Willowsford Farms Community in Aldie/Ashburn (Reston: for sale, HOA, how much)

[KyleAdo]

Anyone live here currently? What are your thoughts? How much is HoA? What does it include? Which builder did you use (we're looking at Pulte for our price range)? Any suggestions/things you wish you knew/did before you purchased?

Thanks!

[VRE332]

I suggest driving into the neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon, and if there's anyone outside, talk to them and find out what's going on. You could also check the listings of for sale homes and see the HOA details.

[mdcrim]

In addition to what VRE322 recommends, I would also recommend driving from the "Ashburn" portion to the Aldie portion (honestly to call that Ashburn is a stretch in my opinion). It is very far between the neighborhoods so if you are sold on the amenities offered in the other section of the neighborhood, know you'll be in for a hike. Last time I tried to venture down to the Aldie section, I gave up when I hit a very poorly maintained dirt road (didn't bring the right car for that kind of driving). Also, given the locations of the various sections, the school zoning for both areas may change as the neighborhoods and the ones around them constinues to grow.

I liked the idea of Willowsford. It is a very pretty neighborhood and they are offering very desirable amenities (dog park, lake with canoes, campsites). It was just the disjointed land and the school uncertainties that kept me from looking into it as a serious contender for a move. I also find the locations of both sections of neighborhood to be a bit isolated. Just my opinions.

[KyleAdo]

I drove there on Monday to 3/4 of the neighborhoods. I liked what I saw. For our pricing, we would be in The Grove, and know we would need to drive to the farm and possibly drive to the Pool as well - and we're ok with that. We're planning on home schooling, so school zoning isn't a top priority. It also appears they are finishing the road to take between Braddock and 50, North of the Grove area, so unless you're going to 15 along Braddock, I don't know of another convenient dirt road between the communities.

We're going to talk with a building rep later this week, just wanted some preliminary info - might take a drive down there again beforehand to see if we can find any "locals"...

Thanks for the replies - if anyone else stumbles across this with info, feel free to share!

[KyleAdo]

For the curious:

HOA is $175/month. No internet or TV with that - but it includes all of the amenities listed on their page (2 pools, 24/7 fob access fitness center, all of the parks, farms, tot lots, playgrounds, etc)

Each application for a deck/shed/etc requires a fee. "However, if homeowner submits an application for several improvements (deck, fence, shed, etc.) we simply charge the maximum fee ($125) – not a fee per item. "

Pool hours: "While school is still in session: M-F, 4-8PM and 11AM-8PM on Weekends and Holidays. Once school is out (around June 13th), pools will be open 11AM-8PM daily." I asked this as I would have liked to do some laps before work... Wish I could just sign a waiver or something...

Are there any restrictions on parking in the street when guests come to visit? "The only restriction the HOA currently has is that there can be no overnight parking on the streets. However, please note that most streets within Willowsford will be VDOT maintained in the future, so typical traffic laws will apply." We have regular game nights so I was curious; but the driveway for the lots we're considering have 35' long double-wide driveways, so it shouldn't be an issue anyway.

The dirt section of Braddock road from Willowsford Farm community heading West is expected to be paved by another builder in the next 12 months.

Meeting with Pulte went well (as expected, though - they are trying to sell me a house afterall!). There were a lot of choices for additions or upgrades, and the sales person, Sara, was very knowledgeable and friendly.

We're planning on moving forward with buying a home here as long as our other 2 properties sell in time... I'll update this thread with any information relating to my initial post questions for posterity.

[NC211]

Ask about the landscaping requirements during your next meeting. I heard they require YOU to do a certain amount of landscaping work on your own dime within a specific amount of time after you move into the home. If you don't do it, they will fine you. Builders have to plant so many trees/shrubs of a certain kind to keep the natural balance of the surroundings. If those trees/shrubs die before the project is finished, they have to do them again to get their bond posting back from the county. When I heard this, it immediately told me that the builder has found a way to sidestep that risk by putting on you the owner as part of the contract.

I also heard the HOA, when it comes to that fee for additions, is very tough to deal with. Heard this from my patio guy a few months ago who is very active in the area and does quality work. They told me that if you submit the plan to the HOA for your patio/fence/deck/whatever, and if they don't accept your plan, you have to re-submit again and pay the fee, again! While I can see the need to make sure the development doesn't turn into a mess of personal tastes, and not suggesting you have bad taste at all, but I'd double check these two items first before signing on the dotted line. Might be a headache waiting.

Also, when it comes to HOA dues, you should expect them to go up as the project finishes out, no matter what they tell you otherwise. They always do. The builder runs the HOA now, they have all the votes and control the budget. As more homes are built, more "services" will be needed, like snow removal, trash, landscaping of common areas (much of which aren't even built yet), ect. It's $175 now, but don't be surprised if it goes to $250+ by 2016. Builders tend to use it as a side profit center sometimes. They tend to run it bare-bones (aka, no reserves). Pools are the most expensive "amenity" to have in a neighborhood, without question.

[mdcrim]

We've lived in Ashburn Farm for 13 years. The HOA dues have risen from about $40 per month to almost $70 (although that now includes the pool membership, which used to be optional and paid separately). As a comparison, our neighborhood does not charge anything to put in applications for improvements. You just submit the application, they rule on it at the next meeting, and you are notified. No money involved...

Thanks for the information, it is interesting to see how other neighborhoods operate.

[tt003e]

There are landscaping requirements per the HOA documents produced by the developer (they are very detailed). Maybe the different builders within the development (I think there are 7 or 8 now) vary on how they handle this but my understanding is the builder is on the hook to plant all landscaping per guidelines before you move in. Then everything is covered for a year (at least it was from our builder). We had a few shrubs and a tree die and it was quickly replaced.

Our experience with the HOA with getting things approved has been the opposite of what was posted. We've done 3 projects and we had all three go through without problems. We dropped the application off in person well ahead of the design meeting and made sure they had what was needed. We did go back and forth on email with the HOA/design board members to provide more details and make small modifications before the design meeting. My experience has been very positive with the HOA. We weren't too thrilled with some of the HOA staff when we first moved in but they have brought in some new staff that, in my experience, are much more knowledgeable and professional. I do think the $ fee for each application is ridiculous. I haven't heard of having to pay again for re-submitting the same application again.

[NC211]

If you're going to consider Reston, then Ashburn is not out of the question, as it's just a few miles west. I find it funny how some folks in this area act as if Loudoun County is like this horrible hike across the snowy mountain tops while wearing flip-flops.

The trick to Ashburn and commuting in, is being comfortable with the Greenway tolls. If your annual budget can handle, say, $4,000 a year, then it's a breeze. Where the traffic nightmare happens is on the last exit before approaching the Greenway. That route is called Rte 28, and when you look at a map, it's the North/South road that basically runs in front of Dulles Airport. It does get jammed up badly.

That being said, for Brambleton, you really do want to make sure that the family budget is ok with the Greenway tolls. Otherwise, it is a hassle to get to/from during a commute in general.

What I like about Loudoun, when it comes to commuting, is the ability to realize that I need some gas in my car, and therefore can legally use the airport-access road all the way out from DC, including the use of 66 during HOV restriction times. The thing about Reston, is that if you do this (which, debatable or not, is perfectly legal as defined by "Airport Business"), is there are no exits on that road. You have to drive past where you're going a few miles and turn around, after of course, you conduct your "airport business". For Loudoun, it's like a pit-stop while on your way home, a commute that regardless of traffic on the toll road, is 99% cruise-control from Tysons corner all the way out.

And, before you folks jump down my shorts for "cheating" the state on income, my counter argument to that position is the state can get their toll from me in the form of income tax from the $6 I pay to go 3 miles, twice a day, on a private road allowed to happen in the first place by the VA authorities!

[Middlin]

One thing I would be concerned about is the HOA dues. As others have posted, count on it going up, but as the neighborhood gets built out, think about the number of people using the amenities. We went from my neighborhood where the number of homes were low with one pool that was never crowded. Now in a neighborhood with two pools but with 3 times the number of homes. Both pools are always crowded. So I would think how crowded the fitness center, pools and other amenities you will HAVE to pay for and how you would feel about paying even more $$ in the future for amenities that might not be as great in the future as they are now.

The idea that if you didn't cross a T or dot an I on an application and have to pay for it is ridiculous to me.