Possible move to NOVA. Old houses? (Arlington, Burke: for sale, 2015, lawyers)

[AlohaAloha]

My family and I are considering a move from the PNW in summer of 2015. NOVA is at the top of our very short list of possibilities. We're attracted to the good schools, the cultural opportunities in DC, a better economy, and a sunnier climate. We also have very close family in Gainesville. I'm a SAHM and my husband works from home with a lot of travel. We were in the Gainesville area last fall and plan to come back this summer. I'd love some suggestions on areas to check out. We'd like to live within a maximum commute of 30-45 minutes to Dulles. We'd be looking to buy a 3-4 bedroom SFH with a budget up to about $550K - we don't need anything huge. We know there's a ton of new development, but if we wanted an older home (50+ yrs old), where should we look? Leesburg? Purcellville? Round Hill? I have done some looking online and I realize really nice older homes are $1M+. I've found a (very) few in our price range, and wondered if I'm just looking in the wrong places.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.

[stpickrell]

You could probably get a 3BR SFH that's older in rural western Loudoun in your budget, provided you were fine with an outdated kitchen and/or pink tile in the bathrooms. Places on South and Royal Streets in Leesburg come up occasionally for your budget, but places in the rest of downtown are $$$. You can get a late 60s/early 70s place near downtown for 375-450k easily enough, though.

You might do better in Frederick MD, or further west in say Warrenton, Front Royal, or Winchester. Your budget will get you a great place in the historic district of any of those places.

[FCNova]

I was about to respond with some areas you could get a decent house for 550k, but then I reread your post. So you specifically want a really old house(50+ years)? One reason your search is going to yield fewer results is a lot of the really old housing stock like that is closer in(Vienna, Falls Church, Mclean, Arlington, etc), and those areas don't offer much for under 550k. As you go out to Herndon, Reston, Burke, Woodbridge, Chantilly, Gainesville, etc you would find a lot more in your price range but they would probably be newer stock. Although some of those places do have some old houses.

[Old Monkey]

Well, 50+ year old housing in this area translates into small ranches and bungelows. You can find these types of homes scattered around Fairfax but the prices really vary according to location. 550K is a bit of a stretch in Vienna but more than adequate in Herndon. (I mention these areas because they include this kind of housing stock and because they are within your desired commute.)

If you have something older in mind, you'll have to look further west. Leesburg is a good start; I've seen older homes listed there but usually above your price range.

NB: It is NOT sunnier here than the PNW! Nova has less fog. Nova's sunny days seem limited to summer only.

[JfromReston]

You should consider looking at some of the early houses built in Reston off of Lawyers Road (20191). There are none on the market now (and they go quickly), but the area has lots of quality homes built in the early 1960's that are modest in size with 3-4 bedrooms. Most are of the ranch, split-level or split foyer variety.

Reston is a great community with excellent access to Dulles and soon will have METRO access to DC.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

You might do better in Frederick MD, or further west in say Warrenton, Front Royal, or Winchester. Your budget will get you a great place in the historic district of any of those places.

You are not getting to Dulles within 30-45 minutes from any of these places.

[mdcrim]

If you want old, old (like 100 plus years) I have seen some in Purcellville, Bluemont, Waterford and western Loudoun in your price range. Leesburg and Middleburg are probably going to cost you more. You could get a fabulous house in downtown Harpers Ferry for way under your price range but that's going to be a relatively long commute to Dulles (it actually might be within 45 minutes). Harpers Ferry has a few pre-civil war houses that are actually within the National Park. Very cool.

West of Loudoun you could check Berryville, in Clark County. I believe that's also probably within 45 minutes of Dulles. Warrenton may also be an option.

[spencgr]

The attached meets the the OPs request to a "T", although I doubt it will be available next summer.

306A MARSHALL ST E, MIDDLEBURG, VA 20117 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

( I hope I used one of the "acceptable" website links.....)

[Caladium]

Purcellville, Hamilton, Paeonian Spring, and smaller towns west of Leesburg. SOme sections of Leesburg have older homes, too. Waterford is a great historic village, but probably too pricey.

Here are some examples of what you'd find:

16929 Simpson Cir, Paeonian Springs, VA 20129 is For Sale - Zillow

12 S Hughes St, Hamilton, VA 20158 is For Sale - Zillow

39217 E Colonial Hwy, Hamilton, VA 20158 is For Sale - Zillow

Even though you can find older homes in all these towns, you will find more newer homes built in the last few decades. That's because the growth in Loudoun has been mostly in the last 20 years. Before then all the towns were very small, so there never were that many homes built back then to begin with.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by FCNova

One reason your search is going to yield fewer results is a lot of the really old housing stock like that is closer in(Vienna, Falls Church, Mclean, Arlington, etc),

Actually, you might be surprised by the age of some of the houses in the towns west of Leesburg. That part of Loudoun County was thriving long before the Civil War, and you can find homes for sale in neighborhoods that were built in the 50s and 60s, even more from the 30s and 40s, and even several built more than 100 years ago. The problem is you won't find a huge number to choose from, simply because the towns back then were relatively small.