Fort Hood housing offers security, sense of community - Killeen Daily Herald
The Cromwells lived in Killeen for a year before moving on post seven months ago, citing property management issues and high rent as the motivating factors in relocating. Like all Army families, they were given the option of moving on post when they were stationed at Fort Hood, an installation that offers housing to married soldiers of all ranks. The family now lives in Montague Village on West Fort Hood, a community separate from the main post with an array of home sizes and styles. “We were also paying $300 over our (basic allowance for housing) amount when we added up rent, electricity, water and trash, so financially it became a strain as well,” Cromwell said. Army families receive a basic allowance for housing determined by the service member’s rank and number of dependents. With on-post housing, the entire allowance is taken as “rent,” which includes utilities and 24-hour on-call. While some families find they can use the housing allowance to pay rent off-post and still result in savings, many find utilities, including electricity, water and trash removal, add up to more than the allotted amount. Fort Hood residents pay nothing above their housing allowance, unless their electricity bill surpasses the baseline set by their neighborhood. Ultimately, money was the No. 1 factor behind the Cromwells move to Fort Hood. Source: kdhnews.com
