Military Family moving to DC from WA

[leavingwash]

For what it's worth, I recently moved from WA (Seattle area) about six months. I have family that moved here from WA a few years prior. My learning, so far, is that the overall weather and more sunny days make it enjoyable to spend more time outside of the house which then allows for feeling comfortable with less square footage.

Also, although I purchased a SFH, the townhomes here "live" more like single family homes than they did back in my areas in WA. (They also offer/maintain more comparable value vs SFH than WA as well.)

Good luck

[homebeyer2013]

Originally Posted by leavingwash

For what it's worth, I recently moved from WA (Seattle area) about six months. I have family that moved here from WA a few years prior. My learning, so far, is that the overall weather and more sunny days make it enjoyable to spend more time outside of the house which then allows for feeling comfortable with less square footage.

Also, although I purchased a SFH, the townhomes here "live" more like single family homes than they did back in my areas in WA. (They also offer/maintain more comparable value vs SFH than WA as well.)

Good luck

That's a good point, and this is one of not too many specific markets where townhouses appreciate and depreciate at the same pace as nearby SFH. Even the ones that are more like TH condos almost keep the pace. Dogs really don't belong in THs, though, and nothing like looking out from the second floor of your 450K TH in FFX County and seeing the neighbors big dog, taking a big ****, in their 800 sf back yard, but hey,they probably clean it up, at least once a week.

[cdrmike]

Good advice here. I would add that many homes sound smaller on paper because (huge) finished basements aren't being counted in the sqft. Funny enough, we are moving to WA this summer.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by cdrmike

Good advice here. I would add that many homes sound smaller on paper because (huge) finished basements aren't being counted in the sqft.

Livable Basement SQ Footage in FFX county real estate is most definitely included in FFX Real Estate Proprety Taxes and is included as living space in real estate/rental ads.

My friend has a townhouse basement which flood regularly and has lots of bugs/linoleum tile and crappy particleboard bead board over the nonfinished walls. That 300 sqft is counted in her assesments. All she keeps down there is the washer/dryer and an unfinished half bath. In FFX rules, its considered 'livable'

look up any address:
[url=http://icare.fairfaxcounty.gov/search/commonsearch.aspx?mode=address]Fairfax County[/url]

[JfromReston]

Fairfax presents the above grade and finished below grade square footage separately.

If you use the link above and search for a property

Then click on the structure size tab at the left it will indicate

Above Grade Living Area Sq XXXX

If you then click on the residential tab at the left, the list will include basement (full/partial) and then

Basement Rec Room Size sq. ft XXX

For my house the basement rec room size is 588 - where as the whole basement is 1176. However the only way you would know that the whole basement is 1176 for my house is to look on the residential tab to find that it is a 2 story with a full basement and then divide the above grade figure by 2 to get the size of the total basement.

[phoenixmike11]

This is not directly related to housing in the DC area/NOVA but if there are any Washington state transplants in the DC area, there is a Seattle Seahawks fan club in the DC area which has meetups to watch Seahawks games.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/159966675804/