Looking at Condos in Alexandria, Arlington and Falls Church

[DelightfulNYC]

Originally Posted by weezycom

Watch out for 4600 Duke Street. big financial problems with the building due to high # of rentals to owner-occupied and severe shortfalls in dues.

Renters do not cause financial problems. The issue with rentals is too many and some banks wont lend or require a very large downpayment. Other issue with rentals is some folks feel owners are more community focused.


Too many rentals may also causes prices to fall as harder to finance. But once building is "unwarrantable' the term for unmortgageable and folks can only pay cash it is actually good for finances as no more defaults and all owners have 100% equity so they pay maint on time as condo could sieze unit.

[Nate_VA]

Check out Parkfairfax in Alexandria. They're old buildings, but the neighborhood is nice. I bought there when I was 27, and lived there for 10 years. The prices are higher, but the fees are lower than a high rise building.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by Mnseca

As people have pointed out, those locations, especially van dorn, are pretty undesirable. I think it would be better to live further out in a nicer neighborhood. Maybe consider some of the suburbs just outside the beltway, like parts of Springfield, Fairfax, or maybe west. Also, south on Van Dorn is Kingstowne and there might be something down that way a little.

I disagree on Van Dorn. I actually think that is the BEST location, as far as surrounding area, out of the places the OP listed. The other locations are extremely congested as far as traffic, even with being next to 395 whenever I've driven by during rush hour nowhere as bad as the others. Maybe Park Place may be the worst as far as access to public transportation.

I also am looking at a 2Bed 2 Bath unit (1049 sq ft) at Woodlake Towers - 3101 Manchester St in Falls Church.

It's very close to the shopping at Seven Corners. The building was built in 1972 and HOA fee for the unit is $618 a month.

Anyone know anything about this condo building and the surrounding areas?

The commute to Crystal City for work may be a bit longer though...

And is the Seven Corners area an up-and-coming spot given all the shopping malls?

That building is right next to Kenmore Middle school which is a nightmare traffic wise, especially if you have to get on Carlin Springs Rd and also you'd access it from a pretty congested section of Rt. 50.

[austindoxie1972]

Ugh -- Woodlake Towers - 3101 Manchester St in Falls Church. This place is super old and has REALLY lost its value. Tons of renters, many foreclosures, and the list goes on. A friend bought there. He was single, just wanted a place to hang his hat, didn't want to spend a lot of money. He's lost about $120K in value. He'll NEVER see that again. And he's a penny pincher, so I think this condo purchase really hurt him.

A few years back, I read that they got so behind on collecting HOA fees (as in...people weren't paying) that they didn't turn the AC on until late June. They couldn't pay the utility bill !!! Unreal.

Please avoid !!!