Military Relocation to Coastal Florida — Free PCS Guide for Northeast Florida

The problem

A six-figure decision, from a thousand miles away, on a clock

PCS orders come fast. You're still on duty, you can't see the houses, and every relocation guide you find is either a listing brochure or three years stale. The numbers that matter — insurance, property tax, BAH, inventory — have all moved in the last twelve months.

What it costs to get wrong: a commute you can't live with, a BAH figure from the wrong Military Housing Area, a CDD fee nobody mentioned, or a school zone that got redrawn after you closed.

There's a better way: narrow the search before you set foot in Florida, with numbers that carry a source and a date — so when you land, you're ready to move.

What's inside, by the numbers

5Areas compared — Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona, Ponte Vedra/Nocatee

3Installations with commute tables — NAS Jax, Mayport, Blount Island (plus the Kings Bay warning)

6County school districts graded A in 2026 — and why the district grade isn't the answer

Every figure carries its source and date. Data current as of September 2026.

What's inside

Eleven pages. Where to live, what it costs, and when to do what.

Which area fits — Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Palm Coast, Daytona and Ponte Vedra/Nocatee with real medians, days on market and months of supply, and where two credible sources disagree, you get both
The commute reality check — drive-time tables to NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and Blount Island, plus why Kings Bay is a different housing area
Schools — the July 2026 district grades for all six counties, and the one thing the grade doesn't tell you
What it actually costs — the insurance turnaround, flood, the homestead exemption and Amendment 3 on the November ballot

BAH and what it really buys — the 2026 Jacksonville rates, the 2.4% cut nobody mentions, and the mistake families make with a mortgage calculator
Your VA benefit — the current funding fee table, the exemptions, entitlement, and the 4% concession rule stated correctly
The PCS homebuying timeline — from the day orders drop to closing and move-in, worked backwards from your report date
Programs you may qualify for — Florida Hometown Heroes and Homes for Heroes, through an approved vendor

Why it's worth more than free: no rate promises, no listing-brochure adjectives. Every market figure carries a source and a date, and it says plainly when the honest answer is "rent this tour, buy the next one."

About Garrett

I've had orders, I've used the benefit, and I can write your loan

I'm Garrett Decker — Marine Corps disabled combat veteran, former wildland firefighter and sheriff's deputy. I'm a licensed Florida Broker Associate and a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator with FLO Mortgage, and I hold the National Association of REALTORS® Military Relocation Professional certification. My brokerage is Navy To Navy Homes, which was named Homes for Heroes 2026 Real Estate Specialist Team — #1 in Florida and #2 nationwide. The Decker Group is part of that program.

One person handles the house and the loan, so nothing gets lost between two offices. For a VA buyer on a PCS clock, that's often the difference between closing on time and not. And the mortgage side is always your choice — never a condition of working with me.

Why I'm qualified: licensed since November 2019, 180+ homes sold, #6 by volume in Palm Coast in 2025 (RealTrends Verified), 2022 REALTOR® of the Year for Flagler County, 96 verified reviews at 4.9 stars.

My process

Straight answer first.

Your report date, your BAH for the right housing area, your entitlement, and whether buying on this tour makes sense at all — before we look at a single house.

The whole number before the search.

Mortgage, taxes, insurance, flood, HOA, CDD and the commute to the gate — run against your real budget, not the app's guess.

Every date tracked, backwards from your orders.

Video walkthroughs while you're still at your current duty station, then COE, pre-approval, offer, appraisal and inspection on one timeline. Fully remote if it has to be.

Why work with Garrett

What working with me actually gets you

One person for the house and the loan.

The number I show you before we tour is the number I'd underwrite — not a handoff to somebody else's spreadsheet.

The funding fee exemption, checked first.

Because I carry a rating myself, I ask about it on the first call. If nobody has asked you, that's your sign.

Fully remote if you're still out of state.

Whole transactions handled while you're at your current duty station — video tours, remote signing, one timeline.

I've sat on the builder's side.

If you go new construction, I know what incentives are really on the table and where the contract protects the builder.

Both hero programs, as an approved vendor.

Florida Hometown Heroes and Homes for Heroes through Navy To Navy Homes. Whether you qualify is the program's decision — I'll check and tell you either way.

I answer.

Eleven separate clients across six years have said the same thing in writing: after hours, weekends, across time zones.

Proof

People who bought without the drama

"Garrett and his wife were the absolute BEST Real Estate agents. They took great care of us and their follow through was outstanding (especially since we're not in the State just yet). Service like that was extraordinary, to say the least."

Buyer, out of state · 2026

"He was always prepared and ready to do whatever and whenever something came up that needed to be done or checked into. He also always responded immediately, and I called him often, after hours, weekends."

Buyer · 2025

"Garrett was instrumental in getting our designing our custom home and as our lender he was our advocate in getting closed while dealing with adversity from the builder."

Buyer, new construction · 2025 · Garrett acted as both agent and loan originator, disclosed

Orders to Northeast Florida? Here's the guide I wish someone had handed me.