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Old 11-10-2010, 07:03 AM
 
Location: Washington DC
487 posts, read 1,353,663 times
Reputation: 522

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Quote:
Originally Posted by khuntrevor View Post
I am aware of the BF. That's why I would find a better neighborhood in the City and move there, if my work was there.

I didn't say that poor workmanship caused the fire to spread, I just added that it is well know to have very poor workmanship. Their has been some REO activity in there too, so don't get a false impression about that community. Its newness meant more people in at the peak.

Do yourself a favor and look at Wellington. My parents paid about 325K in late 2003, watched it go to close to 500K, now I believe the assessment is at 275K, which is fairly accurate.

One other thing
What should I be looking out for regarding poor workmanship or bad quality in SL homes?
Did they do things like build their walls with studs 24"oc?
Use sub standard windows and doors?
Skimp on insulation?
Under built or springy floors?
Thin drywall?
Plastic water lines?
What is the consensus on why SL homes are considered poor quality?
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Old 11-10-2010, 09:21 AM
 
Location: DMV
10,125 posts, read 13,913,773 times
Reputation: 3222
Quote:
Originally Posted by ngadude View Post
Yes, the homes in Sumner Lake are VERY close together. I used to think that when I lived in Point of Woods and used to walk over there to walk around the pond with my dog. It is not surprising what happened with that fire. Another poster said poor construction - but I don't think so - it was the proximity of the houses to each other that caused it. I guess they built the minimum distance apart allowed! Otherwise, I thought it's a very nice neighborhood actually - well it looked wonderful compared to Point of Woods - my standards were kind of low back then. I haven't seen it since I left there 2 years ago and I have no desire to revisit my old neighborhood which has really gone downhill.
Well couldn't more fire resistant material on the walls of the homes prevented more damage from being done to those homes? I'm not sure about some of the other materials used, but from my understanding 5 houses were damaged, 3 completely burned down. Don't a lot of townhomes use fire resistant walls to prevent fire from spreading? Given the proximity of each house to each other, wouldn't this have made more sense for the developers to use?
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Old 11-11-2010, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Washington DC
487 posts, read 1,353,663 times
Reputation: 522
Quote:
Originally Posted by khuntrevor View Post
It is widely known that there was very poor workmanship there. I do agree that the designs were nice. Lot size of about 4000 SF+/-. It is also very close to the hideous Georgian Hamlet THs, which are practically connected to the more hideous Diggs Rd. apartments. I would take the City over the County any day of the week.
I have figured this out.
Khuntrevor is looking for a home to buy in this neighborhood and wants to limit the competition.
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Old 11-12-2010, 05:58 AM
 
Location: MID ATLANTIC
8,644 posts, read 22,786,365 times
Reputation: 10461
Personally, I prefer Sumner Lake over the Wellington area. You really can't compare the two. Wellington is a large planned unit development, a mix of condos, townhomes and single families. And then you have "mini'puds" or a second HOA to pay if you are in a condo or TH. Wellington parsed out their lots for building to individual builders. I personally know of at least 8 different builders that built there. Construction quality varies from one extreme to the other.

I have been connected to the Manassas real estate market for over 25 years as a mortgage loan officer and have financed homes in both developments. This is the first I have ever heard about shoddy construction or poor workmanship in this development. In fact, I have only heard the opposite. Yes, the fire was tragic, but imagine what the result would have been had these been town homes. Sumner Lake was not designed for the family desiring acreage, just the opposite. Sumner Lake specifically targeted the dual income professionals that lacked time to care for a large yard, but didn't want the smaller townhome. Many call this style of home a carriage home.
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Old 11-12-2010, 06:21 AM
 
Location: Afghanistan
158 posts, read 269,432 times
Reputation: 201
Hi

I am from Sheffield Manor Off Devlin rd. I remember on the news the fire marshal was screaming about these minimum distances on the book. I believe they were presently set at 5 feet from the line. He recommended 10 or 15 feet just for that reason. That more houses won't become a victim of the one on fire.

If you want to see some nice large houses for sale come to our community Sheffied Manor. We got everything that other place has and probably more. Our dues in our section is $45 / month. I had heard the place you are looking at charges $400 / month. You would have to check to see if that is true or not. As for the larger houses in the other sections I don't know how they charge them.

Just go down Wellington to the cross street near the 7 11. Head up Devlin about 1 1/2 . We are on the left. You can't miss it.

regards,

al
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Old 11-13-2010, 12:52 AM
 
2,879 posts, read 7,749,316 times
Reputation: 1183
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartMoney View Post

I have been connected to the Manassas real estate market for over 25 years as a mortgage loan officer


What about the villas at Sumner Lake? They resemble a manufactured home (trailer with wheels off) a lot more closely than good colonial style.

I would avoid the condos in Wellington as well, like Witchazel St., Seen some people walking out of those places with 140 pound dogs. Townhouses backed up to each other. They bottomed out below 100K.
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Old 11-13-2010, 10:37 PM
 
5 posts, read 13,214 times
Reputation: 14
Default SL - the lowdown

Ok, I actually just registered because I had to put my two cents in.

As a resident of SL, here's the "lowdown" -

We have lived in our home since we had it built, nearly 7 years. I can tell you that everything in our home is very basic, no upgrades or whistles - and has held up very well. We definitely take care of our home, but haven't had to replace *anything* seriously or tend to any exterior issues with the house itself. There were a few things that could have certainly been improved - 1) they were built with wooden garage doors which warped over time and began to fall apart a few year ago - most of us replaced ours with aluminum doors which require no maintenance.. 2) our family room ceiling has a slight ripple where 2 boards of drywall were sloppily taped together - but that was from day 1 3) our baths all have the standard 4x4 tiles - the tiles lining the shower stall/tub have cracked even though we are careful about water getting out of those areas..but we had planned to upgrade them anyway.

Really, it's the minor things that most people eventually replace over time that could have been better.. tiles, fixtures, etc, but that's all aesthetic, again, things that most people change anyway.

The fire was due to negligence of one of the resident's sons who was smoking on their deck and hadn't put his cigarette completely out..

HOA dues - $400/month?! That would be ludicrous! We live on the lake, and I believe we pay a higher HOA fee for that - we pay roughly $285 each quarter. HOA finances are fine ..residents are very diligent about this.

Most importantly - we LOVE this community. We know so many of our neighbors, but no one is in our business. We all watch out for the other, and are always more than willing to lend a hand when someone needs help..

Safety - In the 7 years we've lived here, we personally have had 1 "break-in" into my husband's car, parked in our driveway - however, the police later told us they found it was a group of kids (summer time) on a joy ride. I've never heard of anything else in the community that was ill-intentioned. (Except for a neighbor's home getting broken into from someone they KNEW).

Many of the residents are actively involved in the community - we have community yard sales 2x/year, Easter, Halloween, Christmas events @ the gazebo.. and some neighbors even organize a "block" party for 4th of July.

I think many "outsiders" also don't realize that the type of people living in this community are the likes of doctors, government execs, high ranking school officials, .. many sophisticated, highly educated people.

Sure, we have older townhomes and homes all around our community, but I don't think that crosses any of our minds when we drive in and out of SL. It is what it is - a "newer", beautiful community built in the center of a long-standing city. There have been many times when we've considered moving into a larger home with more "glamorous" interiors, but we just can't justify giving up such a convenient location (schools, hospital, all our doctor's/dentists offices, grocery, pharmacy, banks, restaurants - you get the point - all literally just a few blocks away), and such dedicated, caring neighbors.

We also have a SL Yahoo Group which is very active - many times complicated questions are answered, in detail, within just minutes of a post by another resident.

Hope that helps!
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Old 11-13-2010, 10:38 PM
 
5 posts, read 13,214 times
Reputation: 14
oh, and the "villas" are 55+ carriage homes ..
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Old 11-14-2010, 04:20 AM
 
2,879 posts, read 7,749,316 times
Reputation: 1183
Another RE thread and no one mentions price. If you bought in 2003, brand new, you probably paid in the 350-425K range for the SFRs. I think some paid up to 600K, at the peak. If you bought new, you would barely break even, today. I think if you bought in Fairfax County in 2003, you would be much further ahead.

It does appear that you are acknowledging the poor workmanship. Perhaps you could share the builders name with us? BTW, one of the school bus drivers form C of M lives there. She said something about a rather large mortgage payment. Also, there have been issues with the lake, which can be a tremendous liability. It was a good place for me to stop and have a few puffs off a cigar before picking up an Autistic student (from nearby Georgian Hamlet) and transporting him to Annandale, because C of M Schools couldn't meet his needs.
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Old 11-14-2010, 06:03 AM
 
Location: Virginia-Shenandoah Valley
7,670 posts, read 14,153,907 times
Reputation: 7464
Quote:
Originally Posted by khuntrevor View Post
Another RE thread and no one mentions price. If you bought in 2003, brand new, you probably paid in the 350-425K range for the SFRs. I think some paid up to 600K, at the peak. If you bought new, you would barely break even, today. I think if you bought in Fairfax County in 2003, you would be much further ahead.

It does appear that you are acknowledging the poor workmanship. Perhaps you could share the builders name with us? BTW, one of the school bus drivers form C of M lives there. She said something about a rather large mortgage payment. Also, there have been issues with the lake, which can be a tremendous liability. It was a good place for me to stop and have a few puffs off a cigar before picking up an Autistic student (from nearby Georgian Hamlet) and transporting him to Annandale, because C of M Schools couldn't meet his needs.

You are one very negative person.
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