Buying House in Herndon/Sterling/Leesburg with no HOA? (Springfield: townhouse, landscaping) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

lyndsey5 · 11-09-2010, 09:14 AM

We currently live in Springfield and my husband works in Herndon. We want to buy a house near where he works in Herndon. We are old style people. We despise HOA's! We want to find a SFH under 350k (doesn't need to be a perfect new build by ANY means) in a safe neighborhood with decent schools (we have 2 babies under 2). Is that possible up here? We love the small town feel of Leesburg but am worried about the commute to Herndon from Leesburg. We'd like commute to be less than 20 min. We looked at some neighborhoods just north of Herndon in Sterling and they seemed nice, but can't escape the HOA and the bad rap of Sterling. Any advice would be great! Where are there no HOAs??!!! And how long is the commute from Leesburg to Herndon realistically?

normie · 11-09-2010, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyndsey5

We currently live in Springfield and my husband works in Herndon. We want to buy a house near where he works in Herndon. We are old style people. We despise HOA's! We want to find a SFH under 350k (doesn't need to be a perfect new build by ANY means) in a safe neighborhood with decent schools (we have 2 babies under 2). Is that possible up here? We love the small town feel of Leesburg but am worried about the commute to Herndon from Leesburg. We'd like commute to be less than 20 min. We looked at some neighborhoods just north of Herndon in Sterling and they seemed nice, but can't escape the HOA and the bad rap of Sterling. Any advice would be great! Where are there no HOAs??!!! And how long is the commute from Leesburg to Herndon realistically?

Sure, there are non-HOA neighborhoods scattered all around. I'm sure a few of the forum realtors will chime in with suggestions. Many of the neighborhoods along Algonkian Parkway east of Whitewater are non-HOA, and Herdon is only 5-6 miles away. I think Richland Acres is non-HOA (and that's kind of a neat little area, IMO). Also, some of the older neighbrhoods near Countryside might interest you.

arielmina · 11-09-2010, 09:43 AM

Leesburg to Herndon is not bad if you take the Greenway. My husband does it from farther west and I'd say depending on where in Leesburg, it could be around 20 mins or less.

Ashburnite · 11-09-2010, 10:28 AM

Some of the HOAs are pretty low key so I wouldn't discount that idea entirely. Maybe someone can give you some leads on ones with minimal regulations. I know someone who lived in a HOA community that basically just maintained the common areas and not much else.

NOVA_almost_native · 11-09-2010, 12:12 PM

I am pro-HOA for several reasons, but I looked at a very nice house in a non-HOA Herndon neighborhood called Westfield this summer. Westfield is right off the intersection of Herndon Parkway and Crestview Dr. It's a fairly small subdivision, so only a few houses sell there per year. (I'm getting this information from an MLS website.) Of the seven houses that have sold there since January 2009, three have gone for under $350; another sold for $372,900.

ShannonMilligan · 11-09-2010, 12:33 PM

Very doable. Parts of Sterling do not have HOA's. Matter of fact the Realtor I was working for listed and sold a home in Sterling Park for $300K, solf for $295K, and no HOA. It was a great house...5 bedrooms, at least 2 bath (can't remember now...may have been 3) nice yard. Sterling Park gets a bad rep...there are some wonderful parts to it. And it would be an easy commute to Herndon.

NYmama2dallas · 11-10-2010, 06:40 AM

You could search online for the areas you are interested in and sort by when the houses were built. The older houses won't be in HOAs (probably).

I am a little curious about what you want to do that HOAs don't allow.

Margery · 11-10-2010, 06:52 AM

I am also curious as to why you don't want to live in an area with an HOA. What is your specific objection? Many HOA's only ensure the maintenance of the common areas so the overall appearance of the community is pleasing. Sterling Park does not have an overall HOA but some of the communities in the Park do. Some of the areas of Sterling Park (not the majority) have many cars parked in front (evidence of overcrowding) or commmercial vehicles, unkempt lawns, unmaintained homes. Is this how you want to live?

This is not a rant about Sterling Park, overall it is a nice community and would be very close to Herndon. There is a very attractive area (Forest Ridge) that is right next to Herndon and would certainly be an easy commute.

5stones · 11-10-2010, 07:54 AM

Not an HOA fan BUT.....
one thing I found in living in NOVA that the area is VERY transient and has ALOT of of foriegn nationals (that's a goodthing) but cultures are different. Many cultures have hoseholds with Mmulti generational families or many realitive living together (to off set cost) that means CARS and lots of them when you have 4+ drivers living in a house you get lots of cars.
Also yard maintence some cultures yard maintence is not something they even think about...weeds, curb apeal etc... many people come from countries where they live in apatments and have never had to keep up with a yard. (a real American thing!) As well as house maiintence...painting, etc.... it will just take a few years of neglect to see a house look real shabby. The owners may be wonderful, pleasant people but it just doesn't register on the priority list.

Another one is commercial vehicals, RV's Boats, semi etc...parked across the street from you everyday...can get annoying!

So for those reasons HOA's were in positive for us in NOVA.
Ours in Leesburg (Exeter) were really cheap and pretty lax about "improvements" plus all common areas were maintained...playgounds, tennis and POOL! It also included trash PU!

South Jersey Styx · 11-10-2010, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margery

I am also curious as to why you don't want to live in an area with an HOA. What is your specific objection? Many HOA's only ensure the maintenance of the common areas so the overall appearance of the community is pleasing. Sterling Park does not have an overall HOA but some of the communities in the Park do. Some of the areas of Sterling Park (not the majority) have many cars parked in front (evidence of overcrowding) or commmercial vehicles, unkempt lawns, unmaintained homes. Is this how you want to live?

This is not a rant about Sterling Park, overall it is a nice community and would be very close to Herndon. There is a very attractive area (Forest Ridge) that is right next to Herndon and would certainly be an easy commute.

twinmma had it right. Not all parts of Sterling Park are the same. The OP should check out the neighborhoods in any interested houses they may find. Also, someone mentioned parts of Countryside.

We had a townhouse in Sterling (brand new) and I really hated our HOA. There's been a thread on this discussion before so I won't go into it. When we were house-hunting in Winchester one criteria was for no more HOA. Since we wanted a historic home downtown it was pretty much a given anyway. People keep up with their yards pretty much and the only complaint I have is some of the crap people have on their front porches (too much stuff like clutter) but thank God I haven't seen a sofa though yet!). But whatever, there 's a median between sanitized living and complete chaos.

BTW, I haven't seen any "foreign nationals" with crappy yards. There's one family the next block over from Central Am (???) but their yard looks terrific, one of the best around. In fact, I think they either work for or own a landscaping business. I think out here it's more of a [low] income thing regarding the condition of yards.