Is it a good idea to buy a house in Manassas, VA?

[bmwguydc]

What about a nice townhouse? You can find a good townhouse, older, but potentially renovated, in a good school zone, like West Springfield for around $400k. An older house in West Springfield can also be found in that price range, as well, closer to the $400k mark, but still not a bad value, considering the convenience and Fairfax County schools. You may even find an older, smaller house near Woodson HS for around $400k, though it may not have been updated, but the area is very good, both for convenience and schools. I am, of course, thinking that your commute is better served by Fairfax County, as in a District or Tysons commute, but there are some great areas where you may find a good townhouse or smaller single-family house without adding a marathon commute to the responsibilities of being a parent.

[NOVA_almost_native]

You also can occasionally find smaller SFHs (built in the 70s) in Herndon (20170) and Oak Hill (20171) for under $400,000.

[dcnativegirl]

Thank you all for your responses, however, the owner of the house took it off the market. I have been looking for almost a year and the houses I could afford were involved in bidding wars or others (2 or more income families) who got contracts on the houses were stronger in their ability to provide reserve funding, and in the eyes of banks, are more likely not to default on loans.

I work in DC, but can't afford living within proximity of DC, Montgomery County MD, or Fairfax County VA prices; my son has a disability so there has to be wheelchair accommodations (most apartments, townhouses, condos don't accommodate).

I found a house in Wellington/Cloverhill that we might be able to afford, (fingers crossed) but the commute to work is 45 miles...which I will have to get used to.

Anyone familiar with that area? Any shortcut to DC other than Route 66?

[dcnativegirl]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Where is this house at exactly? I live only 2 miles from GTS and have been in this home since 86. I'm in a very safe and quiet neighborhood.

The house is on Gregory's Grove. The owners took the house off the market, but I found another one (5 other contracts on the house) in the Wellington/Cloverhill area. I work in DC so it is 45 miles from work. I was told by real estate agents, friends, and coworkers that it is better to live in a house I love and drive the commute than to live in a house I hate.

I know there are townhouses and condos closer to DC for less than 400K (actually, that is what I qualify for, not what I am comfortable paying) but they either didn't accommodate my son's needs, they were high in HOA fees and high in price, or required a lot of maintenance, repair which I can't afford.

[boyd888]

Originally Posted by dcnativegirl

Any shortcut to DC other than Route 66?

Nope. If you work in DC you really need to look into renting something closer in or buying something small like an older townhome/condo if you "need" to own. Any apartment building built in the last twenty years will be handicapped accessible.

There are no shortcuts and the commute from Manassas/PW will crush your soul. Expect 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on time of day...each way.

A real estate agent telling you you should buy a house? There's a first. You can always update or expand a house. You can't change your commute without moving or changing jobs. I know several people that moved to PWC and ended up changing jobs to something closer because they couldn't take the commute and selling a home after two years is a LOT of money out the window.

[DownEastB]

You might want to consider a townhouse in Manassas Park. Nice area, good schools (from what I hear) and there are many newer 3-4 BR THs for sale right now under $300K. The Manassas Park VRE line goes to Union Station. I used to commute to Arlington from the MP VRE station but I had to change over to the Metro at King St. and it added time to my trip (60 mins going in, up to 80 going home). But at least I didn't have to drive and park and my employer gave me a public transportation allowance.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by dcnativegirl

The house is on Gregory's Grove. The owners took the house off the market, but I found another one (5 other contracts on the house) in the Wellington/Cloverhill area. I work in DC so it is 45 miles from work. I was told by real estate agents, friends, and coworkers that it is better to live in a house I love and drive the commute than to live in a house I hate.

I know there are townhouses and condos closer to DC for less than 400K (actually, that is what I qualify for, not what I am comfortable paying) but they either didn't accommodate my son's needs, they were high in HOA fees and high in price, or required a lot of maintenance, repair which I can't afford.

45 miles from Cloverhill? It's only about 30 miles to the DC line from here or are you talking about where you live now?

[Amelia09]

Bigfoot is right, it's only about 30 miles to DC from Cloverhill. The traffic will still make your life a living hell though. You can pickup VRE from Old Town and take that into DC where you can switch to Metro.