PCS to Colorado Springs

Buying a home near Fort Carson, Peterson or Schriever, without guessing

Colorado Springs is one housing market with five very different commutes. Where you’ll actually work, whether you’ve used part of your entitlement in another home, and what the all-in payment looks like next to your BAH all change where you should start. Here’s how I’d think it through.

  • Fort Carson
  • Peterson SFB
  • Schriever SFB
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
  • Cheyenne Mountain SFS

Where to start looking

Your gate decides more than your zip code does

The base you’re assigned to matters, and so does which gate you’ll use and when you report. A house that’s an easy drive to one installation can be a real haul to another, so start with the worksite and work outward.

Fort Carson

Southern corridors tend to rise first: Fountain and Security-Widefield, South and Southwest Springs, and Southeast Springs around Lorson Ranch. Gate 1, Gate 3 and Gate 20 don’t create the same workday, so check the route from the actual address.

Find your Fort Carson starting areas

Peterson SFB

East and southeast usually make the short list: the Powers corridor and Southeast Springs. Central Springs can still win if walkability and established neighborhoods matter more to you than a newer house.

Find your Peterson starting areas

Schriever SFB

Schriever sits east of town, so Falcon, Meridian Ranch, Peyton and the eastern edge of the city come up fast. A planned neighborhood and an acreage property solve different problems, and more space usually means longer errand runs.

Find your Schriever starting areas

If one of you works at Fort Carson and the other at Peterson or Schriever, Southeast Springs around Lorson Ranch is often worth a look.

The VA loan math

What a VA loan can do in El Paso County

With full entitlement, the VA doesn’t cap how much you can borrow, and there’s no down payment required. Period. You still have to qualify, and the loan can’t be more than the home appraises for.

The county loan limit only comes into play when part of your entitlement is still tied up in another VA loan. That happens a LOT with PCS moves, when someone keeps the house from their last duty station and buys again here. The 2026 limit for a one-unit home in El Paso County is $832,750 (Teller County, for Woodland Park, is the same).

2026 El Paso County loan limit
$832,750
25% of the county limit
$208,187.50
Entitlement still tied up in another home
−$75,00025% of a $300,000 original VA loan
Remaining entitlement
$133,187.50
Biggest loan with $0 down
$532,750remaining entitlement × 4

Above that, a down payment makes up the difference, and a VA loan is still on the table. To run your own numbers, plug them into my VA Entitlement Calculator. It already has the El Paso County limit built in.

Illustrative example only. Your Certificate of Eligibility shows the entitlement actually charged, and you still need to qualify.

BAH vs. the real payment

Compare your BAH to the all-in payment, not the mortgage

Your Colorado Springs BAH depends on your rank and whether you have dependents, and it resets every January. Check your exact rate on the Defense Travel Management Office BAH calculator, then compare it with the whole monthly payment:

  • Principal and interest on the loan.
  • Property taxes. A lot of newer planned communities in Colorado sit inside a metropolitan district, which adds its own line to the property tax bill. Two similar houses a few miles apart can carry very different tax bills because of it.
  • Homeowners insurance, which every lender requires.
  • HOA dues, which are common in newer neighborhoods.

Or skip the lookup altogether. Text me your rank and whether you have dependents, and I’ll pull your rate and line it up against real payments in the areas you’re considering.

My Payment Planner lets you start from the payment you actually want and work back to a price.

Colorado-specific

The disabled veteran property tax exemption

If you’re rated 100% permanent and total by the VA, or you receive individual unemployability (rated at least 70% and paid at the 100% rate), Colorado exempts 50% of the first $200,000 of your home’s actual value from property tax. You also need an honorable discharge and at least 24 months on active duty, and it only applies to your primary residence.

Applications go directly to the county assessor between January 1 and July 1. Separately, the VA funding fee is waived if you receive VA disability compensation for a rating of 10% or higher, so it’s worth having your rating paperwork handy early.

Timing

Buying before you report

Most PCS orders come with an official report date, and a lot of folks burn the leave they’ve saved up right before it. Some roll into Colorado Springs the same week they report. Some get here a month early. Either way, you can buy before you arrive.

A VA loan is for a home you’ll live in, so someone has to move in within 60 days of closing, and that someone can be you OR your spouse and family. That helps a LOT when the family gets here first, or when you’re still wrapping things up at your last duty station.

So your report date isn’t the only date that matters. The ones that run the show are closing day and the day somebody actually moves in. My NowWhat PCS Guide helps you lay those out.

If you own a home now and you’re deciding whether to keep it, read 7 VA Loan Myths That Cost Veterans Options and run your numbers in the VA Entitlement Calculator. Most of all, text me. I’ll look at your orders, your timing and any home you own now, and tell you which order of operations actually works for your move.

Orders in hand?

Let’s map your Colorado Springs move

Send me your report date, which installation, and whether you own a home right now. I’ll tell you what I’d look at first.

Text me your orders Get pre-approved

Good questions

Colorado Springs PCS questions

Can I use my VA loan in Colorado Springs if I still own a home with a VA loan?

Often, yes. If part of your entitlement is still available, you can get a second VA loan and keep the first. In El Paso County, your remaining entitlement and the 2026 limit of $832,750 decide how much you can borrow with $0 down.

Do I need a down payment to buy near Fort Carson with a VA loan?

Not with full entitlement. The VA doesn’t cap the loan amount and there’s no down payment required. Period. You still have to qualify, and the loan can’t be more than the home appraises for.

Can I buy a house in Colorado Springs before I get there?

Yes. Someone has to move in within 60 days of closing, and that can be you or your spouse and family, so closing can land before or after your report date as long as the move-in works.

Does Colorado give disabled veterans a property tax break?

Yes. Veterans rated 100% permanent and total, or receiving individual unemployability, can exempt 50% of the first $200,000 of their primary residence’s actual value. Apply to the county assessor between January 1 and July 1.

General information, not a loan approval or tax advice. Sources: VA home loan limits · FHFA 2026 county loan limits · Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs: property tax exemption · Area guidance adapted from myPCSmatch. Reviewed November 2026.