Were you people serious about Manassas and crime? (Arlington, Hampton: short sales, HOA fees) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

betamanlet · 07-16-2010, 12:50 PM

I'm beginning to consider buying a place, and the prices there seem reasonable, though it's really far away from where I work. An example place is right near the prince william hospital. Is that a "good" or "bad" area?
I'm not really familiar with the area, though I go hiking at bull run park, and probably will go tomorrow and see the area again, but I saw nothing that would make me think the area was anything other than nice, but I've seen people posting on here about lots of bad areas. Is that really true?

The Dissenter · 07-16-2010, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by betamanlet

I'm beginning to consider buying a place, and the prices there seem reasonable, though it's really far away from where I work. An example place is right near the prince william hospital. Is that a "good" or "bad" area?
I'm not really familiar with the area, though I go hiking at bull run park, and probably will go tomorrow and see the area again, but I saw nothing that would make me think the area was anything other than nice, but I've seen people posting on here about lots of bad areas. Is that really true?

For what it's worth, my best friend back in VA lives in Manassas (PWC side) off Dumfries Rd and never complains about crime. Also he works in the Georgetown South area and verifies it's a ghetto. I don't think Manassas is as bad as advertisied by some on here (I wouldn't trust many on this subforum to define a bad area.) Of course, I'm from Hampton Roads (which some call a big ghetto) so I may have a higher tolerance for crime.

Caladium · 07-16-2010, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

I don't think Manassas is as bad as advertisied by some on here (I wouldn't trust many on this subforum to define a bad area.)

LOL, good point! It's all subjective. Our idea of "the bad part of town" is so laughable. I think our definition of "bad side" is "they have a Food Lion, not a Bloom. Oh no!"

Go out to LA, NYC, Chicago or even Buffalo if you want to see what a truly "bad side of town" looks like.

betamanlet · 07-16-2010, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caladium

LOL, good point! It's all subjective. Our idea of "the bad part of town" is so laughable. I think our definition of "bad side" is "they have a Food Lion, not a Bloom. Oh no!"

Go out to LA, NYC, Chicago or even Buffalo if you want to see what a truly "bad side of town" looks like.

I think the place where I went hiking, Bull Run Conservatory, isn't really near this anyways. If I go this weekend, I'll find out and make a point to drive through the area.

My issue is the commute. I work in DC. How horrible will it be to get from Manassas to DC and back? If people's ideas that there's a "bad part" of town because it only has chain restaurants, then that's a completely non issue to me. I was concerned more with violent crime, whether my car would still be there. I'm not familiar with the area, but it seems far out, ruralish, so I would imagine the area where I am (Arlington - DC MoCo) has to be more "dangerous"...

Just the prices are so much affordable. I'm looking at 1 Beedrooms that are for 125k. You'd be lucky to find a smaller 1 BR in arlington for 350k. I wouldn't mind a modest commute to save a ton of money.. Plus they seem to have more smoking bars in Manassas than they have in Arlington.

normie · 07-16-2010, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by betamanlet

My issue is the commute. I work in DC. How horrible will it be to get from Manassas to DC and back?

I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling that would be a tiring commute. I guess you'd take the Prince William Parkway?

ChristineVA · 07-16-2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by normie

I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling that would be a tiring commute. I guess you'd take the Prince William Parkway?

Manassas is not one of the better commutes to DC if you are driving.

Depending on where you live in Manassas, you get your choice of I-66 or meandering down to I-95. There are probably a few middle of the road choices to work your way up through Fairfax. None of them pretty.

HereinVA · 07-16-2010, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by normie

I don't know for sure, but I have a feeling that would be a tiring commute. I guess you'd take the Prince William Parkway?

Depending on what part of Manassas...but I'd think the 66 would be the easiest way if the OP was to drive. There's also the VRE...

I live in Bristow, next to Manassas...there are some bad parts of Manassas, but there are some nicer neighborhoods too...
OP, did you have a specific neighborhood in Manassas you were considering?

betamanlet · 07-16-2010, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HereinVA

Depending on what part of Manassas...but I'd think the 66 would be the easiest way if the OP was to drive. There's also the VRE...

I live in Bristow, next to Manassas...there are some bad parts of Manassas, but there are some nicer neighborhoods too...
OP, did you have a specific neighborhood in Manassas you were considering?

Not familiar enough to know neighborhoods. One condo I looked at said it was near a hospital. I would like to be within a 2 mile walk of the 7000 block of Sudley Rd (some bars, don't want to drive). I don't think I can take I-66 because I'd be driving by myself, and it's HOV-2 during rush hours.

yamota · 07-16-2010, 05:35 PM

Mannasass mall is right there with the big Walmart and that alone makes the long commute worth it

bmwguydc · 07-16-2010, 08:11 PM

You can take I-66 as far as the Beltway, save for the left lane, if you are not HOV, but you will have plenty of company on that route. Most of the crime I have heard of, and it's anecdotal, from a couple of people I know who lived just off 234 is minor property crime. The car will not be stolen, but a GPS might be, or it might have some sort of petty vandalism, in certain complexes/streets.

Georgetown South comes to mind as being one of the more notorious crime areas in Manassas, as others have pointed out. I'd tend to worry about areas where there are properties priced less than $100k, since it's extremely low for this area, and there's a reason for it. Some of these areas have blighted properties and short sales, so there's a number of areas that are decent that might have a low price or two.

The other thing to consider is a 1BR in Manassas can be impossible to move, regardless of the amount of space you desire. Even in the best of markets, there's a much more limited pool for buyers of those units as opposed to a 2BR, so I might compare to see what the difference would be for a good 2BR unit. One thing to watch are the association/condo fees, especially for units that were built in the 1980s as there could be maintenance issues that need to be performed that could cause the fees to be higher, or there to be a special assessment in the near term.

If you don't mind something slightly more expensive, I would look at Centreville and Centreville with a Clifton mailing address as it would make your life much easier with regard to the commute. There are also areas off Route 28, around Centre Ridge, that might be worth investigating, before you get to Manassas Park. I would expect to pay in the $160k range for a good 2BR in that area. So, it's basically the difference in cost of a new car, but you have more transportation options from Centreville, although there are newer condos in Manassas in the $150-$160k range for a 2BR, so it would be a condition/neighborhood/commute factor between the two areas.

There are even some smaller 2BR townhouses that were built in the 1980s in Centreville for around the same price point, give or take, $160s-$180s, that actually may be less expensive to own than some condos because the HOA fees are not as significant as some condo fees.