Manassas - Older SFH - What's the deal? (Woodbridge, Sudley: 2011, foreclosures)

[AmandaVA]

I have several properties I'm looking at in Manassas, VA. They are older detached homes, in the West Gate of Lomond and Loch Lomond area. These are around $150k.

What's the deal with these areas? I cannot afford a brand new, big house and don't mind being in an older home. I actually prefer an older, less expensive home w/ a decent sized backyard and no HOA. Are they dangerous?

Let me know! Thanks!

[blossom4792]

My husband lived in that area for almost 20 years starting in the 80s up until 2001. The area is considered to be going downhill with, you know, a lot of non-English speaking people and more recently a lot of foreclosures. I haven't studied the schools, but none of my friends would have sent their children to those specific public schools. I always call it a "block-by-block" area - one block might be very nice and the next very run down. In any case, a house there in the 150s would seem like a good bargain and a decent investment, especially if it's in a nicer 'pocket'/block. The area right around Stonewall Park gets bad press, literally. In my experience, wherever you live, it seems safer to be a little bit tucked away so that someone looking for unlocked cars or whatever won't have easy access and getaway.

[DC Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by AmandaVA

I have several properties I'm looking at in Manassas, VA. They are older detached homes, in the West Gate of Lomond and Loch Lomond area. These are around $150k.

What's the deal with these areas? I cannot afford a brand new, big house and don't mind being in an older home. I actually prefer an older, less expensive home w/ a decent sized backyard and no HOA. Are they dangerous?

Let me know! Thanks!

I live pretty far from there, but from what I understand there are two issues (which are not unrelated).

One is the heavy foreclosure activity. The following website might give you some insight into how much heavier it is in Manassas relative to other parts of NOVA:

Northern Virginia Housing Bubble Fallout


The other is the situation with illegal aliens. They aren't evenly spread throughout the area but rather are more concentrated in some areas than others.

I wouldn't buy there without a very compelling reason (like no other choice.)

[barryhussein]

For that kind of money, I would go with a TH in 20165--much more civilized. That specific neighborhood is no worse than it was when they were fetchin' 350-400K.

[blossom4792]

The opposite side of Sudley/234 closer to Old Town Manassas is quite nice, in parts (Robnel, Old Town) and gives you the single family home thing. I haven't checked those prices lately.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by AmandaVA

I have several properties I'm looking at in Manassas, VA. They are older detached homes, in the West Gate of Lomond and Loch Lomond area. These are around $150k.

What's the deal with these areas? I cannot afford a brand new, big house and don't mind being in an older home. I actually prefer an older, less expensive home w/ a decent sized backyard and no HOA. Are they dangerous?

Let me know! Thanks!

There is a post I made on the thread Looking for home under $250K, no DC commute that sums things up IMHO.

Here it is, complete with a somewhat unrelated preamble:

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!

An addendum - The Sudley Elementary school is considered VASTLY better than Sinclair or (especially) West Gate. When you're looking in this area please keep this in mind, especially as the price difference between these adjacent school districts is negligble. All feed into Stonewall MS and Stonewall HS, which are both fine.

[Newk]

You get what you pay for, and when you pay that little for a SFH, you are going to have issues, even in Manassas. I would spend a little more for some place nicer, that is not attainable by every Joe Blow Schmo that might want a house.

[blossom4792]

Out of curiosity, I spent a few minutes browsing the current listings in Manassas (broadly speaking). I thought the most promising listings were either in the Wellington area, or further out in the direction of Woodbridge in Manassas zip 20112. My absolute favorite would be the foreclosure on Walton priced at 222K. I have friends on that street and it is just lovely, huge lots.

[barryhussein]

There is a decent split foyer on Battlefield (Wellington) for 219K. It would have brought 450K three years ago.

[bungalowmo]

Does it have to be in Manassas??