Looking for a SFH or TW in Anne Arundel County (Annapolis: for sale, apartments)

[mgoya]

I have pretty much made up my mind to buy a home in Anne Arundel County. Now I have to decide between the different neighborhoods. I have been looking at homes for a few months.


For those that live or who have lived in Anne Arundel County, what would be the best place to go to if you wanted to purchase a SFH or TW for between 300k-335k.

I like what I see in Piney Orchard in Odenton, but are there any other communities similar to that in Anne Arundel.


Any input is appreciated

thanks

[mbieber1029]

i am currently in the middle of the exact same process (we went SFH). The 3 areas we looked at were Severna Park, Arnold, and Cape St. Claire (part of annapolis but in area code 21409)

Great schools
Great communities

I would highly recommend starting your search there.

we used cbmove.com very up to date and includes many homes.

Good Luck!

[mgoya]

I haven't heard of cape st. clair, I'll do some research. Thanks for the info

[mbieber1029]

It's a great small community. It is actually where we found the house we want. It won't come up if you search for it as a city but just search for homes in the 21409 area code. It is technically part of annapolis but it is outside of the city.

[WannaComeHome]

Don't have a clue what the prices run, but have you looked at the Maryland City/Russett Green part of Laurel? That section over by the BW Parkway is AA county. There are some nice town homes and SFHs there. I have a friend who lives in a town house off Whiskey Bottom Rd, she's very happy with it.

[BigDragon]

Originally Posted by WannaComeHome

Don't have a clue what the prices run, but have you looked at the Maryland City/Russett Green part of Laurel? That section over by the BW Parkway is AA county. There are some nice town homes and SFHs there. I have a friend who lives in a town house off Whiskey Bottom Rd, she's very happy with it.

Shhh! Don't mention Russett yet! Wait until I close next month. I don't want any competition!

Seriously though, there are SFH's there in Russett at the $300k to $335k range. Alternatively, places to check out for larger 2-car garage townhouses are Villages of Dorchester (Hanover/Arundel Mills), River Oaks (Edgewater), and Tanyard Springs (Pasadena). There are also a lot of little builders in the area doing great houses on small developments. I've seen several brand new SFH's listed in Pasadena as well as near Arundel Mills.

[mgoya]

I am a bit leary of moving to Laurel...I guess from the bad things I have heard of PG county. But the Russett community is in Anne Arundel county, so it can't be that bad right?

There are a lot of townhomes for sale in that area, so I might expand my search.

Is this a good idea, the homes in Russett look nice enough.

[marielally]

Piney Orchard currently has 46 townhomes actively listed for sale and they range in price from $250K-$569K (only a handful are $400K or higher)...There have been 18 "Solds" over the past 90 days...one went for only $187K...most of the others range in the high 200s to mid 300s.

Russett has 24 actively listed townhomes priced $220K-375K... There have been 12 "Solds" over the past 90 days with a few selling as low as $240K-$250K. (Best priced detached that has sold in the past 90 days has been $365K with 10K in closing / lowest priced actively listed home is at $329K and is a short-sale, only accepting backup contracts - all others are $379K and up).

[trying2moveup]

Originally Posted by mgoya

I am a bit leary of moving to Laurel...I guess from the bad things I have heard of PG county. But the Russett community is in Anne Arundel county, so it can't be that bad right?

There are a lot of townhomes for sale in that area, so I might expand my search.

Is this a good idea, the homes in Russett look nice enough.

Your post in 3 "paragraphs" so I will respond to each below -

1) I live in PG county Laurel and go over to that area to shop. Quite frankly, I don't see much of a difference between the two. They are visually very similar (businesses, zoning, homes, tons of apartments), from the people I see while out and about they are demographically very similar (minority majority). You are close to Ft. Meade, which from what I have "heard" here is not the most stellar of areas and that is AA county as well. . . and there appear to be major prostitute hangouts near Maryland City/Russet on 198.

When we were researching areas, Russett was off the list as we could be closer to my husband's work but I was being told about the uptick in crime in that development (maybe the PGers going over there and hanging out.. and I mean this sarcastically before someone wants to chop my head off)

2) There are probably a lot of TH for sale in that area for a reason. . . . just like there are a ton everywhere, and especially in PG with this whole foreclosure mess going on. . . but see if you can find out WHY they are a ton? Short sales? Foreclosures? uptick in crime? property tax increase? HOA increase?

3) ". .. . the homes in Russett look nice enough."


If you had said you wanted to live in Piney Orchard or Annapolis, maybe I would feel differently but by living in Laurel and being so close to Russett and spending time over in that area every week, I really don't see how the two are much different. I venture to say the schools are very similar as well. I honestly do not see alot of visual differences between HoCo Laurel, AA Laurel, PG Laurel, and maybe the ONLY place I see it is in the very, very small sliver of MoCo Laurel - which is basically no commercial zoning and all SFH in that part. The schools there ARE very different performance wise, but witht he other 3 parts - I just don't see the difference. So don't be scared off of Laurel

[mgoya]

I am doing my research as we speak. I would like to find a place in Piney Orchard, but I like some of the townhomes I have found for sale in Russett. I will be venturing out to Russett soon enough, but was looking for any opinons on the area. So thanks for the advice there, it was exactly what I was looking for.

I did not mean for this as an attack on Laurel, just a question. I am sure there are some good areas in Laurel, and it looks like Russett. Thanks again.