Townhouse in Cambridge station Fairfax (Reston: short sale, foreclosure, HOA)

[pudding]

Hi
We are interested in buying a 1967 townhouse in the community of Cambridge station, Fairfax city.
The house looks nice, with big yard and seems well-maintained.
However, the previous owner bought it and is selling it within 5 months. I asked the seller agent for the reason why the owner wants to sell the house, but the agent couldn't give a specific reason. not because of work or relocation. they just said: the owner already moved.
We are afraid that, the agent is trying to conceal something. Now the owner is selling the property for a higher price to make up the loss from his quick buying/selling.

Since it is a 1967 town house, we are concerned about the common problems an old house can have.
We don't want to jump into a trouble. We used to live in Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the houses there are usually pretty old, so we are kind of adapt to the old houses. But we just don't want something surprise us when we move in. We are thinking it might be better to have more than 1 home inspection from different inspectors to make sure the house is oaky.

Any ideas of the town houses in that community? and why the agent not willing to disclose the specific reason of owner selling the house?

any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

[Nate_VA]

Check the HOA docs for any problems or special assessments.
Loud neighbors? Parking issues? Stop by late in the evening and see what it's like.
It could be the last owner just couldn't handle the payments, and wanted out before it was too late.

[cully]

Some things cannot be revealed because of privacy reasons...legally, I mean.

The realtor can look up the last sale date and price. It may be the owner bought the property at auction and put in some new stuff...or didn't have to do much at all and is now reselling it.

You could try googling the current owner's name. You may find he's an investor or in reno or some clue as to why he is moving about so quickly. The owner's name is public record...or the name in which it was taken title to. It could be a corporation. Even then you can look up online the particulars of the corporation at scc in Va.

[GeneralTurgidson]

I live in that area, and as far as I know, it is a sought-after community.

Obviously I can't speak to a particular home there. Haven't heard of any gruesome murders in the area or anything like that...

The residents are known for keeping up the park across the street, and are very protective of it.

Maybe it is a little bit close to the creek that runs across the street. But never have heard of any flooding issues. You can go to this site and type in the address.

https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/

[Deeman804]

I hate to highjack the subject but I am in the early stages of house searching and was wondering about this. From what I can see older townhouses are drastically cheaper than older homes. Do townhouses from the 60's and 70's tend to have bugs or age badly or something? (should I even be worried about bugs in a home purchase or are they easy to get rid of in a town house).

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by Deeman804

I hate to highjack the subject but I am in the early stages of house searching and was wondering about this. From what I can see older townhouses are drastically cheaper than older homes. Do townhouses from the 60's and 70's tend to have bugs or age badly or something? (should I even be worried about bugs in a home purchase or are they easy to get rid of in a town house).

IMO - the older ones that are cheaper prob. just aren't "updated" with the latest bells & whistles, I personally think construction was much better longer ago than more recently.

[GeneralTurgidson]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

IMO - the older ones that are cheaper prob. just aren't "updated" with the latest bells & whistles, I personally think construction was much better longer ago than more recently.

I agree. Although newer ones might be better insulated. The advantage of an older home, TH or SF, is that if the foundation was going to crack, it would have done so long ago, etc.

[Nate_VA]

My 1969 townhome in Reston is solid as a rock.

[Deeman804]

That is great and really has me reconsidering older townhouses. What about bugs? Have any of you with townhouses had to worry about it. I hear that single family homes are better because you have full control of sealing and exterminating the entire building but is the concern even worth the worry.

[Fundman]

You can check the county property tax web site to see if the seller is listing it for more than what he paid 5 months ago. If it is listed for more money then the owner probably bought it as a short sale or foreclosure and is flipping it. Have renovations been done?