Perfect House, Neighborhood--but Sex-Offender Group Home Is Blocks Away (Fairfax: sales, renters) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

Carlingtonian · 07-09-2016, 11:04 AM

I'm looking for opinions, information, and suggestions for research:

The wife and I (no kids) were very close to putting in an offer to buy a house that is perfect for us in its design, location, etc. It's in a very nice neighborhood in Fairfax County. (I'd rather not be more specific than that.) Everything about the neighborhood is ideal for us in terms of commute, lifestyle, etc.

However: We discovered via the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry that about half a mile away on a very nearby street in the same neighborhood, there's a house being rented by TWO registered sex offenders. (The owner is not on the registry.) And it appears a third sex offender lived there at some point. They both re-registered very recently, so it's clear they're still living there.

And no, these are not the guys who were 18 and got busted for sleeping with their 17-year-old girlfriend; one of them was convicted of "CHILD MOLESTATION" per his record. The other has "CARNAL KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD 13 TO 15 YEARS OLD" as his crime, along with failure to register.

We know that nearly every zip code has some of these creeps living in it. And if it were just one sick waste of space rotting away on his couch indoors, never to be seen--maybe we could put him out of our minds. Especially since we don't have children.

But with more than one, we worry that it's a halfway house of sorts. What if a new perv moves in who is a convicted rapist? Both of us would worry for my wife's safety and would not feel comfortable about her walking down the street by herself.

How can Fairfax allow someone to set up a group home for sex offenders in a neighborhood that does some kids living in it? How could that not be regulated?

Are they not forbidden from living near children, day cares, or schools? (Or is that not the law in Virginia?)

Will these scumbags likely move in the near future, given that they're renting? (I read somewhere that they tend to stay put because so few will rent or sell to them.)

Is this something that would make you not put in an offer on a house that was otherwise perfect for you?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Va83 · 07-09-2016, 11:18 AM

Is there a second home that you may like that you've seen? As you've said there's trash in every zip code. At least you know where to avoid in this neighborhood. Imagine all the bad guys who just haven't been caught yet some place else.

Carlingtonian · 07-09-2016, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Va83

Is there a second home that you may like that you've seen? As you've said there's trash in every zip code. At least you know where to avoid in this neighborhood. Imagine all the bad guys who just haven't been caught yet some place else.

There actually is one we like in an adjacent neighborhood, a couple of miles away; that house is slightly less charming, but we'd gladly exchange that for the absence of scumbags.

By the way, I just looked at the registry again, and both offenders are classified as violent. No idea how I missed that before. But I think that makes it a dealbreaker for us.

The big question is: How the hell can Fairfax County or the state of Virginia allow this? I thought all these creeps were supposed to be living in some squalid trailer park around only other creeps. Is that only some other state I saw on TV? Is Virginia actually lax in regulating where sex offenders can live?

Va83 · 07-09-2016, 11:30 AM

Understandable!!! I think Virginia law says they can't live within a certain distance of a school.

airjay75 · 07-09-2016, 11:54 AM

I know there are a number of registered sex offenders living in my zip code, so I just looked it up again. There are 3 that live less than a mile from my house (not in the same house, but all pretty close), all of which are classified as violent sex offenders (even more in the zip code). I would not classify where they live as on the next street or around the corner - we live in the SFH part of the neighborhood, and they live in the TH development that is adjacent to the SFH neighborhood, so it does feel like there is some separation. But still, it's only about a 1/2 mile away. I never looked up this information before I bought our home, so it certainly wasn't something I thought about when I bought our home. All I can say is that I feel the same way about my neighborhood as I did before. I walk around all the time. My wife walks around (by herself) often. I don't worry or fear for our safety, and, on the whole, we like our neighborhood. I'm pretty involved with my HOA and, honestly, I've encountered a lot of people whose craziness with HOA stuff probably makes me feel more uncomfortable than the few registered sex offenders who live close by. At least people know who they are and where they live.

That said, I do think if the registered sex offenders were living in a house that I would call neighbors (i.e., next door, on the same street close by), that would concern me, if nothing else for the fact that I think it could greatly affect resale and the quality of neighbors I would get who would choose (knowingly or unknowingly) to live so close to that.

Carlingtonian · 07-09-2016, 12:17 PM

Airjay, thanks. These guys are in the same neighborhood, just a few houses away. Essentially one street over. As I mentioned, the fact that the residents seem to change out periodically is worrisome to us. If it were just one old guy rotting away indoors for decades, we could probably pretend he didn't exist.

airjay75 · 07-09-2016, 01:33 PM

Yeah, I hear you. The proximity combined with the fact that there are more than one in the same house is definitely cause for concern and I can totally understand your hesitation. At the end of the day, it's hard to offer too definitive of an opinion not having faced the same set of circumstances.

spencgr · 07-09-2016, 05:06 PM

As a woman, I would be unconcerned. The registry is for people who have been convicted of crimes. What list is out there to alert you to the people currently committing crimes, but have not been caught yet? Well, there isn't one; and those people could be living anywhere.

Certainly, pick another house if you are not going to feel comfortable. But what guarantee do you have that a similar pair of buddies don't move next door to you in six months? Neighbors change all of the time; good ones can move out, and horrible ones can move in.

Carlingtonian · 07-09-2016, 05:35 PM

SpencGr: Thanks for the thoughts. I hear what you're saying. The biggest concern for us is that the house seems to host a rotating cast of characters; as unnerving and repulsive as it is to have child predators nearby, whoever comes along to replace these renters could be an actual threat to the wife (i.e., interested in assaulting adult women instead of children and young teens).

I guess it's true that such a person could be lurking among any of the normal-seeming neighbors--but I think people tend to get caught for their crimes if they commit them enough times. (Hence my recent speeding ticket!) But you're right that there have been people like that who took forever to get caught (e.g., John Wayne Gacy and Rader in Kansas).

BOS2IAD · 07-09-2016, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

SpencGr: Thanks for the thoughts. I hear what you're saying. The biggest concern for us is that the house seems to host a rotating cast of characters; as unnerving and repulsive as it is to have child predators nearby, whoever comes along to replace these renters could be an actual threat to the wife (i.e., interested in assaulting adult women instead of children and young teens).

I guess it's true that such a person could be lurking among any of the normal-seeming neighbors--but I think people tend to get caught for their crimes if they commit them enough times. (Hence my recent speeding ticket!) But you're right that there have been people like that who took forever to get caught (e.g., John Wayne Gacy and Rader in Kansas).

From what you say, it sounds like the landlord has no problems renting to sex offenders. If that's the case, then it explains why there seems to be a revolving door when it comes to them. IMO, as long as the landlord holds on to the property, this could be a perpetual problem.

I'm sure that you and your wife have done your homework when it comes to housing sales in the neighborhood. If homes are appreciating and sell well, then it is peculiar as to why this landlord doesn't either sell the home or attract a better class of tenants.

What do the crime reports tell you about the area? What crimes, if any, have been reported?