the fastest one.
Supply is permanently limited on a piece of land this size, and there will always be people who want to live here.
Every military branch is stationed on Oahu, so families are always cycling on and off the island — steady, built-in demand.
Even when mainland markets swing hard, Hawaii tends to stay largely untouched.
Here’s why I show every buyer this chart — two decades of Oahu prices, and the dips tell the real story.
For a 3-year tour, time in this market has historically meant equity in your pocket — not risk.
Days on market fluctuate, but Oahu typically sits between 14 and 30 days — often less.
In most cases your BAH is designed to carry the payment. Let’s look at your exact number.
Short answer: yes — and I can show you the real dollar amounts below.
This formula works for any pay grade and purchase price. I’m happy to build one around your BAH, what you need in a home, and your potential profit. In this example, the family wanted 2 bedrooms, 1–2 baths, priced around their BAH.
Using a standard amortization schedule, the loan balance at 36 months is about $514,647.
After payoff ($514,647), title & closing fees (~$8,986), and realtor commission — here’s what’s left in your pocket after three years:
Live on-post or rent, and your profit is zero. Buy, and you at least have a real shot at walking away ahead.
Go ahead — read that again.
This is the section I know cold — because we’ve used our own VA loan five times. So this isn’t theory; it’s the exact process I’ve run for my own family, over and over. And the misinformation around the VA loan costs service members and their families so many investments.
Many lenders now offer “no cost” VA loans, which means your only out-of-pocket is around $1,000 to open escrow — money you get back when you get your keys — plus roughly $500 for a home inspection. There is no down payment and no other fees paid out of pocket.
Psst — remember how much you’d need up front just for a rental? Yikes.
Most lenders just need a few minutes and a couple of documents to get you pre-approved. Getting pre-approved tells you your interest rate and — just as importantly — the price point that keeps your payment comfortable. The appraisal then protects you from ever overpaying for a property.
What you need to get pre-approved
Ewa Beach or Kailua? Kapolei or Hawaii Kai? I haven’t just sold in these neighborhoods — we’ve lived in them. Answer a few quick questions about your commute, budget, and lifestyle, and I’ll point you to the Oahu community that actually fits how you want to live.
You’re moving to one of the top destinations in the country. Let’s make sure you actually live like it.
Before anything else, it helps to see where your base sits relative to the rest of the island — commutes here are real.
Open the Oahu base map → to see every installation and where it lands on Oahu.
Whether you’re into scuba diving, rock climbing, history, or an incredible luau — Oahu has so much to offer. Don’t let “island time” turn into “never got around to it.”
Want my family’s actual favorites? Just ask — I hand these out all day.
A few to start with
There’s so much to know it can make your head spin. Here are the ones spouses ask me most — and if yours isn’t here, just reach out. These conversations are the reason I do this.
Unless otherwise specified, you’re allowed 5 bags per person.
It feels like at least once a month we head to the airport to grab bags and people and get them to their hotel — and we genuinely don’t mind. If you need a hand, let me know and I’ll put it on my calendar.
Unfortunately, no — the military doesn’t cover rental cars. You can put the cost on your government travel card, but you’ll be responsible for paying that portion of the balance off.
Yes, yes, YES — I can’t stress this one enough. I’m happy to send along examples with the actual dollar amounts clients have made after owning their homes for three years.
You don’t start receiving any Hawaii-related money (BAH, COLA, Per Diem, TLA) until you sign in. Once you sign in, the service member starts in-processing the following Monday — in-processing only starts on Mondays. Please note: you cannot arrive on leave, sign in, and stay on leave. If you stay on leave and don’t sign in, you will not be reimbursed for those expenses.
I work with several fantastic lenders who can have you in your new home in as little as 30 days. Remember — when buying, you get 60 days of TLA.
The short answer is no, likely not. While days on market fluctuate, it normally hovers between 14 and 30 days or less.
Yes — and more so every day. Homes with solar (PV) panels are increasingly common, and they give resale value a nice bump. There are also “Green Loan” programs with 2 years of no payments and no interest, which makes adding PV panels easy and affordable.
If a property is labeled “leasehold,” it means you wouldn’t own the land the home sits on — you’d pay an additional lease for it. Worth understanding before you fall in love with a listing.
With military orders, you only need to be 18 to rent a vehicle — just be sure to bring your orders when you pick up the car.
4.9 ★ across 45 Google reviews (as of August 2026). Here’s what military families say about making the move with me.
“…recently PCSed to my first duty station here in Hawaii. Courtney made the entire closing process and all the deadlines super straightforward and very easy to understand. I would highly recommend reaching out — especially for military members and families!”
“Buying our first home with Courtney was one of the best decisions we have ever made for our family. We started our homebuying journey from a different part of the world and she truly made everything so easy!”
“Courtney went above and beyond helping my wife and I find an amazing home in the Ewa Beach area. Even after finishing our home purchase she continues to help when we have questions.”
“They helped us find and buy a home in Ewa Beach and, later, when we moved to another state, she became our renting property manager for the same house. Five stars!”
Seven years, three kids, five VA loans, and 350+ families later, I know this move inside and out. I share real talk about living and buying on Oahu constantly — and when you’re ready, let’s make yours a smart one.