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Perhaps this is an inquiry that can best be addressed by "TechLawyer", who apparently lives very near to this locale, but I was just doing some online house-hunting and have found numerous condos listed at Wilson Bridge Drive in Oxon Hill (along Indian Head Highway) that are well below $100,000. I realize Oxon Hill has a very shady reputation, but this particular condo community is literally within spitting distance of National Harbor and is nestled against River Ridge Estates, which looks to be a stable upper-middle-class residential single-family home neighborhood. It is located literally about a minute or two from the Beltway, which would be attractive for me if I were to head up to work in Tysons Corner (I'm guessing 495 isn't THAT congested at 5:30 AM when I normally leave for work).
Essentially, what gives? Why are the condos here so cheap? Has there been a history of violent crime here? Is this a sketchy community? To me it looks as if for next-to-nothing I could buy a condo within a stone's throw of National Harbor, Old Town Alexandria, and the Beltway, and I'd imagine long-term resale potential would be heightened as this immediate area begins to gentrify in the coming years.
Upon some investigation of my own I see that around Christmas 2009 there was a huge fire at this complex, but none of these inexpensive units appear to be fire-damaged.
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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$450/month condo fees + $200/month in taxes. The taxes aren't that bad, but that's a pretty high condo fee. If there was a large fire, there could be special assessments coming to pay for it (if the reserves have been depleted). I ran into this looking at some of the older complexes in VA. The condo fees only go up in general, and with the older buildings, maintainence gets more expensive every year.
Take the listing above, asking $87k. With 20% down and 5% interest, you are looking at about $400/month PI. Add in taxes, condo fees, and insurance and you are at ~$1100/month. You can rent a 2 bedroom condo there for $1000-1100/month. Only you can figure out if thats worth it to you.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
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I just saw this thread. I own one of those as a rental property. I believe Meatkins lives there so he may have the perspective of a resident. The condo fee is high and has increased steadily since I first bought it though no significant increase the last couple of years. That said, it does cover all utilities. Since your post, they are now being listed at $19k to $50k for foreclosures. Those of us who purchased 2004 and beyond got screwed unless values come back up. I have upgraded mine and always rented it for $1300 to $1400 with no problems. The place needs some updating to the exterior and laundry rooms etc. I haven't seen much updating going on since I got mine in 2005 when they were selling for $140k to $190k. I think the budget has been strained the last couple of years by all the foreclosures/shortsales and people that stopped paying the condo fees. I think there are more non-occupant owners now than actual resident owners and I am sure that impacts the ability to get financing. I have been to condo meetings where many in attendance were investors who live in MoCo or Fairfax. The prices today make me consider snapping another up at under $30k for cash but I really think it is very unstable right now with all the foreclosures. I do not like having some unknown impact to my budget in the form of condo fees and special assessments and I do not like not having control over problems that impact my tenants that I have to rely on the condo to do something about and I do not like having to deal with recurring issues like pipes leaking between units and then having to battle with the owner above me or the condo office to determine who is at fault. So I think I am done investing in condos. There are houses and duplexes nearby that are very affordable investments also. That said, at today's prices I think these are a great buy for first time or low income buyers and are a great location near the Wilson Bridge to Alexandria and to DC and with a Metro bus stop on the premises.
They still have yet to rebuild the fire damaged units. I wonder what that is about. Between the owner policies and the master condo policy I am sure insurance will be covering it. I always wondered if it was intentional considering how the values have plummeted.
I just saw this thread. I own one of those as a rental property. I believe Meatkins lives there so he may have the perspective of a resident. The condo fee is high and has increased steadily since I first bought it though no significant increase the last couple of years. That said, it does cover all utilities. Since your post, they are now being listed at $19k to $50k for foreclosures. Those of us who purchased 2004 and beyond got screwed unless values come back up. I have upgraded mine and always rented it for $1300 to $1400 with no problems. The place needs some updating to the exterior and laundry rooms etc. I haven't seen much updating going on since I got mine in 2005 when they were selling for $140k to $190k. I think the budget has been strained the last couple of years by all the foreclosures/shortsales and people that stopped paying the condo fees. I think there are more non-occupant owners now than actual resident owners and I am sure that impacts the ability to get financing. I have been to condo meetings where many in attendance were investors who live in MoCo or Fairfax. The prices today make me consider snapping another up at under $30k for cash but I really think it is very unstable right now with all the foreclosures. I do not like having some unknown impact to my budget in the form of condo fees and special assessments and I do not like not having control over problems that impact my tenants that I have to rely on the condo to do something about and I do not like having to deal with recurring issues like pipes leaking between units and then having to battle with the owner above me or the condo office to determine who is at fault. So I think I am done investing in condos. There are houses and duplexes nearby that are very affordable investments also. That said, at today's prices I think these are a great buy for first time or low income buyers and are a great location near the Wilson Bridge to Alexandria and to DC and with a Metro bus stop on the premises.
They still have yet to rebuild the fire damaged units. I wonder what that is about. Between the owner policies and the master condo policy I am sure insurance will be covering it. I always wondered if it was intentional considering how the values have plummeted.
Let me start off by saying that there are a lot of issues that aren't right. For those who live in Brookside and are on facebook, we have a group on facebook called "Brookside Park Condominiums" and we talk about a lot of the issues going on and we are trying to organize more effort to fix the problems here. You can also PM me and we can exchange contact info so that
Now I'm not going to get into all the issues because there just isn't enough time in a day, but right now it is a poorly ran and very corrupt complex. Sorry to say. The potential is there. It's a great location, relatively safe, has a pool, spacious units, and afforable, but the property management is awful. I've had some very heated conversations with Property Management and made my opinion known. Some of it has feel on deaf ears, so I took the initiative to go above them. We all answer to someone and so I have gotten the PG County Government involved and have threatened to seek litigation against them. It seems that is the only time that they respond, when you get someone who they have to answer to.
We have a executive board that is simply not being effective in solving many of the issues and it deals with corruption. There's a lot of I scratch your back, you scratch mine going on. But it's going to take strong-minded, uncompromising residents that willing to go to war in order to end a lot of the corruption here. If residents fight, change can be made and this can be a wonderful community again. As of right now, things are tough. I brought my place, just last year and I'm already upside down on my mortgage. Property value is dropping fast. This actually might be one of the best times to buy, but if you do invest be ready to fight for a lot of things. I plan on renting on my property very soon just like TechLawyer and become an investor, so I hope that anyone who decides to live here, is ready to get in the trenches because I believe we have the power to make this a better place!
$450/month condo fees + $200/month in taxes. The taxes aren't that bad, but that's a pretty high condo fee. If there was a large fire, there could be special assessments coming to pay for it (if the reserves have been depleted). I ran into this looking at some of the older complexes in VA. The condo fees only go up in general, and with the older buildings, maintainence gets more expensive every year.
Take the listing above, asking $87k. With 20% down and 5% interest, you are looking at about $400/month PI. Add in taxes, condo fees, and insurance and you are at ~$1100/month. You can rent a 2 bedroom condo there for $1000-1100/month. Only you can figure out if thats worth it to you.
I wonder what the owner-occupied ratio is for the buildings?
If there are a lot of tenants banks won't lend for purchases in the building. Thus only all cash deals are done. This would affect the price greatly.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 812,216 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdwardA
I wonder what the owner-occupied ratio is for the buildings?
If there are a lot of tenants banks won't lend for purchases in the building. Thus only all cash deals are done. This would affect the price greatly.
I am pretty sure it is over 50% investors. I think that is part of the problem right now...they need cash buyers to close most likely because lending is tough to get.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 812,216 times
Reputation: 233
Quote:
Originally Posted by meatkins
Let me start off by saying that there are a lot of issues that aren't right. For those who live in Brookside and are on facebook, we have a group on facebook called "Brookside Park Condominiums" and we talk about a lot of the issues going on and we are trying to organize more effort to fix the problems here. You can also PM me and we can exchange contact info so that
Now I'm not going to get into all the issues because there just isn't enough time in a day, but right now it is a poorly ran and very corrupt complex. Sorry to say. The potential is there. It's a great location, relatively safe, has a pool, spacious units, and afforable, but the property management is awful. I've had some very heated conversations with Property Management and made my opinion known. Some of it has feel on deaf ears, so I took the initiative to go above them. We all answer to someone and so I have gotten the PG County Government involved and have threatened to seek litigation against them. It seems that is the only time that they respond, when you get someone who they have to answer to.
yep the property management company sucks
and that is the main problem with this community
I wish I had known to investigate that before purchasing
Those prices are about right, I had been thinking of purchasing one of those units for years and renting out since the Harbor opened.
I'm from not too far away in Fort Washington and the neighborhood isn't known for many issues, such as crime, etc, but I'm not sure of the condition of the units over there
One of my friends that bought a condo there said he had A/C issues, but that's not a major problem
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