Need advice buying a house - commutable to Dupont circle for work (Baltimore: apartment, rent)

[newbie_tester]

Hello,

It's been one year since I moved to Maryland from the Midwest. I got great feedback on this forum for choosing and renting an apartment back then.

I currently rent in wheaton & am working in Silver Spring dowtown, Maryland. My wife found a job and works in Dupont Circle now.

I am planning to buy a house or townhome by mid of next year(or towards the end).

Here are my requirements for the location, commute and type of homes:

1. My wife needs to travel by metro to Dupont Circle and the commute should be less than an hour.
2. I don't mind driving to my work at Silver Spring, but the commute should be less than 45-50 mins.
3. We don't have kids yet, but would prefer an area with a school rating of atleast 6.
4. Our budget is around 300k-325k.
5. We are looking for a 3 bed 2 bath townhome / single family home
6. Area should be relatively low on crime.

My initial thought was Rockville(closer to the metro/ drivable to metro). But that area still seems over our budget on most cases.

I was wondering if I could get advice on other options as well ( or options within rockville)

Thanks!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by newbie_tester

1. My wife needs to travel by metro to Dupont Circle and the commute should be less than an hour.
2. I don't mind driving to my work at Silver Spring, but the commute should be less than 45-50 mins.
3. We don't have kids yet, but would prefer an area with a school rating of atleast 6.
4. Our budget is around 300k-325k.

One thought is an older house in Greenbelt, around Greenbelt Elementary (rated 6 of 10). It should feed into Greenbelt Middle and Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

Another thought is around the Forest Knolls Elementary School (rated 6 of 10) in the Four Corners area of Silver Spring. You can use Redfin.com to search on the school. There is one house currently in your price range, and several others might be negotiable. (For example, look at the two townhouses on Kinsman View Circle priced around $350K.)

A further thought is simply to buy what you can afford now, and plan to move later, after you have kids and can afford to pay more. Everywhere that has better schools is going to command a premium price.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by newbie_tester

Hello,

It's been one year since I moved to Maryland from the Midwest. I got great feedback on this forum for choosing and renting an apartment back then.

I currently rent in wheaton & am working in Silver Spring dowtown, Maryland. My wife found a job and works in Dupont Circle now.

I am planning to buy a house or townhome by mid of next year(or towards the end).

Here are my requirements for the location, commute and type of homes:

1. My wife needs to travel by metro to Dupont Circle and the commute should be less than an hour.
2. I don't mind driving to my work at Silver Spring, but the commute should be less than 45-50 mins.
3. We don't have kids yet, but would prefer an area with a school rating of atleast 6.
4. Our budget is around 300k-325k.
5. We are looking for a 3 bed 2 bath townhome / single family home
6. Area should be relatively low on crime.

My initial thought was Rockville(closer to the metro/ drivable to metro). But that area still seems over our budget on most cases.

I was wondering if I could get advice on other options as well ( or options within rockville)

Thanks!

The constraints of the budget will be having a 1h commute to dupont within a good school district. That's a very low budget, so naturally you'll be in school districts with lower income and immigrant populations. That doesn't mean the schools will be bad/ill-funded/have crappy teachers, but it does mean the test scores at the school will be lower, on average (which is what the number rating score is solely based on).

I'd recommend North Kensington/Wheaton. The schools won't be great, but not bad for the price. Besides, you'd likely move before your kids were in middle/high school anyways. Not to mention the schools/area might be completely different by, anyways.

[bufflove]

Also, it makes sense to post this in the DC area subforum for more replies: http://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...urbs-maryland/

[MidValleyDad]

How long is the trip from Shady Grove to Dupont Circle on Metro? It has been a long while since I made the trip but I seem to remember thatit took 20-30 minutes at least for that ride. That only gives you 30-40 minutes max for the trip to Metro to stay within the hour.

I believe it would be a much longer Metro ride from the Wheaton end of the Red Line which would cut your radius from the station even more

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

How long is the trip from Shady Grove to Dupont Circle on Metro? It has been a long while since I made the trip but I seem to remember thatit took 20-30 minutes at least for that ride. That only gives you 30-40 minutes max for the trip to Metro to stay within the hour.

I believe it would be a much longer Metro ride from the Wheaton end of the Red Line which would cut your radius from the station even more

That's another option, as there are townhouses or TH/condos in that price range. Both would have longish commutes with the husband driving to downtown Silver Spring, and the wife using Metro to Dupont.

[newbie_tester]

Thanks for the suggestions. It makes sense. I think I shouldn't worry about schooling for now.
My only reason for having school rating of 6 or above was resale value ( my assumption/prediction was few years down the line i might get a good deal due to at least having average schools around)

[OpenMind11]

You should be able to find something in Gaithersburg, I used to live in Olde Town and commuted to Arlington (passing Du Point) and door to door I think it was about an hour.

[newbie_tester]

How about Odenton under zip code 21113?
The townhome for 3 bed 2 bath costs around 270-300k. The school ratings are above 7. The commute is just about an 1 hr by public transport.

I am not familiar with the area, so am trying to research the neighborhood, crime rate etc.

I would appreciate if someone familiar with the area could give some pointers.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by newbie_tester

How about Odenton under zip code 21113?
The townhome for 3 bed 2 bath costs around 270-300k. The school ratings are above 7. The commute is just about an 1 hr by public transport.
I am not familiar with the area, so am trying to research the neighborhood, crime rate etc.

It is a very good area, but more in the suburbs of Baltimore. Many people working at Fort Meade live there.

But the commute to Dupont Circle is supposedly 51 minutes by MARC and Red Line; that does not count driving to the parking lot or walk time. Ask your wife how she feels about the commute.

I think you could find equally acceptable alternatives closer to DC among the choices already given you.