Seneca Chase Community Sterling (Reston, Herndon: foreclosures, HOA fees, townhouse)

[jpick5021]

Thinking of purchasing my first home in the Seneca Chase community in Sterling(by the NOVA College). Any thoughts on this area?(pros/cons). How is the HOA? The website is so bland, any amenities? Thanks

[Tyler Hold]

This is the information I have found but I am unsure if you are asking about a new home development or and existing development.
$200 per quarter
$50 to $75 per month

[JCVA]

Seneca Chase is actually where I live! My family and I have lived here for over a decade, and we have enjoyed our time here (prior to this, we lived in a townhouse community in Herndon, so we appreciate the extra space). This is a fairly close-knit community, and we have made many friends here--we have kids at both the local elementary school (Meadowland) and middle school (Seneca Ridge) are very active in the school community, and have been happy with our kids' school experience.

One of the best things about this community is the convenience factor--easy commute to Reston/Route 28/Dulles Corridor. Even Tyson's is a reasonable commute (13 miles, 30-35 minutes). We have tons of retail nearby (Wegman's, Dulles Town Center, Sam's, Costco, Target, Total Beverage) and parks (Claude Moore, Algonkian) so nothing is really too far away.

The HOA is fairly low-stress and low-key--it is not super-strict like some are, but they do work to ensure that the properties in the community are kept up. Our HOA amenities are not extensive--we have a Community Playground, but the HOA fees are quite reasonable--$130 per quarter, which cover common ground maintenance, trash pickup, and playground maintenance.

Recently, there have been lots of young families moving in as many original owners (houses are from the mid-80s) retire and move on. If you do decide to buy here, welcome to the neighborhood!

[jpick5021]

Originally Posted by JCVA

Seneca Chase is actually where I live! My family and I have lived here for over a decade, and we have enjoyed our time here (prior to this, we lived in a townhouse community in Herndon, so we appreciate the extra space). This is a fairly close-knit community, and we have made many friends here--we have kids at both the local elementary school (Meadowland) and middle school (Seneca Ridge) are very active in the school community, and have been happy with our kids' school experience.

One of the best things about this community is the convenience factor--easy commute to Reston/Route 28/Dulles Corridor. Even Tyson's is a reasonable commute (13 miles, 30-35 minutes). We have tons of retail nearby (Wegman's, Dulles Town Center, Sam's, Costco, Target, Total Beverage) and parks (Claude Moore, Algonkian) so nothing is really too far away.

The HOA is fairly low-stress and low-key--it is not super-strict like some are, but they do work to ensure that the properties in the community are kept up. Our HOA amenities are not extensive--we have a Community Playground, but the HOA fees are quite reasonable--$130 per quarter, which cover common ground maintenance, trash pickup, and playground maintenance.

Recently, there have been lots of young families moving in as many original owners (houses are from the mid-80s) retire and move on. If you do decide to buy here, welcome to the neighborhood!

Thanks for this information neighbor! I close next Friday.

[JCVA]

Congratulations, and Welcome to the Neighborhood!

[leavingwash]

Wanted to check in to see if anyone had any additional insights or comments about Seneca Chase?

Specifically:
Access during snow - does the county and HOA do a good job keeping the residential streets accessible? I noticed that some of the branch streets are a little narrow and cars park on the curb...any challenge with getting a car in/out (Jason Ct, Lindsay, etc)?
Community looks well maintained - any concerns/changes of recent?
Impact positive/negative expected with the new shopping area across 7 (Harris Teeter, etc.)?

Thanks!

[JCVA]

I can try to answer those questions--


Regarding snow removal, the streets are all owned by VDOT, so snow removal is solely a VDOT, vice HOA, responsibility. I haven't really noticed a major challenge with maneuvering cars out of the side streets. VDOT's ability to remove snow seems to vary significantly by snowfall (it seems to depend on which contractor VDOT hires to do the work in the Sterling area). On those occasions when VDOT's efforts are lacking, neighbors with snowblowers (such as myself) will often "lone ranger" it and help dig wider paths for cars to navigate in the neighborhood.


Regarding the Community as of late, we have a strong HOA board which strives to address issues as they pop up. Back during the housing crash, a number of houses were foreclosed on, but that has now passed, and the foreclosures were rehabbed and resold to young families.


Finally, I don't really perceive any negatives with the Harris-Teeter center moving it. Actually, it'll be nice to have even more shopping choices (the Giant is a couple of miles away). Some of the new restaurants sound interesting, and it looks to be a nice mixed use retail/residential community. If anything, the new Harris Teeter center makes our neighborhood even more convenient (and it's already pretty convenient, IMO).


Hope this helps!

[leavingwash]

JCVA - thank you for your feedback. It definitely helps. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge!

[JCVA]

You're very welcome, always glad to help out!

[CDM2016]

Hello All -

Gravitating here because of the discussion about Seneca Chase. We're strongly considering the purchase of a home here, but after reading about the Sugarland Run area as well as Sugarland Elementary, I've have some second thoughts. I'm also aware that the SC area is right across from the Sterling Park area, which is undeniably not fantastic. We worked with an associate agent at one point who made a statement that went something like 'I'm from Sugarland, so I can only tell you don't buy there or close to there' and now we're contemplating exactly that.

I guess I'm wondering - those of you that live here / near here....what should I know? What should I be aware of? Am I being a crazy person to wonder about the close proximity to areas that frequently show up online using words like 'worn' 'tired' 'old' etc?

Also, since I'm asking - what are the things you love about the neighborhood? What are the places to eat, and all the other great stuff that make every spot truly unique?

Any help would be most appreciated. It's our first home and a huge decision for us - I'm sure anyone reading this recalls how that feels.

Cheers and thanks for any replies -

CDM