Looking for home under $250K, no DC commute (homes, small)

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by littlewmn

I am definately willing to trade hipness for drop-dead gorgeous scenery, if that is possible in Prince William? Lakes, forest, rivers, streams... all the stuff my soul needs after spending too much time in the desert.
Wish I knew where the store would be, but right now all I know is NoVa. Hope that I will get more info soon!
In the meantime, I have a sneaking suspicion that there is not too much out there I can afford, so it may be a commute to wherever the store is from wherever I can afford to live. Works for me, I s'pose.
So, Knopfler, what is Prince William like, is that Lake Ridge area, because I am seeing some really cheap townhomes out that way and it sure looks nice from what I can tell, though I have to wonder why so cheap when other places are so expensive? Am I missing something?
Thanks!

Prince William can *definitely* give you lakes, forests, rivers, and streams. It's a naturally rich county. Prince William Forest Park alone should whet your appetite. Prince William Forest Park (U.S. National Park Service)

If you are actually finding townhomes in Lake Ridge (zip code 22192) that are really cheap, that'd be a good place for you. However, Lake Ridge is technically Woodbridge, and some of the townhomes you're seeing really cheaply might be in zip codes 22191 and 22193, which can be sketchy as far as safety goes and can also be sketchy for public schools. Lake Ridge feeds into Woodbridge HS though, which is a decent HS.

The predominant reason why the properties in Lake Ridge and elsewhere in Prince William are so much cheaper than elsewhere in NoVA is that PW has been hit much harder with foreclosures than any other area county. There are varying reasons for why this is, but the fact that so many first generation immigrants got sold houses in Prince William that they clearly could not afford is at least one of the major, major reasons for this. Some of the listings you're likely seeing for the townhomes in Lake Ridge are foreclosures or short sales, and that would account for some of the price discrepancies (make sure when you go that the foreclosed owners didn't take everything that wasn't nailed down, for instance!)

Hope this helps!

[littlewmn]

Wow- thanks for the link-- I loved it!
OK- now I think I know where I want to focus. I am glad the lower prices on some townhomes do not reflect a dangerous neighborhood.
Are we talking mostly 1st gen Americans or are we talkin' illegal immigration? I am from Tucson and have seen firsthand how language barriers and assimilation problems can cause problems for the school system.
I am surprised to hear so much talk of illegal immigrants in NoVa. Of course in Tucson it is a fact of life.

[Tone509]

The DC metro and NOVA in particular has a robust economy with a concentration of busy high-earners. Immigrants, including a significant number of admittedly questionable status, have fulfilled the wants/needs of individuals and business to maintain lifestyles and the fuel growth in this area.

Prince William County was (in)famous for recently enacting a law designed to aggressively target iillegal immigrants. Between that legal action and the real estate downturn, many have left the county. However, that same housing crisis has resulted in a loss of property taxes that would have helped fund the illegal immigration initiative. The likely result IMO will be a lot of stable households taking advantage of more affordable mortgages.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by littlewmn

Wow- thanks for the link-- I loved it!
OK- now I think I know where I want to focus. I am glad the lower prices on some townhomes do not reflect a dangerous neighborhood.
Are we talking mostly 1st gen Americans or are we talkin' illegal immigration? I am from Tucson and have seen firsthand how language barriers and assimilation problems can cause problems for the school system.
I am surprised to hear so much talk of illegal immigrants in NoVa. Of course in Tucson it is a fact of life.

The simple answer is both, 1st generation American and illegal immigrants. A great deal of the time around here there are mixed families where some are here legally and some aren't. Whereas Tucson has been dealing with this issue for literally decades, this is a relatively new thing for suburban counties like Prince William and Loudoun.

Prince William collectively had a ginormous cow over it during the last local election cycle, and county officials passed a resolution denying some public services to illegal immigrants, as well as creating aggressive reporting to federal immigration authorities when suspected illegal immigrants were stopped on other charges. This was recently toned down substantially as it became obvious that we don't have the money to actually do all of this fairly. Now immigration status is only checked after an arrest has been made on an unrelated incident.

There is tons of anecdotal evidence on what (if any) effect this has had on the housing market. My own personal observation is that many of these foreclosures in the past year are on first generation immigrants, of which Prince William has (had?) a somewhat higher percentage of than other Northern Virginia counties. Many of these folks did not understand the mortgages they were purchasing as they did not have experience buying property or obtaining mortgages in this country and did not have a network of knowledgeable friends and family to educate them - and were duped by folks who wanted a quick commission. As these folks got foreclosed on and moved out, the immigration resolution mentioned above got a lot of press and dissuaded other first generational immigrants (legal and illegal alike) from coming in and purchasing these homes since they were uneasy about living in Prince William County. The result is that prices dropped further than they have in other Northern Virginia counties as these properties have stayed on the market longer.

There is an abundance of opinion as to whether this is a good thing or not.

I hope this helps!

[littlewmn]

Very, very helpful! Thank you!
It is tough to understand exactly what is going on when I am so far away. I don't want to be driving all around the state checking out neighborhoods or relying soley on realtors for my info.
Now I can understand why the prices are dropping and what issues there are in certain places and now I know what immigration laws others were talking about in PWC.

[Tone509]

Thanks for the a more informed and detailed explanation than what I tried to say.

Originally Posted by knopfler

The simple answer is both, 1st generation American and illegal immigrants. A great deal of the time around here there are mixed families where some are here legally and some aren't. Whereas Tucson has been dealing with this issue for literally decades, this is a relatively new thing for suburban counties like Prince William and Loudoun.

Prince William collectively had a ginormous cow over it during the last local election cycle, and county officials passed a resolution denying some public services to illegal immigrants, as well as creating aggressive reporting to federal immigration authorities when suspected illegal immigrants were stopped on other charges. This was recently toned down substantially as it became obvious that we don't have the money to actually do all of this fairly. Now immigration status is only checked after an arrest has been made on an unrelated incident.

There is tons of anecdotal evidence on what (if any) effect this has had on the housing market. My own personal observation is that many of these foreclosures in the past year are on first generation immigrants, of which Prince William has (had?) a somewhat higher percentage of than other Northern Virginia counties. Many of these folks did not understand the mortgages they were purchasing as they did not have experience buying property or obtaining mortgages in this country and did not have a network of knowledgeable friends and family to educate them - and were duped by folks who wanted a quick commission. As these folks got foreclosed on and moved out, the immigration resolution mentioned above got a lot of press and dissuaded other first generational immigrants (legal and illegal alike) from coming in and purchasing these homes since they were uneasy about living in Prince William County. The result is that prices dropped further than they have in other Northern Virginia counties as these properties have stayed on the market longer.

There is an abundance of opinion as to whether this is a good thing or not.

I hope this helps!

[Newk]

It is hard to find really good schools and really good neighborhoods with that price that you want to pay.. Sorry.

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by Newk

It is hard to find really good schools and really good neighborhoods with that price that you want to pay.. Sorry.

you woke up this thread from a 4 month sleep

[Newk]

Whoops

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by VRE332

you woke up this thread from a 4 month sleep

Actually, it would be almost 7 months old. Long nap.