How feasible is it to add in-law unit to new or existing home in South Reston (Arlington: for sale)

[backtonova]

Folks,

Need some input here. My older parents are considering moving with us, and as such we would soon outgrow our current house in Herndon. We've been considering moving to South Reston for a while now, and with this new extension to our family, we have two options as far as buying a house in South Reston:
1. Buy an existing SFH and add an in-law unit
2. Buy an existing SFH, tear-down and build a custom home (with an in-law unit).

While I have been a homeowner for a while now, I am completely new to either of those options of either extending a house or tearing down / building new home, and would like to get some advice from those who have done either of those before in Reston.

Is it relatively straightforward to obtain permits for either of those options?
If we do decide to go with option 2, is it better to go through a builder to have the necessary permits in place, buy the old home, tear-down, etc.

I've seen many tear-downs / new home construction in Vienna / Arlington, but haven't in South Reston, and was wondering whether this was because it is really difficult to rebuild sfh in Reston.

-backtonova

[JfromReston]

Your best option is to find a home in South Reston that already has an in-law suite. There are many - check out these currently on the market.

11154 GLADE DR, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11145 GLADE DR, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
2504 FAUQUIER LN, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11613 SOURWOOD LN, RESTON, VA 20191 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

The reason you don't see many tear downs in Reston is that the housing stock is just not that old. Additionally, it would need the approval of the Reston Association Design Review Board. My understanding is that most tear downs build houses that are substantially bigger. Reston's DRB most likely will not approve anything that is not keeping with the size/style of the neighborhood.

[ICS67]

I totally agree with JFromReston -- you don't want to go through the process of having to deal with the Reston Association's Design & Review Board (DRB), nightmare tales of which abound. The DRB seems to think that the 1970s represent the epitome of good taste (whereas my take on the 1970s is that it's the decade that taste forgot and time cannot improve). Even getting minor exterior improvements OKed can sometimes be difficult -- one of my neighbors was dinged because the blue of her shutters was off ever so slightly -- so I would not even want to think about what getting permission for a teardown and rebuild would entail. I've lived here over 15 years, and I actually cannot think of a single teardown in South Reston in all that time.

Even adding an extension to an existing house would entail getting DRB approval, as well as Fairfax County permits, of course. So, finding an existing house with an in-law unit -- or existing space in a house that could be converted to such -- might be the best way to go.

Good luck.

[JfromReston]

I have had several successful dealings with Reston's DRB. Including major exterior changes - siding, windows, deck, patio, retaining walls, and tree removal. All were approved very quickly. One request included several changes that the covenants document indicate are not acceptable - including size of deck, composition of deck railing, and retaining wall material. I think that the DRB has loosened up in the last few years. A recent new member of the DRB is a friend and he told me that they are very flexible with the detached homes, but when it comes to the townhouse clusters things can get real picky (and a lot of complaints come in as cluster complaints).

[backtonova]

JfromReston and ICS67, thanks for the responses. I was afraid about this, and it was good to hear first hand from those who have stayed here for awhile.

JfromReston, thanks for those links. I should add that we're tending towards homes that are no older than mid-90s and in the Sunrise Valley elementary school district. I know that severely limits our options (since most south reston homes are older than that) and perhaps heavily biases our option towards the tear-down/rebuild, which you both advise against in Reston. To dig into it a bit more, we're not looking to build something large. In fact, we'd prefer to have something in the same size as those in that area. Its just that we need something fairly new and has a separate in-law unit (bdrm, kitchen, etc.)

I'm not sure if its worthwhile engaging the DRB to get their take on whether a tear-down is even feasible? From what it sounds, it is most likely a no, in which case we'll end up going elsewhere (maybe 22181, 22182).

[JfromReston]

Here are Reston's tear down/in fill rules

http://www.reston.org/LinkClick.aspx...HzT9ACzZbNs%3d

I don't think you are going to find any houses built after the mid-90's that feed to Sunrise Valley Elementary. Have you considered older houses that have been recently updated?

[rsmall003]

Hi,

Our home has an apartment in the basement with a walk out to the back yard. We plan to retire and move to Berryville. Will probably put our home for sale this spring. Let me know if you are interested.