Air Force Permissive TDY 2026: Stacking House-Hunting Leave + Closing Day at JBSA-Lackland or JBSA-Randolph Without Burning Annual Leave

by Christopher Beal

LAST UPDATED: August 6, 2026 | BY CHRISTOPHER BEAL, U.S. ARMY VETERAN & REALTOR

Air Force Permissive TDY 2026: Stacking House-Hunting Leave + Closing Day at JBSA-Lackland or JBSA-Randolph Without Burning Annual Leave

Air Force permissive TDY 2026 house hunting JBSA-Lackland JBSA-Randolph closing day timeline veteran realtor San Antonio — Air Force permissive TDY (PTDY) for house hunting gives PCSing airmen up to 10 days of non-chargeable leave to find a home at the new duty station, and it can be stacked with closing day if the timing is right.

Key Takeaways

Air Force permissive TDY (PTDY) for house hunting is governed by DAFI 36-3003 and can provide up to 10 days of non-chargeable leave for a CONUS-to-CONUS or OCONUS-to-CONUS PCS to JBSA.
PTDY house-hunting leave is taken before the PCS report date, and is typically approved as part of the gaining-command sponsorship process, not the losing command.
The smart play for JBSA-Lackland and JBSA-Randolph buyers is to stack PTDY with closing day: open escrow during PTDY, then return for closing during regular PCS leave or report-in-place orders.
Married airmen can bring dependents on PTDY, and PTDY can be used in conjunction with the BAH advance pay and DLA to fund earnest money and inspection costs without burning savings.
A working VA loan pre-approval before PTDY day one is the single most important variable -- without it, the 10-day window almost always burns down without a contract.

In This Guide

What is Air Force permissive TDY for house hunting?
How many days of PTDY am I entitled to for a JBSA PCS?
Who qualifies for house-hunting PTDY in 2026?
Why PTDY beats burning annual leave for house hunting
How do I stack PTDY with closing day at JBSA-Lackland or JBSA-Randolph?
A 10-day PTDY itinerary for buying near JBSA
How many homes will be on the market during your PTDY window?
The five mistakes airmen make on house-hunting PTDY
PTDY frequently asked questions

What is Air Force permissive TDY for house hunting?

Quick answer: Permissive TDY (PTDY) is non-chargeable leave granted by the Air Force for specific authorized purposes, including house hunting in connection with a PCS. It does not count against an airman's annual leave balance, and during PTDY the airman remains in a duty status for pay, BAH, and benefits while being physically away from the duty station.

The defining feature of PTDY is the word non-chargeable. Unlike ordinary leave, PTDY days do not draw down the 30 days of annual leave that accrue each fiscal year. For a single PCS move, an airman can often combine PTDY with regular PCS leave (often called delay en route) and arrive at the new duty station with the leave balance largely intact.

PTDY for house hunting is authorized under Department of the Air Force Instruction (DAFI) 36-3003, Military Leave Program. The instruction lays out the categories of permissive TDY, the maximum days allowed, who has approval authority, and the conditions under which the leave can be approved. For house hunting, the gaining command (the unit at JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, or JBSA-Fort Sam Houston that the airman is reporting to) is generally the approval authority.

Planning a PCS to JBSA? Christopher Beal specializes in military relocation across San Antonio and the JBSA installations -> Learn more about the JBSA PCS process.

How many days of PTDY am I entitled to for a JBSA PCS?

Quick answer: Air Force airmen on a CONUS-to-CONUS PCS may request up to 8 days of house-hunting PTDY. For OCONUS-to-CONUS moves (returning from an overseas tour to JBSA), the maximum extends to 10 days. PTDY is requested through the gaining command and is approved at the commander's discretion based on mission requirements.

The 8-day and 10-day caps are maximums, not guarantees. Commanders weigh the airman's specific situation and the gaining unit's mission requirements when approving PTDY. In practice, well-justified requests from inbound airmen with a clear house-hunting plan are routinely approved at or near the cap.

Move Type	Max House-Hunting PTDY	Who Approves	Common Snag
CONUS to CONUS PCS to JBSA	Up to 8 days	Gaining commander	Late TMO appointment delays orders, narrows window
OCONUS to CONUS PCS to JBSA	Up to 10 days	Gaining commander	International travel days eat into productive house-hunting time
Joint-spouse PCS	Up to 8-10 days each	Each member's gaining commander	Coordinating two simultaneous PTDY approvals across commands
Separation or retirement to SA area	Up to 20 days transition PTDY	Losing commander (different category)	Different rules; see DAFI 36-3003 transition PTDY section

Source: DAFI 36-3003 Military Leave Program (current edition) and JBSA gaining-unit common practice as of 2026.

Who qualifies for house-hunting PTDY in 2026?

Quick answer: Active-duty Air Force airmen on PCS orders to JBSA are generally eligible for house-hunting PTDY, including officers, enlisted, and warrant equivalents. Reservists and Air National Guard members on extended active-duty orders to JBSA may also qualify. Dependents may accompany on PTDY but do not draw separate leave.

Eligibility hinges on two criteria. First, the airman must be on bona fide PCS orders, not just informal notification. Second, the gaining commander must approve the specific dates requested, balancing the airman's needs against the gaining unit's mission. PTDY for a married airman with school-age dependents and a known closing window is typically approved without friction. PTDY for a single airman with no clear house-hunting plan is sometimes negotiated down to 4-6 days.

For active-duty airmen reporting to JBSA from an OCONUS location (Ramstein, Yokota, Osan, RAF Lakenheath, Misawa, and others), the 10-day cap is the operative number. International travel days do not extend the cap, which is one reason early planning matters disproportionately for OCONUS-to-JBSA moves. Our 2026 OCONUS-to-JBSA remote homebuying guide covers the variant where the airman cannot physically take PTDY at all and has to buy sight-unseen via video tour.

Why PTDY beats burning annual leave for house hunting

Quick answer: Every day of PTDY saved is one day of annual leave that can be carried into the new fiscal year, sold back at separation, or spent on a real vacation after the PCS dust settles. For most airmen, 8 days of house-hunting PTDY plus 5-10 days of regular delay-en-route leave is enough to handle the entire PCS without dipping into the 30-day annual leave bank.

The leave-balance math compounds over a career. A senior NCO who PCSes three times with optimal PTDY usage protects roughly 24 days of leave that would otherwise be consumed by house hunting. At separation, that translates to roughly $2,000-$5,000 in leave sell-back at 2026 base-pay rates for an E-7 or O-3, depending on rank and time in service.

The second benefit is psychological. House hunting under PTDY removes the time-pressure of also burning a vacation week. Airmen who arrive at JBSA having used only PTDY for house hunting can take an actual rest week after move-in, which directly reduces the divorce and disciplinary risk that historically spikes around high-stress PCS windows.

Need a VA loan pre-approval BEFORE your JBSA PTDY? Get pre-approved with a 2026 San Antonio VA lender so your 8-10 day window actually closes ->

How do I stack PTDY with closing day at JBSA-Lackland or JBSA-Randolph?

Quick answer: The stacking play is to use PTDY days 1-8 to find a home, write an offer, complete inspection, and start the VA appraisal, then use regular PCS leave (delay en route) to return for closing day 25-35 days later. The math depends on a standard 28- to 35-day VA loan close timeline from contract acceptance.

This is the single most important paragraph in this entire guide. Most JBSA airmen who burn out on house-hunting PTDY do so because they tried to compress contract-to-close into the 8-10 day window. A VA loan in San Antonio in 2026 typically closes in 25-35 days from accepted contract, driven by the VA appraisal scheduling queue (5-10 days from order to inspection), title commitment turnaround (5-7 days), and underwriting clear-to-close (5-10 days after appraisal returns).

The realistic timing structure looks like this. PTDY day 1: arrive at JBSA, settle into temporary lodging, meet with the realtor and lender, review pre-approval limits. Days 2-5: tour neighborhoods (Schertz, Cibolo, Universal City for JBSA-Randolph; Westlakes, Alamo Ranch, Ladera for JBSA-Lackland), narrow to 3-5 finalist properties. Days 5-7: write offer, negotiate, sign accepted contract, schedule inspection. Day 7-8: complete inspection, order VA appraisal, return to losing duty station. Then 25-35 calendar days later, return to JBSA for closing using 2-3 days of regular leave.

PTDY Day	Action	Output
Day 1	Arrive, meet realtor and lender, refresh pre-approval, review needs/wants list	Pre-approval letter ready, tour list narrowed
Day 2-3	Tour 8-12 properties across 2-3 target neighborhoods	Drop to 4-5 top candidates
Day 4	Second tour of top 4-5, drive school-to-base commutes, talk to neighbors	Drop to top 2
Day 5	Final walkthrough of top 2, decision, write offer	Offer submitted
Day 6	Negotiate counteroffer, sign accepted contract, deposit earnest money	Executed contract
Day 7	Inspection (3-4 hour window), schedule VA appraisal	Inspection report in hand, appraisal ordered
Day 8	Inspection negotiations, sign disclosures, return travel	All option-period items closed
Day 30-35 (later trip)	Return for closing using regular leave	Keys in hand

Source: typical 2026 VA-financed PCS-to-JBSA timeline based on LERA MLS option-period and close-date data across 2025-2026.

A 10-day PTDY itinerary for buying near JBSA

Quick answer: A 10-day OCONUS-to-CONUS PTDY adds 2 days of buffer for jet lag, school visits, and base in-processing recon. The structure is the same as the 8-day plan, with a relaxed Day 1-2 and an extra day for inspection negotiation and disclosure review.

Airmen flying in from Ramstein, Yokota, or Osan are typically jet-lagged for the first 36 to 48 hours after arrival, which makes Day 1 a poor day for high-stakes property tours. The smarter use of the extra 2 days at the 10-day cap is to schedule a school visit on Day 2 (Boerne ISD, NEISD, NISD, or Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD depending on target neighborhoods), then begin property tours on Day 3.

Joint-spouse moves benefit even more from the 10-day window. With two airmen separately approving 10 days each, families can coordinate a single 10-day overlap and use the second member's PTDY for school visits and in-processing recon while the primary tours homes.

Lifestyle Priority	Best Pick (JBSA-Lackland)	Best Pick (JBSA-Randolph)	Why
Shortest commute (under 20 min)	Westlakes, Alamo Ranch	Schertz, Cibolo, Universal City	Direct corridor to either base
Best schools for elementary/middle	Northside ISD (NISD)	Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD	High district ratings, military-friendly
VA loan-friendly inventory	Ladera, Alamo Ranch new builds	Cibolo Canyons, Schertz new builds	Builder incentives stack with VA
Hill Country lifestyle on E-6/E-7 BAH	Helotes, Boerne (longer commute)	Garden Ridge, Selma, Live Oak	Quieter, more space, longer drive
Officer/senior NCO luxury	Shavano Park, Stone Oak	Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Garden Ridge	Higher price tier, established neighborhoods

How Many Homes Will Actually Be On the Market During Your PTDY Window?

Quick answer: Far more than most airmen expect. In the 14 days ending August 6, 2026, 212 new residential listings hit the five JBSA-Randolph commuter ZIP codes alone, or roughly 15 per day. In the 2026 San Antonio market a 10-day PTDY window is a shopping trip, not a lottery ticket.

The 2021 house-hunting playbook is dead, and that is good news for your leave. Airmen who PCSed during the pandemic surge remember flying in, touring six homes in a morning, and writing an over-list offer before dinner because inventory was gone by the weekend. That market does not exist in the Randolph corridor today. Every commuter ZIP around JBSA-Randolph is carrying five to seven months of supply, and homes are averaging two to three months on market before they close.

That changes what your PTDY days are actually for. You are not racing other buyers to a scarce house. You are running a disciplined elimination process against a large field, which is exactly the kind of problem a 10-day window can solve if the leave calendar and the contract calendar are lined up before you board the plane.

ZIP / Area	Closed sales (90d)	Median close price	Avg days on market	List-to-sale	Active listings	Months of supply
78108 Cibolo (Randolph gate)	246	$364,000	98	98.0%	501	6.1
78154 Schertz (Randolph gate)	175	$350,000	83	98.1%	317	5.4
78148 Universal City (Randolph gate)	48	$253,500	63	97.9%	109	6.8
78253 Far West SA (Lackland commute)	572	$319,500	73	98.1%	1,000+	5.2+
78245 Southwest SA (Lackland commute)	527	$297,100	87	98.6%	1,000+	5.7+

Source: SABOR / LERA MLS, residential closings May 8 through August 6, 2026; active listing counts pulled August 6, 2026. Months of supply = active listings divided by the 90-day monthly closing pace. Active counts for 78253 and 78245 are reported at the 1,000-record query ceiling.

212 new listings in 14 days. Even if you only tour the 10 percent that fit your BAH, your bed count, and your gate commute, that is roughly 20 realistic homes generated during a single two-week leave window.

Read the list-to-sale column before you write your offer. Across all five ZIP codes, closed prices are landing between 97.9 and 98.6 percent of list. Sellers in this market are negotiating, and with the 30-year fixed averaging 6.66 percent in the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending July 30, 2026, seller-paid rate buydowns and closing-cost concessions are back on the table. VA rules let a seller contribute up to 4 percent in concessions on top of customary closing costs, and in a six-months-of-supply market that is a realistic ask, not a fantasy.

The mistake is treating a slow market like a fast one. Airmen who panic-buy on day three of PTDY give up the exact leverage that six months of supply just handed them.

Where you point those days matters as much as how many you have. Schertz and Cibolo carry the deepest inventory and the strongest school pull for families, while Converse, Live Oak, and Universal City put you inside a 15-minute Randolph commute at a median close price roughly $100,000 below Cibolo. If your report date is tight, that price gap is often the difference between closing before you sign in and paying for temporary lodging while you wait.

Have your PTDY dates but no plan for them? See how I build a one-trip JBSA buying plan or call (210) 882-8583.

The five mistakes airmen make on house-hunting PTDY

Quick answer: No pre-approval before Day 1, no neighborhood scouting before Day 1, scheduling movers during the PTDY window, leaving PTDY without an executed contract, and confusing PTDY with TLE (Temporary Lodging Expense).

Mistake one: arriving on PTDY without a VA loan pre-approval in hand. A pre-approval letter is the single most important document in a house-hunting PTDY. Without it, the buyer cannot make a credible offer, and even if a seller accepts, the lender's underwriting clock does not start. Smart airmen complete pre-approval 30-45 days before PTDY.

Mistake two: zero neighborhood pre-work. An airman who arrives at JBSA without having done online neighborhood scouting wastes 2-3 of the 8 PTDY days re-learning what could have been learned in advance. Spend an hour each weekend in the 60 days before PTDY scrolling MLS-feed sites, watching neighborhood drive-through videos, and reading school-district reports.

Mistake three: trying to schedule HHG/TMO movers during the PTDY window. PTDY is for house hunting, period. Trying to also coordinate household goods pickup or delivery during PTDY collapses the schedule. See our 2026 JBSA PCS HHG/TMO timeline guide for the right sequence.

Mistake four: leaving PTDY without an executed contract. Returning to the losing duty station without an accepted offer means starting over from scratch on the next trip, almost always under tighter time pressure with no PTDY days left. Better to lower the bar to 'best available within budget' than to walk away empty-handed.

Mistake five: confusing PTDY with TLE. Temporary Lodging Expense is a separate financial reimbursement, not a leave category. TLE pays for the actual hotel and meals during the move; PTDY governs the duty status. Both can be used together, but they are independent and require separate paperwork.

Want a custom 8-day or 10-day itinerary for your specific JBSA PCS? Request a free buyer consultation with a JBSA tour itinerary tailored to your rank, dependents, and target neighborhoods ->

PTDY frequently asked questions

Can my spouse use PTDY for house hunting if I cannot travel?

Dependents do not receive PTDY in their own right because they are not in a duty status. However, a non-military spouse can travel to JBSA on their own time and do the house hunting in coordination with the airman. The PTDY is granted to the airman; the dependent's travel is separate.

Can I take PTDY after I arrive at JBSA instead of before?

Yes, but it is significantly less common and typically requires a strong justification. Pre-arrival PTDY is the norm. Post-arrival PTDY (sometimes called arrival-side house hunting) is approved when the airman could not reasonably take PTDY before reporting, such as a no-notice cross-decking move.

Does PTDY count against deployment or reset clocks?

No. PTDY is non-chargeable leave and does not reset deployment dwell-time clocks, total active federal military service computations, or any retirement timeline.

What documents do I need to submit for PTDY approval?

A PTDY request typically requires the AF Form 988 or the unit's electronic leave system equivalent, a copy of PCS orders, the requested dates, and a brief justification statement (often a single sentence: house-hunting trip to JBSA for [date range]).

Can I use BAH advance pay to fund my PTDY travel and earnest money?

BAH advance pay is technically a separate entitlement and is typically used to bridge the gap between leaving the old housing and starting the new BAH at JBSA. Some airmen do use it indirectly to cover earnest money or inspection costs while waiting for the move-in. Coordinate with the gaining unit's finance office before the trip.

Do I need to be in uniform during PTDY?

No. PTDY days are functionally equivalent to leave days for grooming and uniform purposes. Wear what makes sense for the activity.

What if my orders are delayed and I cannot take PTDY in the originally requested window?

Resubmit the PTDY request with the new dates. PTDY is tied to the actual PCS, not a specific calendar date. As long as the airman is on bona fide PCS orders, the gaining commander can reapprove against the revised schedule.

Is house-hunting PTDY available for retirement or separation moves?

For retirement and separation, the relevant category is transition PTDY, which allows up to 20 days non-chargeable leave for job hunting, house hunting, and final-out activities. The approval authority is typically the losing commander rather than the gaining command.

Can I close on a home during my PTDY window?

Technically yes, but realistically no. The VA appraisal, underwriting, and title work typically require 25-35 days from contract acceptance, which is longer than the maximum PTDY window. The stacking play (PTDY for contract, return for closing) is the standard approach.

Where can I read the regulation directly?

DAFI 36-3003 Military Leave Program (current edition) is publicly available on the Air Force Departmental Publishing Office (e-Publishing) website. Search the site for DAFI 36-3003 and review the section on permissive temporary duty.

How many homes will be on the market during a 10-day PTDY trip near JBSA-Randolph in 2026?

Between July 23 and August 6, 2026, 212 new residential listings came on market across the five Randolph-corridor ZIP codes (78108, 78109, 78148, 78154, and 78233). That is about 15 per day, so a 10-day window should generate roughly 150 fresh listings on top of the 900-plus already active in those ZIPs. Inventory is not your constraint in this market; your schedule is.

Should I still rush an offer on house-hunting leave in the 2026 San Antonio market?

No. Randolph-corridor ZIP codes are carrying five to seven months of supply and closing at 97.9 to 98.6 percent of list, with average days on market between 63 and 98. You have room to negotiate price, seller concessions, and repairs. The one thing you should move fast on is your VA preapproval and your option period clock, because those are calendar-driven and your report date will not move for you.

About the Author: Christopher Beal

Christopher Beal is a U.S. Army veteran and the Owner of Veteran Real Estate San Antonio, a Beal Group practice brokered by eXp Realty (TREC License #723559). A Military Relocation Professional (MRP) and VAREP member, he is a 7-time eXp Realty ICON agent, winner of Best Real Estate Agency in the 2026 Best of San Antonio Readers' Choice (San Antonio Current, 100,000+ voters), and a 3x San Antonio Business Journal Top 25 Individual Agent (#13 in 2024, #14 in 2025, #20 in 2026). His recognition also includes 3x Platinum Top 50, 2x RateMyAgent Agent of the Year, 2x Real Producers Top 100, Five Star Professional (2026), and a RealTrends 2026 ranking. He has helped 325+ families, closed more than $125M in career volume, and holds 5.0 stars across 370+ verified reviews, working almost exclusively with military and veteran buyers and sellers across Bexar, Comal, Kendall, Medina, and Bandera counties, with a focus on VA loans, PCS moves, and homebuying near JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and Fort Sam Houston. He has run more permissive-TDY house-hunting trips than he can count, and he builds the itinerary around your approved leave window instead of asking you to stretch it. He can be reached at (210) 882-8583.

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Christopher Beal, U.S. Army Veteran & REALTOR
The Beal Group / Veteran Real Estate San Antonio
Call or text: (210) 882-8583
Web: veteranrealestatesa.com

Serving Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and Space Force families across San Antonio, Boerne, the Hill Country, and the JBSA corridor since 2014.

Watch: Stacking PTDY With Closing Day

Permissive TDY is house-hunting time you do not pay for out of leave, but the rules are specific. Here is how to line it up with a closing date at Lackland or Randolph.