Selling on PCS orders without being in town

Can you sell a Virginia house after you PCS?

Yes. Service members sell homes on the Virginia Peninsula after reporting to the next duty station, and Virginia law supports it. You need four things: a timeline worked backwards from your report date, a sell-or-rent decision, a way to sign from wherever you are (a specific power of attorney, Virginia remote online notarization, or a notary at your new installation), and someone local to run the prep, showings, inspection and appraisal. A Virginia closing is run by a settlement agent, the attorney or title company that handles escrow and recording, so the seller does not have to be at the table.

Military relocation is one of Adam Triplett's specialties, and the process on his home page follows the three steps below: assess the timeline, coordinate the work, then sell and close remotely. For housing detail by base, see the military relocation guide.

Step 1: work backwards from the report date

The report date is fixed; terminal leave, the house-hunting trip and packout move around it. Start with the last night you sleep in the house, because it decides whether the house is listed occupied or vacant.

A sample plan for orders with about 60 days of lead time:

If the home is in a community association, order the resale certificate early. Under Virginia's Resale Disclosure Act, the seller or the seller's agent must get it from the association for the buyer, and the association has 14 days after a written request to deliver it (Va. Code § 55.1-2309).

Should you sell or rent when you PCS?

The deciding factors are specific:

• Proceeds now versus cash flow later. Compare your net from a sale with the landlord math: mortgage, landlord insurance, remote property management, repairs and vacant months.
• The capital gains exclusion. IRS Publication 523 excludes up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 married filing jointly) if you owned and lived in the home at least 24 months of the five years before the sale. Uniformed services members on qualified official extended duty (orders over 90 days or indefinite, at a station at least 50 miles away or in government quarters) can suspend that five-year period for up to 10 years. Depreciation claimed for rental use after May 6, 1997 cannot be excluded (IRS Pub. 523).
• Your VA entitlement. Keeping the house with an active VA loan keeps that entitlement in use. VA restores it when the home is sold and the loan paid in full, when a qualified Veteran assumes the loan and substitutes their entitlement, or one time if you repay without selling (VA eligibility).
• Landlord exposure. A military tenant can end a lease early on PCS or deployment orders under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3955), and Virginia bars liquidated damages for that early termination (Va. Code § 55.1-1235). Near four installations, plan for turnover.

The SCRA's mortgage and foreclosure protections cover mortgages taken out before military service (50 U.S.C. § 3953), so they may not apply if you bought while serving. Its lease protections run to service members as tenants, so if you rent the house out, they protect your tenant.

Power of attorney: specific beats general

Virginia's Uniform Power of Attorney Act lists the real property powers an agent can be given, including the power to sell and convey (Va. Code § 64.2-1625). A signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine, and the document must meet Virginia's recording requirements to go into the land records (Va. Code § 64.2-1603).

• Use a specific (limited) power of attorney. Military OneSource notes that some institutions will not accept a general one. Name the property, the sale and the person authorized.
• Get it drafted free on base. Installation legal services offices prepare powers of attorney at no cost to service members.
• Send a draft to the settlement agent before you sign. Many financial institutions want their own form, and finding that out the week of closing costs days you do not have.

Already gone? Virginia gives effect to notarial acts performed outside the state for use in Virginia, including those by commissioned officers on active duty and others authorized by military regulation to notarize for service members and their dependents (Va. Code § 47.1-13.1). The legal office at your new installation can notarize Virginia closing documents.

How remote online notarization works in Virginia

Virginia was the first state to enact remote online notarization, with legislation signed in 2011, according to the National Notary Association. The Virginia Notary Act defines it as an electronic notarization where the signer is not in the notary's physical presence (Va. Code § 47.1-2). Identity is confirmed over audio and video, backed by checks such as ID credential analysis or a knowledge-based quiz. The notary keeps a copy of the recording (§ 47.1-14), and the act is treated as performed in Virginia (§ 47.1-13). The notary must be in Virginia; the signer can be anywhere, per the NNA.

The settlement agent (Va. Code § 55.1-1000) decides how documents get signed, so ask early which methods it and the title insurer will accept for your deed.

Step 2: coordinate the work on a vacant house

The second step in Adam's process is coordinating the work: punch list, paint, landscaping and inspection items, scheduled and supervised locally so nothing waits on the seller being in town. If you hire anyone yourself, the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation's consumer guide gives two rules:

• Deal only with licensed contractors, and check license status and discipline with DPOR's License Lookup.
• Keep the initial deposit to no more than 10 percent of the job or $1,000, whichever is less.

Utilities and insurance on an empty house

Keep power and water on until closing: the buyer's inspector tests the HVAC, plumbing, water heater and appliances. Run the air conditioning in summer for humidity and keep heat on in winter.

Insurance is where empty houses get caught. Under standard homeowners forms, once a home has been vacant more than 60 consecutive days, vandalism and glass breakage are not covered, and most insurers will not keep insuring a vacant home (IRMI). The standard form also excludes freeze damage to plumbing unless you used reasonable care to maintain heat or shut off and drain the water (Insurance Journal). Tell your insurer the move date, ask whether you need a vacancy endorsement or a vacant-dwelling policy, and keep coverage in force until the sale closes.

Is an assumable VA loan a selling point?

It can be, when your rate is below the rates buyers are being quoted. VA-guaranteed loans are assumable, with conditions:

Two cautions on a deadline. The assumption runs through your loan servicer and processing times vary, so get the servicer's assumption package and timeline before you list. And the buyer needs cash or a second loan to cover the gap above your balance, which narrows the pool.

The installations and Adam's record nearby

JBLE-Langley is in Hampton and JBLE-Eustis is in Newport News (Joint Base Langley-Eustis guide). Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown are in York County.

Adam's closed-sales record, 2006 through July 2026, has 628 sales, including 198 homes with a Newport News address, 159 in Hampton and 111 with a Yorktown address; 396 of the 628 were on the listing side. The details are on the sold page.

Step 3: sell and close from your next duty station

Under contract, what remains is inspection, repair negotiation, appraisal, the final walk-through and closing. Offers and addenda are signed electronically, the deed is signed by one of the methods above, and the settlement agent records it and sends your proceeds.

Adam Triplett has been ranked the #1 individual agent by the Virginia Peninsula Association of REALTORS® every year since 2018, and seller representation and military relocation are both among his specialties. If you have orders or expect them, send Adam your report date to start the timeline. More on how he lists homes is on the sell page and the about page.