NoVa cities to consider buying for a new-comer (Alexandria, Burke: real estate, apartments)

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Hello all,

I am new to DC area and also a first-time would-be buyer looking to buy a Townhouse or SFH in the 200 to 275k range.

My fiancee will move to DC once her rotations are complete. So we plan to stay at whatever location we choose now for a while. I will be commuting to my work in DC near Union Station and would like to keep my commute each way to under an hour using either Metro or VRE.

I have looked into Silver Spring, Kensington and Rockville and those areas don't appeal to me since they are either too expensive or too ghetto like Wheaton-Glenmont.

I was thinking of living in NoVa near a VRE station and commuting into Union Station. Can you please suggest areas I can look into with good schools and reputation for being safe cities and so forth?

All I know is that some areas inside the beltway in Annandale are to be avoided. Any other suggestions about Falls Church, Springfield, Burke, Franconia etc?

Thanks and happy new year!

[claremarie]

Look at Burke, in neighborhoods near the VRE station on Rolling Road. Burke Station Square is a neighborhood right across the street. The single family homes would be beyond your price range, but you should be able to find a townhouse for under $300K. The Lake Braddock school pyramid is pretty good, and there is plenty of shopping and recreation within easy driving distance. It's middle of the road suburbia, but very safe.

[knopfler]

Annandale inside the beltway is still nice in many areas, but the schools are generally pretty crappy. That's the knock on Annandale (except the part that feeds into Woodson HS).

I'd second Claire's recommendation of Burke. The Lake Braddock district is very solid for schools, it's convenient to VRE, and your pricing is fine.

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by knopfler

Annandale inside the beltway is still nice in many areas, but the schools are generally pretty crappy. That's the knock on Annandale (except the part that feeds into Woodson HS).

I'd second Claire's recommendation of Burke. The Lake Braddock district is very solid for schools, it's convenient to VRE, and your pricing is fine.

I'm not sure that labeling the Annandale schools as "generally pretty crappy" is entirely fair. I guess Annandale HS suffers in comparison to Woodson (one of the top schools in the country); on the other hand, Annandale serves a more diverse student population than Woodson and the test scores there are still higher than the national average, as well as the scores at Manassas area schools, including Stonewall Jackson.

[NoVaFirstTimer]

Thanks for all your replies.

How about Springfield-Franconia, Falls Church (near Lee and 50 Hwys)?

I also see on Redfin older SFH listing for ~250k in these areas. Someone said only townhouses are available below 300k here?. I am I missing something? are these cheaper homes in pockets of bad areas?

Thanks!

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by NoVaFirstTimer

Thanks for all your replies.

How about Springfield-Franconia, Falls Church (near Lee and 50 Hwys)?

I also see on Redfin older SFH listing for ~250k in these areas. Someone said only townhouses are available below 300k here?. I am I missing something? are these cheaper homes in pockets of bad areas?

Thanks!

If you can find a SFH for less than $300K - or maybe even $400K - in Fairfax County, then there may indeed be issues with the perception of the neighborhood if not the property itself. Your chances would improve in Loudoun County and especially Prince William County. Of course, then there's the commute...

[JEB77]

Originally Posted by NoVaFirstTimer

Thanks for all your replies.

How about Springfield-Franconia, Falls Church (near Lee and 50 Hwys)?

I also see on Redfin older SFH listing for ~250k in these areas. Someone said only townhouses are available below 300k here?. I am I missing something? are these cheaper homes in pockets of bad areas?

Thanks!

I can't speak to the Springfield-Franconia areas. In the 22042 zip code in Falls Church, which includes an area around Routes 50 and 29, you currently might be able to find a few SFH's around 250K. In general, the houses will be 1950s houses with less than 2000 square feet. These aren't necessarily "bad areas": most of the houses in these areas are well-tended. Some blocks, however, are better than others, and there are definitely some properties that effectively have been turned into boarding houses with many cars or trucks in the driveways.

With respect to the schools, most of the schools in this area serve an increasingly Hispanic (and, to a lesser extent, Asian) population. Test scores generally are lower than in other parts of the county, but at least one of the local elementary schools - Graham Road - has been praised for doing an outstanding job of educating children who speak English as a second language and come from lower income families.

In general, I think the other poster's recommendation to rent for a few months and see what happens with the market is a sound one. House prices in parts of Loudoun and Prince William County have plummeted over the past year, and this may yet happen in Fairfax as well.

[Iaponte]

I'm a Real Estate Agent licensed in VA. If you are looking for a nice townhouse with great commute, I would recommend Springfield, Alexandria (kingstowne area), and/or Lorton.

[barryhussein]

I saw a SFH in 22150 on Amelia St. for about 185K. Few apartments around there. Some McMansions. Nice yard. Home built in the late 50's--probably Crestwood, which is going to be nicer than Lynbrook.
About 1 mile to vre. 5819 AMELIA STREET, SPRINGFIELD, VA, 22150 - MLS ID#FX6859850 - Single Family Home Real Estate - REALTOR.com®

It is on the same Street as the Springfield Swimming and Raquet Club, where Gold Medalist Melisa Belote (Ripley) learned to swim (three Golds-Munich, 1972)

[JEB77]

The house on Amelia that BH posted about in Springfield feeds into Crestwood, not Lynbrook.

Appears to me that you'd probably get more house for your dollar in central Springfield than in Falls Church around Routes 50 and 29. In either case, the single family houses around $200-250K are likely to be 45-50 years old.