A Practical PCS Guide To Fort Carson And Peterson Space Force Base

Colorado Springs can feel like the perfect assignment until the altitude hits, the air dries out your sinuses, and the “10 days of lodging” clock starts ticking. We sit down with Lori Thompson, a longtime Colorado Springs Realtor and broker who’s helped military families and civilians relocate for decades, to get brutally practical about what to do before you PCS to Fort Carson or Peterson Space Force Base.

We talk about the realities newcomers miss: Colorado Springs is a high-desert climate with snow, not a humid mountain town. Lori shares simple survival moves that make the first weeks easier, including hydration habits and why saline spray belongs on your Colorado relocation checklist. From there, we zoom out to lifestyle: free things to do, downtown energy, parks and hiking, and how commute times shape your neighborhood options across the city.

If you’re wondering about the Colorado Springs housing market near Fort Carson and Peterson SFB, we break down what “competitive” really means right now, why some homes fly while others linger, and how affordability can quietly get wrecked by upgrades and incentives that don’t last. Lori also explains how to use video tours effectively when you’re house hunting long-distance, how to plan for short-term rentals after arrival, and the two non-negotiables that keep you safe: a real pre-approval and a thorough home inspection.

If this helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s PCSing, and leave a review so more military families can find it. What’s the one thing you wish someone told you before your last PCS?

To learn more about RE/MAX Properties Inc. visit:
https://www.LoriThompson.REMAX.com
RE/MAX Properties Inc. 
Colorado Springs 
719-332-1807 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to your colored spray life. We're real staying in real time. Maybe a little too much cover. Hosted by Remax Properties Licensed Realtor Broker and Producer Lori Thompson. A local legend who've been helping military families and civilians buy itself for over 40 years. Whether you're PCSing, upsizing, downsizing, or just a dream, Lori's got you covered. Why? Because she's your lifetime realtor. And she actually answers her phone. Imagine that.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

Welcome back, everyone. Frederick here, co-host and producer in the studio with Remax Properties licensed realtor and broker, Lori Thompson. Lori, how's everything going today?

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Oh, just great. How are things going for you?

First PCS Reality Check

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Amazingly, amazingly. Thanks. So, Lori, great to be here with you. Today's question is: what should military families know when PCSing to Fort Carson or Peterson Space Force Base?

Dry Climate Survival Kit

SPEAKER_00 1:21

That is a great question. We also have the United States Air Force Academy and Shrever Air Force Base. So we are actually home to four different military installations. And I think some of the most important things they should know really depend on what part of the country they're coming from. Now, I will tell you, a lot of people think Colorado and they think snow. Well, that's true. We do have ski resorts, but we are actually high desert with snow. It is a very, very arid climate. So it's important when you get here, both for the elevation and for the lack of humidity, to drink lots of waters and to have a few survival tools that I'll get into in just a moment. It's a basic survival kit anyone coming here should have available to them. We are a very military-friendly community. There are a lot of local businesses and restaurants that offer veteran discounts because we have such a rich history. Just one note, one time, and this would have been about 20 years ago, I was talking to a cab driver in Puerto Virto, Mexico, and he asked where I was from. And I said, I'm from Colorado Springs. And he goes, I served at Camp Carson during World War II. And so that was a gentleman who was stationed at what was then Camp Carson. And I had no idea that we had a cooperation agreement with the country of Mexico during World War II, where they had soldiers at Camp Carson. So it's just a really strong military history here, very exciting military history here with the United States Air Force Academy, which the Air Force was actually an offshoot of the Army Air Corps. And I met some of the original members of the Army Air Corps. And once I got to attend a football game with some of the Tuskegee Airmen. So this region is just rich in history when it comes to the military. But to get to your question, when they're PCSing here, um a survival kit for their family, because we are so dry, be prepared to drink a lot of water. You could also face elevation sickness depending on where you're coming from. This is the second most requested assignment right behind Hawaii. And if you're coming from Hawaii, well you're at sea level, all of a sudden you're at 6,000 feet above sea level. So there's some adaptations. I recommend that people have saline spray. That might sound funny, but it's for your nose because it's not uncommon here to blow your nose and end up with a bloody nose because your membranes are dried out. So what's really important is to hydrate. Unfortunately, coffee is, oops, I see it's kind of fading in and out with my virtual background, but coffee does not help you hydrate, but water does. Um, then to know, okay, well, what are we going to look at? This is a great blended community because it's both very family friendly and it also has a robust nightlife downtown. There are a lot of different things to do that are free. So basically, it's getting prepared for the climate and what part of town you want to live in. What is your lifestyle? So we send out questions in advance. Hey, do you have a pet? What do you like to do? Is there someone else we should include on your search? So basically, it's just prepping them for how long of a commute do you want? What kind of lifestyle do you have? Are schools important? And if so, what kind of schools are you looking for? So it's just basically finding out what fits them the best.

Housing Market Competition And Timing

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Wonderful, wonderful. Thank you for that very thorough uh preview of life for people just moving into the area. So that being said, you mentioned a lot of great things, you know, um a lot of free amenities, uh, nightlife, all those things. So that leads me to my next question, which is how competitive is the housing market near Fort Carson and Peterson? And what timelines should families expect since there's so much great stuff? Is there a big number of people trying to move? Is it very competitive? Or what's your take on this?

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Well, our market is kind of like our weather. And you've probably heard this saying before, but it is so true here. Um, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes, it'll change. So right now it's March, and this particular March, we have had almost no humidity. This is normally a month where we get a couple of good snowstorms. Unfortunately, we have been very dry and we've had several fires that are burning. But next March we might have, you know, a record-setting blizzard. So that can really change. Um, as far as what to do, we have a lot of different cultural events. We have a lot of hiking, we have a lot of parks, we have a lot of choice with schools. We are open enrollment, subject to space available. So it really doesn't matter what neighborhood you choose to buy in, you could choice into a different school district if you wanted to, and if they had space available. Right now we have kind of a balanced market in that it's more competitive for some homes, and other homes aren't, they tend to linger and do price reductions. So it's kind of more of a buyer's market at this time, but that can change into a seller's market, and I have watched it for 41 years go one direction or another direction.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Understand, I understand. So you mentioned it doesn't really matter which neighborhood people buy into, which is a perfect segue to my next question because I wanted to ask you: are there particular neighborhoods that tend to work well for military families? You know, and that could be based on commute, schools, amenities, etc.

Picking Neighborhoods And Commutes

SPEAKER_00 7:17

You know, just about everything. I used to say 15 minutes, and now I'm going to expand that to 30. Almost everything is about a 30-minute commute, so you have a lot of flexibility. Um, if you're going to be at the Air Force Academy, then you would want something usually pretty north or east, just if you're looking at solely at commute times. If you're going to be at Fort Carson, then you're going to be looking at Security Wide Field, or you could also look at different neighborhoods that might be a little further north and east. Um, it really does depend on where you're going to be stationed, how much commute time do you want, and what kind of school system or amenities do you want? There's new construction developments in almost every neighborhood except for those on the west side that are pretty much landlocked with national forest. So it there's just so many different factors.

Lodging Gaps And Video Tours

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Gotcha, gotcha. Thanks for that. So, what should families know about temporary lodging, short-term rentals, or even when it comes to timing their arrival? Do you have any tips when it comes to that?

SPEAKER_00 8:29

Yeah, I like to kind of prepare them in advance. Once again, once I've done the questionnaire, something that's really important to me is I want them to have a payment that they can afford. Affordability is very, very important. And sometimes you go into a new home model, and before you know it, they're adding all kinds of extras, or you go to their design center, and it's easy to watch that purchase price just kind of balloon. They might even offer some financing incentives, but are they short term or are they long term? So I always like to look at the affordability question. Typically, when you get here, you get a 10-day period where they're going to give you lodging, and that's part of your home search. Well, that's not enough time to close on a home, obviously. So, what I like to do is I like to set them up in advance, and I love, love, love to do video tours. I do video tours, not FaceTime, and I'll tell you why in just a minute. But I like to do video tours of different areas and different homes so they could actually see them and see, oh, well, I like this. Well, I don't like this, or I always wanted a bigger yard and I wanted trees. Well, if you want a bigger yard and trees, that kind of rules out most new construction. Um, but with FaceTime, you run into spotty connections. The call can drop. Later on, they can say, Oh, which one had those gray cabinets that I like so much? So, what I prefer instead is I'd like to do a series of one-minute clips, one to one and a half minutes because that's like the maximum text size. And I like to show them, hey, here's your street. Look at this street, here's the views, here is the front entry. Now I want you to notice there's some peeling paint over here because a lot of marketing photos can have touch-ups or they can be digitally altered. And I want to show them the real McCoy. I want to show them, hey, this is what I like about this house. My natural enthusiasm comes through. I'll say, look at this view, this is awesome, or look at this kitchen. So, you know, I really like to show them this is the real McCoy. This isn't the fancy marketing package, this isn't zoom in, zoom out. This is me walking through the house. And I like to do that whenever possible. Sometimes people are not comfortable looking long distance, but you can always make that offer contingent upon you seeing it in person. So I always have uh an escape avenue once they get here. But 10 days is not necessarily enough time to secure a home. And then you have to look at short-term housing. The military will hold typically, they'll hold your household possessions for 90 days. You can extend it, you can request an extension, and so then it's just a matter of finding the right Airbnb or temporary lodging until you can close on a house and have everything ready to go to have your household's goods delivered.

Pre Approval And Home Inspections

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Gotcha, gotcha. And you mentioned that kind of 10-day turnaround, which is not enough. Um, so that being said, are there or what documents or prep work can families complete ahead of time to make their home search smoother?

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Most important is your pre-approval. Make sure that you are pre-approved with your financing. Then with different houses I find, I can run them past your lender. We can get you an estimated payment, we'll be several steps ahead of the game. And never ever, ever buy a home without a home inspection. The more thorough, the better. I always tell people, you know, you don't have to have a home inspection, but when you jump out of an airplane, you do not have to pull that little tab over your left breast pocket, but it's a really good idea. And so I want to make sure the houses that I sell, a home inspector cannot find everything in a two to three hour inspection. I have one scheduled for later this afternoon. I have uh one home inspector who said if I had to find everything, I need to live in the house for 30 days. But they can look for the major red flag warnings. They can look at the foundation, they can look at the roof, they can study the electrical system, look over the furnace, check your hot water heater, your faucets. I mean, they really, really are thorough. So to be ahead of the game, be pre-approved. Because then we go look at the houses and we're ready, set, go. And I like to prepare them a bit on some of the paperwork that we're going to be doing.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Gotcha, gotcha. I'm sure they appreciate that so much. Well, Lori, thank you so much for sharing such helpful insights for our military families. We do appreciate you and everyone tuning in. Thanks for joining the journey, and we'll see you all next time.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

That's a wrap for this episode of Your Colorado Springs Life and Home. Got questions? Need advice? Just want to talk about interest rates and branded countertops? Call or text Maury at 719-332-1807. Yes, she'll really respond. Or visit MauryThomson.remax.com to get started with your lifetime realtor. Because when it comes to Colorado real estate, Maury doesn't just know the market, she is the market.