Home purchasing decisions/concerns (Arlington, Alexandria: real estate, apartments, to rent)

[LostTiger47]

Hello all, I've currently lived in Arlington County for the past 2 years, and to make a long story short, I'm tired of hopping from one noisy apartment to another while paying almost 2k a month in rent, and I'm highly interested in making a purchase that will offer me more privacy and serenity, as well as investing my money as opposed to renting. I feel like my only options are a single-family-home or a end-unit townhouse with a concrete wall between me and the neighbor.

Here in lies the problem; I'm not looking to increase my monthly allocation to living expenses above 2k a month, so I'm guessing that puts me at about a 300k cap for making a purchase around here. I realize that this is probably impossible to do in Arlington Country, so lately I've been trying to expand my search area outside of the beltway.

I currently work across the street from the Virginia Square Metro in Arlington on the Orange line, so as far as accessibility to work, I am not willing to deal with more than an hour commute tops. I would be hitting the road sometime between 5am-6am to beat the traffic. As far as an hour radius around VA Square, I think that extends me out as far as Sterling or Centreville, or maybe further south like Burke, Alexandria, or even Woodbridge (I really hate I-95, trying to avoid it). I am less familiar with options in Maryland or even DC where I could do a reverse commute. As long as I can drive to work in an hour tops each way, or take the metro the whole way, it would work for me.

My problem is that I feel like based on the criteria above, I'm going to have a very difficult time finding something. I've spent some time on and off over the past few months just pricing out areas, and with a 300k cap, I haven't come across one decent house, though townhouses seem like a possibility. Again a townhouse is fine, but I am extremely concerned about noise through the adjoining wall.

My main question to this community is essentially (1) is it even possible for me to find what I'm looking for based on my criteria? And (2) can anyone recommend an area where I should focus my search? I'm not very familiar with the areas outside of Arlington Country or how long it would take me to commute one-way from each location.

Thanks for any help that anyone can provide!

Trey

[CaliTerp07]

I don't think that it's too realistic to find a SFH at that price, no. Friends I know who were in the same situation as you were generally rent out rooms to keep their portion of the mortgage at a comfortable level, though obviously that's risky (since you could be renter-less for any period of time)

A quick search brings up a few one-off townhouse properties in Burke for your price point (e.g. 5841 Burke Manor Ct), but they're right at $300k, older, and will push the limits of your commute tolerance.

I think it's extremely hard to buy a place on a single person's salary I know we never would have been able to purchase if it weren't for my husband and I both having incomes to contribute.

[airjay75]

One thought for you on your budget - have you accounted for the tax benefits associated with mortgage interest and real estate taxes? For many people, the after tax cost of a mortgage payment is a good deal less than the actual dollar amount you are paying. Of course, you want to factor in the increased costs of owning instead of renting, i.e. maintenance, utilities, HOA fees. By no means do I want to encourage you to buy more house than you can afford, but it's also good to understand all of the financial aspects of owning vs. renting.

I agree with CaliTerp. SFH is pretty much out of the question. I just checked zip code 22153 in the Springfield area - there are possibly some older, smaller THs in zip code 22153 that can be had for less than $300k. Not sure about end unit, though. Those usually fetch a premium. There are probably some other TH communities in the Springfield area with smaller, older THs that can be had for $300k or less, but your options will definitely be limited. On the plus side, I do think you can keep that commute under an hour from the Springfield area.

[LostTiger47]

Yeah, forgot to mention that I'm single and will be footing the bill all on my own. So far in my searches it looks like Woodbridge / Dale City and Manassas would be my best bets, but I just feel like I don't know enough about the area to know for sure, thus my hope that this community can help out some haha.

I should have also mentioned that I have the ability to work from 6:00-6:30am to 3:00-3:30pm, so hopefully those hours could offset some of the traffic in the commute. Do the areas I mentioned sound tolerable considering these details?

[kww]

Any SFH home North of Springfield in the $300,000 range will likely need a healthy rehab or teardown. Even then, you'll potentially be up against other offers from investors, paying cash..

You could potentially get into Springfield or Burke with a TH, but it will be a crapshoot whether there are concrete walls between the units..

You could go SFH down in Woodbridge, but as you commented, I95..

[kww]

Originally Posted by LostTiger47

Yeah, forgot to mention that I'm single and will be footing the bill all on my own. So far in my searches it looks like Woodbridge / Dale City and Manassas would be my best bets, but I just feel like I don't know enough about the area to know for sure, thus my hope that this community can help out some haha.

I should have also mentioned that I have the ability to work from 6:00-6:30am to 3:00-3:30pm, so hopefully those hours could offset some of the traffic in the commute. Do the areas I mentioned sound tolerable considering these details?

If you're comparing Manassas to Woodbridge/Dale City, with your commute.. I'd be inclined to stay on the Eastern part of the County. I'd much prefer 95 to 66, but that's just me.

[Fredesch]

Wow you will jump from an easy commute to a horrible commute at more than an hour each way. You might just want to take a hammer and pound your toes if you like that much pain. Why don't you jump in your car early in the morning go to the nearest WaWa in your intended neighborhood and then commute in for a few days to see how you like it. The drive out should be stress free so any stress you feel once you've reached work will be due to your intended commute. The homes way out are cheap for a reason - location, location, location.

[Middlin]

You're right to be concerned about noise even in a TH, but beg to differ on the privacy issue. In a TH your deck is typically inches away from your neighbors with no privacy between the decks. Basically you can lean over and shake hands. In a condo, balconies or patios have a small measure of privacy to neighbors on either end.

I lived in Hawthorne Village (rented from an owner) and yes it's nothing to look at from the outside, but those apartments are very well insulated. I guess they did concrete back in the 70's. I was on a middle floor and never heard the neighbors up or down. The windows however did need to replaced which is certainly doable. It's located very close to the Vienna metro and 66. I have no idea how much the condo fees are but 1 bdrm is way below budget.

I would suggest that you stay closer in and perhaps rent in a building that you consider buying in. THat way you can get a test run of the place and see if you like it.

[boyd888]

Given your current work location and budget it just makes no sense to purchase a home an hour away when you can easily rent within walking distance of where you work. $2K a month to include property taxes, maintenance, etc? That's tough in this area.

I agree that you could look in Springfield, but that will be a rough commute as you are going with everyone else towards DC. If you really want to own you may find a condo near Dunn Loring that would be an easy commute down the orange line.

[Carlingtonian]

If you buy anything south of Arlington (Springfield, etc.), you will either have to leave home extremely early or sit in barely moving traffic for about 2 hours each way. Because of this, your home will not increase much in value.

For maximum investment value, buy a small fixer-upper in a low-demand neighborhood near work--on the assumption that land in Arlington will only continue to increase in value. With a budget of 300K, that can be done, but it means South Arlington, a lot of fixing up, and a lot of low-income neighbors. Alternatively, consider Baileys Crossroads. Or a small house near Route 50 in Falls Church.

For maximum serentiy, buy a small ramshackle house on a large-ish piece of land in Fairfax or Loudoun, and drive in at 5AM.

For a mix of the two, find some townhouse development full of 50-somethings that's inside the Beltway but in a crappy school district.

Good luck.