Our Military AdvantEDGE! Program; Upon successful completion of your purchase through Home Buyers Relocation Services we will pay, at closing, ten percent (10%) of the total compensation we receive,   The details and benefits of this program are detailed below under AdvantEDGE Rewards.

On This Page:

Military specialization - an overview A great place to Live – your “Next Chapter” Dollars and cents – saved and earned AdvantEDGE Rewards

The "Welcome Home Heroes" mortgage loan assistance program has recently been launched by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, available to both veterans and active duty military personnel. For conditions and access, see www.OfallonHomes.com/heroes, or call or email Merrill.

   Welcome to Scott AFB ….one of the premium assignments in the armed forces and growing in stature and importance as a major defense installation.  Surviving BRAC with flying colors eight years ago, it’s apparent that Scott AFB is assuming an even greater role in our national defense and in the coordination of all of the branches of our service. 

And southwestern Illinois is a great place to live.  The cities surrounding Scott are wonderful communities with good schools and outstanding citizenship.  And they’re close to the base….commuting doesn’t need to be difficult and long. 

Yet within minutes, you’ll have the features and amusements of a major U.S. city available.  Or in other directions, the quiet, constant virtues of America’s agricultural breadbasket.

We’re proud of our service to the military personnel serving here, having had more than 1300 military families through our doors in our 20 years of service.

We intend to help make the experiences in your “Next Chapter” the best yet; to find the best possible solution for your family’s home needs, to save you money in this transaction and the next, all while providing a GREAT relocation experience.

Military Specialization:

Supporting military families is a truly specialized area of service. Families PCSing to Scott AFB, often from overseas, have incredible strain and endure astonishing difficulties, but seem to do it in good humor and with ultimate faith that things will turn out OK.   Most require extremely short home-hunting periods, with requirements for temporary facilities and all kinds of special needs...all part of our attention.

Most are going to need the best resale circumstances possible in their next new home, as they often need to plan to become a seller in just a few years. That's buying goal # 1, almost always, and often neglected!

Most use VA loans....and that's a technical specialty all its own, too. Inexperienced lenders or realtors working with VA loans find it a nightmare, when, in good hands, it's really not. Almost always however, all options should be considered.

Of the military families we’ve been privileged to serve in our offices, the chances are you’ll know some.  We’ve found incredible relationships exist in this elite club.

We find military families totally enjoyable. On the one hand, they are a very cosmopolitan group, having seen the world while contributing significant service to their country. But we've noted that the basics still prevail: family values, religious values, education, the arts, athletics, intense patriotism and everything we know as the good life in a small town cloak. They're truly real people despite the worldly experiences...or maybe it's because of it.

Through it all, the family is the core!   The constant from base to base, from chapter to chapter.  The family’s welfare and comfort is the primary concern, and we intend to support that welfare and comfort to the maximum.

So for a few brief days, we blend our families…yours with ours…until together, we find that single best living option for these next years.  

And so we're claiming sensitivity to unique Military Relocation needs, and that we have the tools, the experience, the connections and the attitude to provide top military relocation services.

And we can refer to "exclusive buyer" agencies in other towns too. Most bases now have exclusive agencies that enjoy strong networking with each other.

.
A Great Place to Live:

Please know that there are wonderful communities around SCOTT AFB, but each one is a bit different.  We’ll help in that selection by providing objective evaluations of the options, matching your specific needs with the best possible solutions for your consideration.   And you’ll get lots of advice from sponsors and friends that already live in the communities. 


We intend to relate to every aspect of the relocation experience...financing, schools, recreation, churches, fishing holes! Whatever it takes to get the job done and make you comfortable. We'll help with rentals as we can, too...or keep that option open as we search for the best alternatives for the family. Help with temporary rental facilities is automatic.

On the main menu, please see the major menu items “Illinois”, and “For Families”.  Both have in depth information and overviews.    The “Local Info” sections contain a lot of information on schools and communities.  We hope you begin by making yourself familiar with these summaries and comparisons. 

Remember, we view it all in complete objectivity…we have no ties to any single community or any single listing….wanting only “the best” for you!

Dollars and Cents…Saved and Earned!

Military families obviously need to be very careful about their finances.   They can be hurt or helped greatly by the home buying process and margins for error are minimal. 

One of the most important goals in The Home Buyers AdvantEDGE! Program is saving and earning money for our clients. In a real way, the objective is to conserve our buyers' equity, in this transaction, and, perhaps surprisingly, in the next by setting up the best possible resale.

Here's a partial list of initiatives. While there are many non-monetary benefits to exclusive representation…as recited in other sections, here we're focusing on targeting hard dollars…saved and earned!  (Click on each for just a bit more detail)

. Appreciation at resale….the biggest prize of all! Don't miss it!

. Financing consultation. Big differences, short term and long term.

. A more efficient and comfortable search. A mix of tangible and intangible, but considerable.

. Upgrades in "new-builds". Along with builder-comparisons, resale evaluation.

. Purchase discounts….but not always. And you can't let it distract you!

AdvantEDGE Rewards:

Home Buyers Relocation Services recognizes that many home buyers belong to organizations that have special offers for their member who agree to use certain assigned real estate practitioners.  The prime example is USAA, who offer a program called “Buyers Advantage” which includes mortgage lending and a pool of “approved” realty agents.

We recognize the offer of “cash back at closing” can be very tempting in the short run, and we don’t want to lose good clients because of this very commonly available practice.  

So we have created a USAA rebate lookalike, while providing premium relocation benefits as well.   The justification isn’t difficult:

We often mention how much we enjoy working with military families. We find them focused and smart, and that makes our job easier, too. Our program builds on that, suggesting attention to careful preparation or “positioning”, long before the power search.   In a real way, we become a partnership, and our team can be most productive and efficient if we start early and prepare.

The same preparation should also save you time ... reduce stress ... support wiser decisions in a timely manner ...help make the whole a more pleasant adventure, and save and earn hard dollars in the categories listed above.

Please know that none of this implies a commitment to use our services! We don't expect that until we've earned it, but we would like to offer these resources as if you were going to be our client, believing it important to you and to us. (If there's any question, use the resources and interview finalists after you get to town. There's more in the "Library" on choosing an agency.)

It's as simple as that! It's a small reward for keeping our practice efficient and teaming with us to produce the best home-finding results possible! Remember, there is no additional cost for exclusive buyer representation so this is a premium in addition to the many dollars we might save in the purchase process, and the extra dollars you should receive when reselling the home we help you buy.

Altogether our objective is to support premium relocation services, saving and earning equities whenever possible, in this transaction and the next, while adding comfort, convenience and confidence to the process.