Please tell me about Clarksburg Village (Germantown, Frederick: sales, HOA fees, condo)

[mom21son]

My husband and I are thinking about buying a home there. We have a son who is in elementary school and are searching for a community that is family friendly.

We've been reading a lot about Clarksburg Village and it seems like it would be a good fit for us... good schools, lot's of sidewalks for walking & bike riding, and other great amenities. It also looks like there are quite a few shopping centers close by too.

But I understand there has been a tremendous amount of growth there over the last few years with plans for lot's of additional construction projects in the future. I would love to hear your opinions of this community.

Thanks in advance!

[mom21son]

Anyone???

[firefightermom]

I'm surprised no one has responded...I know very little about Clarksburg, but have been there, and my BIL taught at the high school for 3-4 years.
Was very rural until all this building...major problems with that, too. The developers didn't follow the laws and there was a huge problem, but I think that's all been rectified by now. I think the county intends to keep building it up, too, since the closer in suburbs are already overcrowded. Traffic on 270 is horrific and your other choice, which I think would be 355, isn't much better, so if commuting south, you will be in the midst of it. I think your main shopping area will be in Germantown.

[mom21son]

Thanks so much for the reply!

[trying2moveup]

I'll tell you what I know/think. I don't get on this forum every day b/c if I did, I'd get so worked up about some of the stuff on here that I'd be typing for hours and eventually my family would up and leave and I'd melt into the chair. . . :0)

ANyway, I taught in Germantown while living in Frederick for several years. Traveled Rt.355 almost daily (tried to stay off of Rt. 270). Clarksburg is a planned community on about 700+ acres and is years from being completely built out, especially in this economy. We looked at possibly moving there about 2 years ago, before the complete mortgage meltdown - collapse. In all honesty, the price points for the developers and not that much lower than they were at that time. . . and you know what has happened since then! Maybe they move inventory very well, I don't know. Anyway, it is very approximate to 270 but you there are some proposals on the way to redirect 355 (which will be a MAJOR project) and also there is going to be another complete interchange built onto 270 around Rt. 124 where the Watkins Mill development is going in. I cannot even being to comprehend the traffic nightmare that will occur when THAT gets underway. . .oh, and there is also the west dumping point for the ICC a little ways below that interchange, down by Shady Grove road. If you are considering buying ANYWHERE in MoCo, you need to go look at the master plan for the county at the county offices in Rockville.


I'm telling you this because if you and/or your hubby, partner, signif other need to commute south your only main roads really re 270 with 355 running as your next choice (but it's really not a highway).
Also, Clarksburg has or will pass in the future an additional assessment on top of your mortgage/condo fees/ hoa fees, property taxes etc to help pay for the infrastructurethat was brought in when they developed the land for this community. It varies with what type of property you are buying bt I know for SFH it could be as much as 1K a year or higher for the next 30 + YEARS! The Villages of Urbana up in Frederick Co also have this on the books as a possibilty. You need to know this b/c taxes in MoCo are alot higher than they are in harford County.
We looked at a lot that was right across from where the new proposed ES is to go in in Clarksburg and the sales agent was telling me that even though we wouuld live across the street that is no guarantee that our kids would go there. I called MCPS to confirm this and they said they can redistrict the boundaries at any time and as I teacher with the county, i already knew this but just wanted to hear it from the horses mouth.


p.s. sorry about the typos I get sloppy when tired and don't go back to do corrections!

[mom21son]

I appreciate the response. I guess what I would need to consider is the traffic and continuing growth & development of the area.

This issue with redistricting is inevitable regardless of where you live in MD. We currently live in Howard County, there is a school about a mile away from us but because of redistricting my son now goes to a school that is 3+ miles away. Fortunately for us both are good schools.

Overall Clarksburg Village seems to be very family oriented with lot's of amenities so that's a plus. I think we'll keep it on our short list.

Thanks again for your responses!