Lake Manassas???

[eikalilos]

Originally Posted by BrookeMadison

Are there any downsides besides a long commute to living in Gainesville (Lake Manassas). crime etc. I am shocked to see the amount of foreclosures in Lake Manassas and of course the rest of the US. I just read on CNN for what it's worth that home prices prices in NOVA/DC are forcasted to fall another 13% this year. Perhaps I should hold of on the home purchase and rent for a while, however I would hate to lose out on these current interest rates. Strange times we are living in...

That's the gamble. Low rates, or lower property price. There's no guarantee which way either will go.
Do you need a place now? Buy.
Can you wait? Tougher decision there, depends on your comfort level.
We could've waited, but found a house we liked at a price we liked, so we bought it. Rate was good, so we're happy. Won't bother looking at the listings, we'll just enjoy what we've got

[cflores]

Lake Manassas is great. We moved out from Bethesda/Silver Spring area. I would say that I feel much safer with my child riding her bike over to the swim club or her friends in the neighborhood. There are lots of nice trails to jog, ride bikes. I would have to say one of the nicest golf courses in the area. A lot has changed in the last 6 yrs we have been there but it is very convinient to shops such as Wegmans(right in our backyard-practically). My husband works at State Dept and leaves around 530 , no real traffic and gets there in 40 or so mins. I know there are lots of car pools and van pools which also leave at different times.

[Fairfax Mom]

Rent - prices will be dropping even lower as more people lose their jobs and foreclose

[vlh71]

Lake Manassas is beautiful but the commute will be a beast. Leaving for work at 6 or 6:30 may help a bit but the traffic on Rt.29 is appauling! There are comparable communities a little closer in....if you don't mind the commute, it's definitely worth a look. But you should be open and consider other areas/options. If you need any help navigating through your choices, let me know. I have GREAT resources that would make your search SO much easier!!!

[fdeitz]

I live in Gainesville and leave for work at 5:55 AM. I get on Rt. 29 at University Blvd. and take it all the way to Gainesville, and traffic is great. I'm sure later than that it gets bad however. On the way home if I hit it before 4 PM it is also good - after that it backs up from the merge to 2 lanes at the quarry until the intersection with Sudley Rd. (234 Business) in Manassas. After that there is very little traffic. In the morning I'm doing the speed limit (or slightly over) all the way to Centreville, and in the afternoon the same thing with the exception of the stretch from the rock quarry to Sudley Rd. I can't speak to anything after that on Rt. 29 (past Centreville) as I commute to Reston. My commute usually takes 35 minutes in the morning, sometimes as much as 45 minutes in the afternoon if I get out of work on the late side and hit Rt. 29 after 4 PM.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

Rent - prices will be dropping even lower as more people lose their jobs and foreclose

As I understand it, the opposite happens. Rent goes up during hard times. People may lose thier homes, but they have to live somewhere so instead they rent. A large influx of renters drives up the cost of renting since it creates demand. When money is good, people can afford to buy homes so rents go own to attract renters.

That's what I've gathered from reading about landlording and rental property investment. I'm no expert on the subject though so take what I saw with a grain of salt.

[Fairfax Mom]

Well - maybe you can rent a home until prices go down even more.
Interesting aside - I have a friend in propery management and she says that they cannot rent the one bedroom apartments because people cannot afford them and are getting two and three bedroom ones and sharing them with several people.