Suggestions on areas for homes $300,000 budget (Reston, Purcellville: real estate, 2013, apartments)

[newbie89]

Hi all,

I have lived in northern Virginia for about 11 months now (in the Reston area), and I currently live in an apartment. My lease will be up around June time of next year, and I have started saving for a house.

I came from Texas, so anyone familiar with Texas knows how cheap the real estate is, so the prices in this area were a shock at first, lol.

I’m single so would be living alone. My career is in Reston, and with how bad traffic is, I would prefer not to commute longer than 30 mins (It currently takes me 20 mins to get to work), which I honestly love.

I have noticed townhouses are very popular in this area, but in Texas they are not so much like here, so I am not used to them, and I personally do not like the idea of buying a home were walls are shared, due to living in apartments where noise has at times been an issue.

I would like to spend $300,000 tops on a home, and have not seemed to find any actual houses that are around this price, and the ones that are are way far out.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I am still not super familiar with all the areas, so I wondered if I may be missing areas that would be a good option for me. I am a single female in her 20’s, so safety is very important to me also.

[spencgr]

Single family home under 300k and within 30 minutes to Reston???

It's not that you are "missing" where to look....it just doesn't exist.

[newbie89]

Yeah. That was my thought process also. Lol. I really don’t want to commute like an hour to work though. I am trying to decide on my options.

[hertfordshire]

It seems the only options are to increase the budget or increase the commute. Or give in on a townhome. Or forego purchasing altogether.

[kww]

Sorry, not going to happen. At that price point, condo or townhouse are going to be your options (within that driving distance)

[Old Guard]

If you are young and this is going to be your first place why not a town home or condo?

Now you have to be a little more cautious buying either but they could help you fund the home you wish for in the future.

Everyone wants to start with a SFH but that is just not possible in this area.

[LynchburgLover]

Commute will be longer but but doable.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...2_M55615-92653

[JfromReston]

Your best bet is to stay in Reston and look for a townhouse. I just checked and there are none on the market in your price range right now. That should change in the February to May time frame. Real Estate in Reston is really slow right now and most of the stuff currently on the market has been sitting for too long. The link below is an exception - only on the market 18 days. I have had a couple of friends who had this model as their first house. There are two developments this one and another in north Reston with the same models.
http://www.brightmlshomes.com/homes-...0191-222718130

[Middlin]

Rent a TH and get a feel for what they like. You will be miserable moving far enough out to afford a SFH on 300k. More like an 1 hr++++ and then if you factor transportation costs, you might as well spend more and live closer in.


I've lived in a lot of TH's. Some nicely constructed and never heard a thing next door to bad neighbors, poor construction, etc. You can't paint them all with the same brush.

[Ffxdata]

I came from Houston and bought a townhouse. Our families were aghast so I get it. We got one built in the late 1970s which had cinder blocks between and we barely ever heard a thing from neighbors. The new ones being built have this 3 inch thick fire wall which I can’t inahine does a lot.
$300k doesn’t get you much either way though.