real estate experience in Reston/Oakton (Leesburg, Herndon: renter, mortgages, jumbo loan)

[LLD]

Okay just got back from the area, job interviewing and real estate hunting. I thought I'd share my experience since there are so many of us talking about real estate and related issues.

First off I was prepared for the prices, which I still consider to be some of the most outrageous in the country. My house in Albuquerque, which is $240K would be worth around $700K most likely in Reston. And the salaries just aren't that much higher in the DC area vs. Albuquerque. However, I've lived in the DC metro area three times now and I knew what to expect. And because I'm currently in a more reasonably priced market, I hadn't realized the rates for jumbo loans have been high now for several months, oftentimes over 7%. A jumbo loan is anything over $417k right now and in the DC metro area that is damn near 75% of the market! I think jumbo loan amounts should be adjusted by region or someething..... anyway.

Moving on then... ;-)...... I was prepared for the prices but not the state of these properties that wanted almost $500K!!! I have to tell you that if I was a homeowner in Reston I'd be hugely angry at my neighbors keeping their yards trashy and affecting my house price. I was particularly interested in 3 properties on one street and when I went to look at the neighborhood, I was shocked to see a gorgeously maintained end unit then a totally trashy townhouse two doors down... no way will I pay $450K for something with trashy yards and no maintenance done on the exterior of places. So off the the list they went.

I will tell you too that one neighborhood I looked at in Reston was like a war zone -- I wasn't expecting that. Trashy yards, junky cars, sometimes 6 of them parked in the street -- it's clear why these houses are between $300-400k but I wouldn't even pay that and I suspect a large majority of others won't either. There was also a very cute Victorian single family home in a very well maintained neighborhood and I thought there must be something wrong with it for $469K and boy was I right. They had redone the kitchen beautifully but the rest of the house -- filthy carpet, holes in the closets then the basement -- the smell hit you immediately -- mildew and you knew there was tons of water damage. I personally think the realty company was completely unethical for not listing the water damage. I just walked away shaking my head.

Now for the properties that did look decent on the outside -- what is up with people not understanding that you need to CLEAN your house and de-clutter it? I don't want smells and dirt and I'm not paying $500k for that!! I looked at some very well maintained older townhomes in Oakton, great location, nice grounds and walked into one and the smell of spices nearly knocked me down and the place was full to the brim with clutter. I said no way for $420k. We walked down two more houses and walked into a lovely place -- finally someone who knew how to stage their home and price it correctly -- they had done the updates, fresh paint and decluttered. And they were asking $20K less than the one we had just seen! It was just too small for me but I bet it will go fairly quickly.

So my advice here (for what it is worth), is to know the market and get a good realtor. Sorry to say that there was distinct evidence of realty companies trying to pass off lousy property without disclosing things and not pricing things correctly. And of course I'm sure there are some owners that refuse the realtor's advice and list high too. That is evidenced by the number of properties I looked at that had dropped their prices three or more times. It's not just that the market is bad, it is that people want top dollar in a soft market and don't seem to be willing to take 75K in profit for something they've had for 5 years vs. $150k profit etc. And it's easy to see what some of the mortgages are going for if you have had your house for 10 years just by looking at the rental properties for neighborhoods with $700K houses that are say 10 years old. You can rent them for much cheaper than you can buy them.

Now of course this doesn't apply to people that have bought in the last 2 years and have seen their property value decline. That is the market adjusting and for those they need to stick it out to make a profit or take the loss and move on because the market is what it is. The advice for those of you selling -- HGTV really is right. Cleaning things, a simple fresh coat of neutral tone paint and de-cluttering will get you a ton more offers.

My next real estate trip will be to look at things in some newer parts of Herndon, Greenbriar, Fair Oaks and Ashburn. I'm not giving up on Reston because I really love the vibe of the place and did see some very well maintained townhome neighborhoods I liked. The places just weren't quite the right ones but they were close.

Now I have to tell you that you can get a ton more and newer for your money in Ashburn which is only 8 miles from Reston. And the owners in Reston who can't even clean their houses and de-clutter are going to have those properties continue to sit and go down in value.

I probably won't make a decision until I accept a job offer. If I work in Reston, Ashburn is fine. But if I work in Mclean, not sure I want to deal with commuting from Ashburn.

[5stones]

That's the same thing we saw in Herndon/Reston in 2005 but they were asking 480-525k for those 3bedroom filthy places. That's why we bought out in Leesburg. The neighborhoods were better maintained. (Ashburn was too $$$ back then ) There is something to be siad for HOA's...as much as I hate them...when you have a tranisent area they help to keep the neighborhoods looking nice.

what is up with people not understanding that you need to CLEAN your house and de-clutter it? I don't want smells and dirt and I'm not paying $500k for that!!

I hear ya! We figured out that most of these houses had renters in. One place had a room we couldn't even get into because of all the dirty laundry piled up!

Another thing, we realized that alot of foriegners don't realize that it is BEST NOT be home when people come look at your house. So many places we looked at we breezed through because the owner were there and it's uncomfotable to be looking at a house and making comments etc... when they are right there! One house must have had 6 people sitting around eating, watching tv etc... while we were trying to look!

DECLUTTER...people. it works and so does repainting the main rooms.

(we are putting our house up soon and plan on getting a small storage room to put all our "junk" in to help decluttter the place and minimize the furniture etc...)

Good Luck LLD!!

[LLD]

Thanks for the good wishes. I'm very excited to be coming back even though when I got off the plane last Wednesday, the 103 degree weather smacked me! LOL. I love the whole international and diverse vibe of the DC area. I always have.

And I want to be very clear that I'm not making any blanket statement about renters or immigrants etc. There was no evidence to me that it was just a renter or immigrant problem. As far as I'm concerned it is an owner problem if they don't maintain, or see that there property is maintained. I've lived around plenty of immigratns and foreigners that keep there places very nice. When I've rented I've also kept the place decent too. I don't care what color or nationality or culture you are, just be a good citizen and a good neighbor so that everyone's property values are maintained.

Now the cultural issue you mention about the owners not being home -- I think that is true of some. But have to say I encountered American owners not realizing they should not be there too. One place, I went into, the place not only reeked of smoke, but the woman had an autistic child that just exploded when we walked in. My realtor was visibly shaken and my son and future daughter-in-law wouldn't even come in. I looked at a few things but the smoke smell was the worst. I felt very sorry for the woman because I know how hard it can be to deal with autistic children and I didn't blame the kid at all. When you upset their routine they can get very agitated.

As to the HOA's...... I think they can serve a good purpose but they can also be extremely overbearing and controlling. So I look for reasonable deed restrictions. I don't need a lawn mowing nazi measuring the height of my grass!

I must confess that I personally like the look of planned communities like Ashburn. But I also like the very leafy, woodsy natural look of Reston -- some areas just weren't well maintained but some were and they were very desirable.

[Margery]

Why are you not looking in Sterling/Potomac Falls? There are some beautiful homes there in your price range and it is closer in than Ashburn.

[austindoxie1972]

Sounds like you were on the southern side of Reston. I live in the North Point Village area and love it -- though prices tend to be higher. I've driven through the Coquina and Whire Cornus Lane areas and seriously thought I was back in South Texas. Didn't see any chickens or loose dogs running around, though.

[LLD]

I like access, meaning access to major roads. There are several places in Ashburn not far off the tollway. Sterling to me seems to be "away" from the major roads so a hassle to get in and out of. Some of Ashburn is also farther off the toll road and I most likely won't consider those. If there is one thing I've learned in my many years of house building and buying it is that I like access. I don't want to drive 10-15 miles off the major roads to get home. That makes a commute seem like a million years and the commutes in the DC area are already horrendous.

[LLD]

I've driven through the Coquina and Whire Cornus Lane areas and seriously thought I was back in South Texas. Didn't see any chickens or loose dogs running around, though.

LOL... Growing up in Houston and others parts of Texas, I hear ya. That area was very unkempt. There's a townhouse on White Cornus for $425K and it looks great in the pics but I didn't even look inside because of the area. I don't see how they even priced things like they did. They are right next to the really bad area around Coquina.

As to the north and south Reston bit, there were some lousy townhouse neighborhoods north of 267 also. And that really surprised me. But the two very well maintained townhouse areas that I did like were north of 267.