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Old 09-04-2008, 12:32 PM
 
206 posts, read 633,506 times
Reputation: 20

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Quote:
Originally Posted by doglover29 View Post
I completely understand what you're saying. But for those of you who decided to settle here for some or most of the above reasons: are you happy with your house? Or do you feel like you had to settle for a crapshack? Do you feel resentful that you shell out upwards of $3 K a month for a crapshack? Does your house feel like a tranquil retreat at the end of a busy day, or do you come home with another house crammed in a few feet away, a house that is in major need of updating, a tiny yard, etc. Or for some people is a nice house just not important to them? I'd love to hear more about people's thoughts on this.
Your entire focus seems to be on finding a nice home for NoVA for $700k.

I think you can find that if you're willing to live starting Centreville and west.

If you want a mansion for $700k, go look for something in PG County, MD.
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Old 09-04-2008, 12:38 PM
 
672 posts, read 5,821,434 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by handy man88 View Post
Your entire focus seems to be on finding a nice home for NoVA for $700k.

I think you can find that if you're willing to live starting Centreville and west.

If you want a mansion for $700k, go look for something in PG County, MD.
We're definitely not looking for a mansion. 3-4 bedrooms, that's it. But I would like a nice house that is updated. I don't want to shell out $700 K for a house only to have to re-do the entire kitchen to get rid of the hideous flooring, cabinetry and countertops, as well as re-doing all the bathrooms. What we've seen for $700K pretty much would all require this kind of updating, which would be expensive. Most houses we've seen also would need a complete exterior paint job, not to mention re-doing the floors or carpeting. It's just discouraging to have to pay a lot of money for a house that is in need of major updating as well. We're looking for something move-in ready, that's completely updated. Doesn't have to be large. But a decent sized yard is a must. It just amazes me that it's so difficult to find all these things in a house in McLean, Arlington or Vienna, Dunn Loring/Tyson's.
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Old 09-04-2008, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Gainesville, VA
1,266 posts, read 5,610,522 times
Reputation: 735
Quote:
Originally Posted by doglover29 View Post
It just amazes me that it's so difficult to find all these things in a house in McLean, Arlington or Vienna, Dunn Loring/Tyson's.
What part of the homes in these areas are older and then because they are close to DC the price is driven up do you not understand? If you are looking for an updated house in those areas expect to pay $$$. If you want new or updated for less $$$ you are going to commute from a further distance.

When I moved to the area any sort of SFH was typically at least $500k. The question was did we want to pay $500k and be in an older home and have repairs on top of the mortgage or live further out and have a new home. You have to make a compromise some where.
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Old 09-04-2008, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Reston, VA
2,090 posts, read 4,244,907 times
Reputation: 1331
Quote:
Originally Posted by doglover29 View Post
I completely understand what you're saying. But for those of you who decided to settle here for some or most of the above reasons: are you happy with your house? Or do you feel like you had to settle for a crapshack? Do you feel resentful that you shell out upwards of $3 K a month for a crapshack? Does your house feel like a tranquil retreat at the end of a busy day, or do you come home with another house crammed in a few feet away, a house that is in major need of updating, a tiny yard, etc. Or for some people is a nice house just not important to them? I'd love to hear more about people's thoughts on this.
Being happy with your house is a relative thing. Yes, I feel that I settled for less than my dream house - as I did with my first house (in a medium size southern city) and my second house (in a large southern city). I guess the point is that I would rather settle for a house that is liveable but not my dream house so that I can feel comfortable that my house is not leaving me with little money left to have fun. Yes, my house feels like a tranquil retreat at the end of a day and it is about 20 feet from each neighbor but it is also adjacent to the Walker Nature Center (about 70 acres of protected woods). A nice house is important to me but a "dream" house is just that - a dream. Here are a few photos I took in my backyard.



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Old 09-04-2008, 01:06 PM
 
1,624 posts, read 4,867,762 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by g3org3 View Post

When I was visiting Chicago (in the ‘90s), I really liked Oak Park, even though it was a little run down, and was amazed at the (low) cost of real estate there. Why would anyone buy a new crapshack (see above), when he could live in a real Prairie style house?
I used to live in Chicago. Oak Park looks great, until you notice that it is adjacent to one of Chicago's worst neighborhoods, Austin.
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Old 09-04-2008, 01:14 PM
 
206 posts, read 633,506 times
Reputation: 20
Quote:
Originally Posted by doglover29 View Post
We're definitely not looking for a mansion. 3-4 bedrooms, that's it. But I would like a nice house that is updated. I don't want to shell out $700 K for a house only to have to re-do the entire kitchen to get rid of the hideous flooring, cabinetry and countertops, as well as re-doing all the bathrooms. What we've seen for $700K pretty much would all require this kind of updating, which would be expensive. Most houses we've seen also would need a complete exterior paint job, not to mention re-doing the floors or carpeting. It's just discouraging to have to pay a lot of money for a house that is in need of major updating as well. We're looking for something move-in ready, that's completely updated. Doesn't have to be large. But a decent sized yard is a must. It just amazes me that it's so difficult to find all these things in a house in McLean, Arlington or Vienna, Dunn Loring/Tyson's.
I think you'll be able to find what you're looking for in Fairfax, Centreville, East Falls Church, Annandale, Springfield, Reston, Herndon, etc.

I think most here will pretty much agree that you won't find what you're looking for in McLean, Vienna, Arlington, Great Falls, West Falls Church, Oak Hill, or Oakton.
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Old 09-04-2008, 01:35 PM
 
Location: Ashburn, VA
989 posts, read 2,854,446 times
Reputation: 655
You can easily get everything you are looking for if you give up your 30 minute commute criteria. The reason the areas inside the beltway can command $700K plus for an older house is because of the three most important things in real estate: location, location and location. It's you and everyone else who wants to have a commute under 30 minutes you are competing against for housing. If your husband was willing to commute a little longer (and working 70 hours per week he may be able to avoid the worst of the rush hour), you could get a wonderful house in Ashburn or a decent house in Reston. Could your husband get a job in the 'burbs? Like the Dulles Corridor? Then you would DEFINITELY be able to find what you are looking for.

By the way, JfromReston, LOVE the pictures. I have similar furry friends in my backyard (in Ashburn), but am no where near as good of a photographer.
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Old 09-04-2008, 01:36 PM
 
Location: Huntsville, AL
652 posts, read 1,303,904 times
Reputation: 474
We got our house in West Springfield for a little over $500K (built in '69): .25 acre lot, new siding, windows, gutters, completely finished basement, hardwood floors, big bathrooms, redone kitchen, a block from the pool. Do we feel like we got a good deal? Definitely. Is it our dream home? Nope but we like it all the same.
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Old 09-04-2008, 02:38 PM
 
2,462 posts, read 8,918,965 times
Reputation: 1003
It's all about expectations. You are expecting too much from a first house in an expensive suburb. Personally, we were thrilled to have a house, yard, driveway, and washer/dryer in the basement. We didn't expect to have a modern kitchen, master bath, spacious yard, and a two-car garage, and it didn't occur to us to obsess about the really nice house we could have purchased in Pittsburgh or Cleveland. Pick your world, and live in it.
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Old 09-04-2008, 03:12 PM
 
280 posts, read 1,072,786 times
Reputation: 105
Well i spent around $700K this time, but it was my third house and I live pretty far out, but yes, it is my dream house and I will live here for 20 years. THe first house was a town house and the second was a more modest single family, and they both made me happy but I was ready go to after 6 years at both of them. My husband and I toyed around with lots of options and looked at homes for almost two years before we made this decision and it was the right one and felt like the right one in our guts. That is all you can really go on....
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