Decently affordable single family homes within 45 minute commute of Rest on? (Reston: real estate, renting)

[VigCS]

Hi all -

My fiance and I work for a company currently relocating its office to Reston. We're out of state on a job site assignment for a few more months and will be moving to the office in Reston.

We are first time home buyers and want to buy a single family home in NoVA. We can stretch up to 400k but would feel more comfortable in the 350k range. We have about 50k to put down. Could you guys suggest areas to look up to about 45 min from Reston?

Thanks, I appreciate any input.

Edit: annoying phone autocorrect with the rest on in the title.

[mdcrim]

I am not aware of any area within a 45 minute commute of Reston where you could get a SFH for $350k to $400k. Maybe Leesburg if you compromised on neighborhood quality? Maybe Purcellville but you'd be outside of 45 minutes and would either need to compromise on time or add money into your budget for the Greenway (privately owned toll road that costs +/- $6 each way). You would probably be able to get into a townhome within your price range and commute time requirements but I know that's not what you're looking for. Sorry, maybe someone else has other ideas?

[Badger21]

Just checked on Zillow and found couple of listings in Leesburg so you'll be fine there, but as noted by mdcrim the toll road expenses are something you have to account for as taking Rt 7 to work everyday is all sorts of awful.

Sterling,VA would also satisfy your requirements

[spencgr]

Sterling Park

[ICS67]

The official motto of our Northern Virginia forum is: "Live as close to your job as you can afford". I'm not sure where you're coming from and what your commute is like now, but traffic (or even a long commute by public transportation) in Northern Virginia can truly suck the life force out of you.

Having said that, my obvious advice is going to be: start your search in Reston itself. I don't think you'll find a single family home in a desirable neighborhood for 350K, but you might be able to swing a modest SFH in a decent neighborhood at 400K or a bit above. If you're open to the idea of a townhouse, your options expand greatly and you can get a very nice property in a very nice area in your price range.

I've lived in Reston since 1998 and have been a homeowner since 2001, and on the whole I enjoy life here. The pluses, in my opinion, are that it's a safe area (minus a couple of slightly problematic lower income developments), nature is everywhere, people on the whole are friendly, and with both Reston Town Center and the village shopping centers (essentially glorified strip malls) you have just about everything you need conveniently close by. Metro (the subway) arrived in Reston this past summer, so you now have a new option for getting into Washington if you so desire. Minuses are the traffic, which is an issue everywhere in NoVa, and our nanny state overlord, the Reston Association. God help you if you don't like earth tones!

Wherever you end up moving to, you might want to consider renting for your first year just to get a feel for the area and to see if it works for you. I don't think real estate prices are going to jump dramatically in the next 12 months.

Good luck with the move, and welcome to NoVa.

[JfromReston]

In your price range, I would recommend looking at townhouses in Reston. Here are a few options I would recommend looking at.

11630 IVYSTONE CT #3A1, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX8438980 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11521 IVY BUSH CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX8457349 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11253 SILENTWOOD LN, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX8519646 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
10972 GRANBY CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX8526759 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com
11016 GRANBY CT, RESTON, VA 20191 | MLS FX8454447 | Listing Information | MRIShomes.com

[MySonsDad]

"... but traffic (or even a long commute by public transportation) in Northern Virginia can truly suck the life force out of you"

Well, than how is it that I can do it without getting irritated, upset, depressed, tired, etc etc???? I have already accepted that I will never have a commute less than 1 hour from work. I must have superhuman patience or something because I did a 2 hour commute (one way) without thinking twice. My motto - " You dont pay $400K for a townhouse where you have NO privacy and NO land just to save 15-20 min in commute time." If you don't have patience for the commute than I would recommend practicing a form of meditation.

Original poster - I would look in the Gainesville / Manassas area. However, even then you may have to settle for just an upscale townhouse. However, if this is your first housing purchase, I was always told to start slow and work your way up. This area forces you to make some compromises. One big suggestion - wherever you choose make sure you are close to getting on either Rt 66 or the Greenway if you decide on Leesberg. Frankly, I couldn't justify spending $12 a day just to ride the expressway. The Washington D.C. area ranks #1 in most congest/ longest commute in the U.S. However, in my opinion, we are also "recession proof."

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by ICS67

The official motto of our Northern Virginia forum is: "Live as close to your job as you can afford".

I disagree. While living close to work would usually be ideal, I do believe the predominant mantra on this forum is "1) easy commute 2) affordability 3) size of home. In this area, you only get to pick two, and you must compromise on the other."

[BOS2IAD]

Yes, you can find something in Sterling Park in your price range. However...a few things you need to know. Most of the single-family housing stock is about 50 years old---not all of it but I would say the majority. In recent years, Sterling Park has been on a downward trajectory and the schools in the Park View Cluster have suffered for it.

All that said, I do hold out some hope that when the silver line comes out this way in about 4 years, Sterling Park will then be on the road to recovery. In which case, if you buy a house now and are patient, you will see appreciation of your property.

[VigCS]

Thank you all for the responses.

My fiance is from Fairfax and I'm from Frederick/MoCo in Maryland, so we're both well familiar with DC traffic. I guess I have some research to do; was really hoping to get a single family for what we can spend.

I agree with MySonsDad; I don't really want to pay $400k for no privacy. I think the next step is to start searching out in Loudon county.