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Mostly agree with this, but I would say anything built prior to 2000 is "old". We are in 2013, so you're already talking about a 13 year old home at that point. On average people here tend to get new cars at least every three years, new smartphones every year or two, so I don't see wanting to get a new home at least every 10 yrs as a bad thing. Why spend time trying to take apart your iPhone 4 and put in a new processor when you can just get an actual iPhone 5? Same logic applies to houses, why bother with replacing all the faucets and door handles and window treatments when at the end of the day you still have an old shell of a house? NovaOne, how many houses did you upgrade through in that yen year span?
Also agree on the bathrooms thing: I do no know how anyone can survive in a house with less than 3.5 baths ...hats off to those who can do it.
The magic of the internet community. I don't believe I've ever talked to anyone in person who has a similar viewpoint on housing. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, it is just odd to read. Even my brother, who bought a post-2000 house in another area, did it with the intention that it would be a longer term house. For those on the property ladder (condo to small starter house to large house) it makes sense. But I just can't wrap my head around buying a new house because some of the fixtures aren't the latest style. It takes all types, I guess!
My wife and I didn't even consider a newer house. Even if they had been reasonably-priced or within a reasonable commuting distance, we were looking for something solid that we could put our own touches on. For me the "old shell of a house" was a huge selling point, as our brick and block house is a tank compared to the stick-built newer houses that we've been in.
For bathrooms, I think a nice guideline is the number of people in the house divided by 2, plus 1. So, for 4 people, 3 ba is fine. For 6 people, 4 ba is good.
Mostly agree with this, but I would say anything built prior to 2000 is "old". We are in 2013, so you're already talking about a 13 year old home at that point. On average people here tend to get new cars at least every three years, new smartphones every year or two, so I don't see wanting to get a new home at least every 10 yrs as a bad thing. Why spend time trying to take apart your iPhone 4 and put in a new processor when you can just get an actual iPhone 5? Same logic applies to houses, why bother with replacing all the faucets and door handles and window treatments when at the end of the day you still have an old shell of a house? NovaOne, how many houses did you upgrade through in that yen year span?
Also agree on the bathrooms thing: I do no know how anyone can survive in a house with less than 3.5 baths ...hats off to those who can do it.
I understand your perspective but wholeheartedly disagree. Real estate is completely different than cars and electronics. Real estate is typically an appreciating asset while cars and electronics are depreciating assets. Keeping up with repairs, upgrades, maintenace, etc. on a house yields rewards - to a significant extent, whatever money you put into a house will come back to you with a premium when you eventually sell a house. This is probably more true for upgrades and repairs that are visible as opposed to the hidden ones behind walls for which no one can see the money that was put in. For example, I am replacing our driveway at our 40 year old house tomorrow. It is going to cost me around $2,000, but if I turned around and sold my house next month, I suspect that $2,000 would more than come back to me (assuming the contractor does a good job, of course).
Cars and electronics are completely different. The second you drive a new car off of the dealership lot, it loses a significant amount of its value. The same is true for electronics - they are obsoleted by new technology very quickly. You can repair cars and electronics, but it will generally not add much to the value of such items, only prolong its useful life.
As to the number of bathrooms, well, I think it really depends on the number of people in your household. In my house, it is just me and my wife. We have 3.5 bathrooms, and it is much more than we need. I would think 2.5 is plenty for most families with 2 children or less. I'm sure an extra full bathroom comes in handy when you have guests, but, unless you're having guests all the time, I just don't see how it would be a matter of survival. Convenience, yes. Survival, no.
My husband has accepted a job in DC and we're moving there from Los Angeles in less than a month. (A little crazy, I know.) We're a family with two young children looking for a great place to live within an hour commute of the Dupont Circle metro stop. (Willing to drive to metro station.) We want to rent for a year with a $2,100- $2,500 budget and hopefully buy a house in the $500,000 range in the same school district within a year or two. The trick-- we need to find the place next week. We love Leesburg, but it's just too far out. Any ideas for family friendly neighborhood within reasonable distance to schools, hospital, and stores? Would Falls Church fit the bill? We're also considering Burke (may be too remote), Springfield (we've heard some parts are "sketchy", but don't know which parts they are), Arlington or Vienna (too expensive to buy?). Any suggestions would be most welcome, including ideas for getting a feel for neighborhoods from 3,000 miles away!
Hopefully you mean you are coming here next week to look and not that you actually need to move in. It's going to be difficult to find a place you can move into in such a short time. Almost impossible to find a place that fast that will work for you long-term. It's summer, so that's actually a good thing - no school. You can choose any place you can get into with a reasonable break-lease fee, and then conduct your search for a permanent home in August, before school starts. It's just too unlikely you'll find a place to move into that quickly and it will also be a place that works for your financially and commute-wise. You might even consider a few weeks in an extended-stay hotel (to save you unpacking twice).
As everyone will tell you, 500K is not enough to be within an hour of DC, or at least just barely. And are you willing to live in a townhome? That is a perfectly normal, middle-class home to live in here. I would suggest beginning your search in Vienna (it's got a metro) or Fairfax, within close driving distance of the Vienna metro. Most schools in those areas are very good. You might also consider Burke and southern Fairfax if the VRE schedule looks like it will work for you (that's a train that runs to DC and has a stop in Burke). Burke/Fairfax is very affordable, but nice, and a good choice in your price range. I'm not sure Springfield will work for you - west springfield is the desirable part, but it's not that close to the metro, and that metro station has pretty limited parking. Perhaps others will disagree.
Here's how I would begin the search: Use the DC metro website, Google maps, and a mapped real estate site (like Redfin or similar) to see how things are laid out, what they cost, and how long it takes to get to Dupont from each place. Metro has a trip planner that will map out your route for you and give you times. Begin with the towns above, (check the VRE site to see if Burke/Fairfax will work - they are also about 20 minutes from the Vienna metro), and then look at the areas near the metros on the map. If you find an area that looks affordable and gives you the right commute, go to fcps.edu and check out the schools. Every school is listed there along with test scores and demographics. If the area looks good, start looking for anyplace you can live right away, including a hotel, place on Craigslist, apartment, etc. It will be a lot of Googling, but once you've identified a few places, come back and ask us about those specific places and you should get some pretty good information quickly. Good luck!
As everyone will tell you, 500K is not enough to be within an hour of DC, or at least just barely. And are you willing to live in a townhome? That is a perfectly normal, middle-class home to live in here. I would suggest beginning your search in Vienna (it's got a metro) or Fairfax, within close driving distance of the Vienna metro. Most schools in those areas are very good. You might also consider Burke and southern Fairfax if the VRE schedule looks like it will work for you (that's a train that runs to DC and has a stop in Burke). Burke/Fairfax is very affordable, but nice, and a good choice in your price range. I'm not sure Springfield will work for you - west springfield is the desirable part, but it's not that close to the metro, and that metro station has pretty limited parking. Perhaps others will disagree.
You can definitely buy a SFH or townhouse in the Springfield area for around $500k, and the commute using the Franconia-Springfield Metro will be roughly an hour door-to-door. I drive to the Franconia-Springfield Metro every day, and commute to DC. I have arrived at the Metro parking lot at various times during the morning - usually, I arrive between 8 and 8:30 am, but I have arrived as late as 9:30 and 10. I have never, not once, been able to find a parking spot. Sometimes I have to go to one of the top 2 levels of the parking garage, but there is always parking available.
Depending upon your perspective about Fairfax County Public Schools, you may want to limit yourself to a neighborhood that is in the West Springfield or South County HS pyramids, but there are plenty of nice SFHs and townhomes that are zoned for Lee HS as well - they will generally be slightly cheaper because of Lee HS's reputation of not being as good of a HS. If you go west of 95, you will find plenty of SFHs and THs zoned for Hayfield and Edison HSs that can be had for around $500k that are quite close to the Metro station as well.
I have found that people generally have 2 opinions about Fairfax County Public Schools. One, they all have similar curriculum, and a motivated student can do well at any of the schools. Two, avoid the ones with higher percentages of ESL and socioeconomically disadvantaged students like the plague because even motivated students are likely to get dragged down by those students. If you fall in the first group, you will probably be fine with any of the schools in the Springfield area. If you fall in the latter, you will probably want to avoid Lee, Edison, and possibly Hayfield, and aim for West Springfield or South County.
I have never, not once, been able to find a parking spot.
I just re-read this and realized I forget to put in a "not." What I intended to say was "I have never, not once, not been able to find a parking spot." My point being there has always been parking available for me when I have used the Franconia-Springfield Metro.
Maybe I see houses differently, but I wouldn't say that "$500k homes are going to be small & old, or pretty far out" or that "this budget won't buy much house in the Nova area".
How small is "small"? How old is "old"? I did a search in my surrounding zip codes of 22152 and 22153 (the OP mentioned Springfield and Burke) and these zips are Springfield, not any further than Burke. I see nice houses for sale, or that have recently sold, for less than $500k.
500K will buy a very nice, pretty large towhouse in Burke/Fairfax. It will probably also buy a SFH that needs a little work (not a lot, but you're probably looking at outdated kitchen and bath fixtures from the 70's). Recently the prices have shot up in this area, though - 500 was enough last year, but I'm not exactly sure what it buys this year in terms of just how much updating is necessary.
You can definitely buy a SFH or townhouse in the Springfield area for around $500k, and the commute using the Franconia-Springfield Metro will be roughly an hour door-to-door. I drive to the Franconia-Springfield Metro every day, and commute to DC. I have arrived at the Metro parking lot at various times during the morning - usually, I arrive between 8 and 8:30 am, but I have arrived as late as 9:30 and 10. I have never, not once, been able to find a parking spot. Sometimes I have to go to one of the top 2 levels of the parking garage, but there is always parking available.
Depending upon your perspective about Fairfax County Public Schools, you may want to limit yourself to a neighborhood that is in the West Springfield or South County HS pyramids, but there are plenty of nice SFHs and townhomes that are zoned for Lee HS as well - they will generally be slightly cheaper because of Lee HS's reputation of not being as good of a HS. If you go west of 95, you will find plenty of SFHs and THs zoned for Hayfield and Edison HSs that can be had for around $500k that are quite close to the Metro station as well.
I have found that people generally have 2 opinions about Fairfax County Public Schools. One, they all have similar curriculum, and a motivated student can do well at any of the schools. Two, avoid the ones with higher percentages of ESL and socioeconomically disadvantaged students like the plague because even motivated students are likely to get dragged down by those students. If you fall in the first group, you will probably be fine with any of the schools in the Springfield area. If you fall in the latter, you will probably want to avoid Lee, Edison, and possibly Hayfield, and aim for West Springfield or South County.
My experience with the same commute you have is a few years old - everyone used to have to park at the mall and take a shuttle to the station. Good to know they have improved the parking situation since then.
As a teacher, I fall into the latter opinion on the schools, and strongly advise newcomers to avoid the pyramids you mentioned (but not Hayfield - I wouldn't put that in the same category as Edison and Lee). Although we lived right next to Edison High School before we had kids, and if you don't have to factor the school in it's a very convenient area, right off 495 and near the intersection of several other major routes.
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...hats off to those who can do it.
