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Old 03-06-2012, 12:08 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC
4,178 posts, read 2,652,359 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hilsmom View Post
I think "affordable" means something different to everyone. Our budget was @$450K. A lot of people would have turned around and walked away if they had seen some of the houses in Western Fairfax County we looked at in that price range. Lots of foreclosures and short sales, but we saw potential in most of them. Even bid on a short sale that we lost because 5 other people saw the same potential we did and had deeper pockets. We wound up in a 2200 sf SFH which was a regular sale but not updated which we have since put @$20K of renovation work into, with more fixes to come in the future. It's a work in progress.

As for the main arteries you comment on - I agree. Having watched my husband's family buy a new home on the outskirts of San Antonio almost 10 years ago and THEN have it build up around them with no decent roads in and out - it is a NIGHTMARE. One road in and out with subdivision upon subdivision thrown up along that road. There was obviously no thought put into the infrastructure needed to support all those people they were building houses for. Now, I am not saying this is going to be Loudoun County's fate, but I really hope they HAVE planned ahead for that scenario. It is truly maddening to watch happen in slow motion.

I think they're doing that with Ashburn and Eastern Loudoun, which is good at least. The Chantilly/Ashburn area to the south has 50 and it's widening and to the north, rt 7 is doing pretty well and I believe is expanding. They're also putting in the Metro which will help. It's good because it's a DISASTER when they DON'T plan in advanced of a community booming (i.e. going north from Woodbridge/Dale City)
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Old 03-06-2012, 12:29 PM
 
Location: Fairfax, VA
1,449 posts, read 3,173,051 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz View Post
I think they're doing that with Ashburn and Eastern Loudoun, which is good at least. The Chantilly/Ashburn area to the south has 50 and it's widening and to the north, rt 7 is doing pretty well and I believe is expanding. They're also putting in the Metro which will help. It's good because it's a DISASTER when they DON'T plan in advanced of a community booming (i.e. going north from Woodbridge/Dale City)
Route 1 corridor? Oh, yes.

We're completely surrounded by road projects in our current neighborhood. Route 50, Stringfellow and 7100/Fair Lakes. We'll be glad when they are all finished, but we picked a bad time to move in, it seems.

I try to avoid driving much of the time in the DC area. When I was commuting to an office job, I was much happier letting someone else do the driving, so I did the bus to metro transfer for many years. When we were house hunting, I wanted to at least know if I HAD to go downtown, there would be that option not too far away. I am not a person who could sit in my car for hours on end - it would give me intense road rage.
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Old 03-06-2012, 03:01 PM
 
Location: D.C.
2,867 posts, read 3,564,646 times
Reputation: 4770
When we were looking last year, from afar in Chicago, I told my wife I only had two requests for the house. First, that I have easy and quick access to the toll road, knowing that it's costs would most likely limit the amount of traffic, and we budget the high tolls into the equation. The second, everyone gets 1,000 sf to stretch out! Family of four, one being 3 1/2 years old, the other being 1 year old. Crammed in 1,600 sf in Chicago with no real yard and tough winters, we were crawling on top of each other, and going bonkers by March when the snow would start to finally melt! Needed space!!
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Old 03-06-2012, 03:27 PM
 
214 posts, read 488,276 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JfromReston View Post
Update: 3 of the 9 houses in 20191 that went on the market last week are now under contract, including the house on Thomas View.
I totally believe it. We were house=hunting last year under a time crunch and although we both loved Reston, there was literally nothing for sale for MONTHS. It was maddening! There just really aren't that many single family homes to begin with total in Reston, let alone the handful that turn over a year.
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Old 03-06-2012, 03:28 PM
 
214 posts, read 488,276 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NC211 View Post
When we were looking last year, from afar in Chicago, I told my wife I only had two requests for the house. First, that I have easy and quick access to the toll road, knowing that it's costs would most likely limit the amount of traffic, and we budget the high tolls into the equation. The second, everyone gets 1,000 sf to stretch out! Family of four, one being 3 1/2 years old, the other being 1 year old. Crammed in 1,600 sf in Chicago with no real yard and tough winters, we were crawling on top of each other, and going bonkers by March when the snow would start to finally melt! Needed space!!
That is a lot of space per person...I think 1600 sq feet for a family of four can be enough but it had to be really thoughtfully designed, and so few places are! THen again, it seems like my kids' toys multiply in the middle of the night, so maybe 1000 sq feet for a toddler is just right...10 feet for the kid and 990 feet for Fisher Price.
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Old 03-06-2012, 04:12 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
4,489 posts, read 10,951,884 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NC211 View Post
The second, everyone gets 1,000 sf to stretch out! Family of four, one being 3 1/2 years old, the other being 1 year old.
WOW!

That's a lot of space!!! The house I grew up in was 1400 sf, and my husband's childhood home was 1300 sf (both families with 2 kids). Our current house is 1800 sf and feels way too large to be honest (but we have no children).
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Old 03-06-2012, 05:57 PM
 
Location: D.C.
2,867 posts, read 3,564,646 times
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The kid factor makes all the difference in terms of livable space! When I come home sometimes, this place looks like Toys R Us barfed all over this place! But this space difference is why we chose the area. You really do get a lot for the money out here right now when compared to further in. The price though is the commute. I would not want to be this far out if my office were anywhere beyond Tysons. The commute is just the toll road only, no beltway or 66. 10 exits in 35 minute averages. I don't think we could get half the space beyond Dulles for what we paid here. When you factor in the new everything component, plus a warranty, with a .28 size lot, we just couldn't resist. The newness factor was very appealing to us after Chicago, where we rented (thank god) a custom renovated home built in 1902. Very cute home, but to keep its historical registry, much of the original components had to stay in the house. You ever tried to heat a house with 108 year old lead glass windows during a Chicago winter? Not cheap! Our utility bills here, for a grand total of 4,213 sf, are about 55% of what they were for 1,638 sf in Chicago...
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Old 03-06-2012, 06:14 PM
 
Location: Fairfax, VA
1,449 posts, read 3,173,051 times
Reputation: 471
[quote=NYmama2dallas;23288526]That is a lot of space per person...I think 1600 sq feet for a family of four can be enough but it had to be really thoughtfully designed, and so few places are! THen again, it seems like my kids' toys multiply in the middle of the night, so maybe 1000 sq feet for a toddler is just right...10 feet for the kid and 990 feet for Fisher Price.[/quote]

So true!

We have been trying to keep my daughter's mess to just her bedroom in our new house...no such luck.

Our house is about half that size, though, and we still have areas we have no idea what to do with them. We have friends out in Brambleton in the 4K sf homes - they feel absolutely cavernous to us when we visit. Of course, we just left a 2 BR, 1K sf TH, so just over 2K sf was huge to us.
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Old 03-06-2012, 06:42 PM
 
Location: Reston
560 posts, read 1,292,807 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JfromReston View Post
Update: 3 of the 9 houses in 20191 that went on the market last week are now under contract, including the house on Thomas View.
Wow, that’s fast. Another new listing-

2510 Fauquier Ln Reston VA - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #FX7786781 - Realtor.com®

Appears that the previous owner owned it since 1970-

http://icare.fairfaxcounty.gov/Searc...x?mode=ADDRESS

Under $500K in a nice location near St. John Neumann.
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Old 03-06-2012, 07:01 PM
 
Location: Fairfax, VA
1,449 posts, read 3,173,051 times
Reputation: 471
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky★ View Post
Wow, that’s fast. Another new listing-

2510 Fauquier Ln Reston VA - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #FX7786781 - Realtor.com®

Appears that the previous owner owned it since 1970-

Fairfax County

Under $500K in a nice location near St. John Neumann.
the cabinets and countertop in that kitchen are almost exactly like the kitchen we redid in our TH in Reston.
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