Best areas for an investment property

[Sampg1]

Originally Posted by boyd888

Completely disagree here. These are crap areas right next to the worst part of DC. Plunking a couple buildings on the OTHER side of the river will not make them less crappy. There is a reason prices are low in those areas. Amazon's managers are ~80% white or asian professionals and they are not living in an low income area that is 70% black. Call me unPC, but this is reality. Maybe National Harbor if they add housing, but Navy Yard is still more realistic for place just over the river.


People making $100K+ a year are not going to be living 5+ miles from even one Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or Costco. Think amnesties, not low prices.

You have a point but I think its very good to check out the area and see the potential,

[SmartMoney]

OP, my personal opinion would be to seek a 2-4 unit. Real estate for both purchases and rentals in the DC area has become pricey, unaffordable. Amazon salaries are average, if not in the IT field. If you can find the right property, you will have 2 to 4 affordable rental units. The Arlington area has found more than a few financial freedom. Ask anyone that owned property along North Courthouse Road or anywhere in the Ballston area back in the 80's. Arlington may be all built up, but the continuous improvements pretty much make it a safe bet today. Your biggest issue will be winning the bid. But, more importantly, it's a safe bet even without Amazon.
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[sonnymarkjiz]

Originally Posted by EmiSky

I agree with the Dissenter, South Arlington. The obvious answer would be in 22202 zip code, where all the signs are showing the new HQ would be. But the area is already very expensive. You could find a condo in an old bldg. for a few hundred but you're looking at $700+ in condo fees. From an investment perspective, that would take a big chunk out of your monthly profit. You would really have to put down a significant amount for a down payment to make the numbers work and to ensure positive cash flow. I personally hate condo fees, to me it seems like you're throwing money away. The 22201 zip code area is very popular with the millennials but the housing market in that area is also very high already so I'm not sure how much and how quickly it would go up.

In the South Arlington area, there are still many run down and sketchy areas, where personally I would not want to live at this point. But one could say that the area is up and coming. If Crystal City is in fact selected for the second HQ then I'm sure that area will be redeveloped very quickly! I've seen that fist hand when I lived close to Pentagon City yrs. ago. One developer build brand new apartments and right across the street there were low income apartments. Then one day the individuals who lived in the low income housing received notices on their doors stating they had so many days to move out. The apartments were torn down and brand new luxury apts. were build, which were later turned into condos. I suspect similar thing will happen in South Arlington, where there are lots of low income apt. and the low income earners will be pushed out to - I don't know where. And just to be clear, there are some nice areas in South Arlington also, but other areas not so much;and historically South Arlington was always less desirable place to live.

The other areas for investments I think would be some pockets of Alexandria, that aren't so desirable right now, some areas in Falls Church and Dunn Loring. Also, anything close to the metro. There are many individuals like myself who live in this area and would not want to live anywhere that's not close to the metro. Add aprox. 50k people, the traffic will get much, much worse, so anything close to the metro will be even more valuable. I would keep an eye on areas along the Silver line, such as Tyson's, Reston and Herndon. The final extension of the Silver line is expected to be completed in 2020, and there's lots of construction along those areas already, although not cheap. But you could still find deals, especially in Herndon. I personally wouldn't want to commute further out than Herndon, as commuting from Reston to Crystal City is far enough for me.

Yeah, anything along the western parts of Nova (Reston to Ashburn) will be great investments, especially since the Metro will be done by 2020 out that way.

[paytonc]

One homeownership situation that I would not want to live through, but which might intrigue an investor, is the Huntington Club redevelopment. This condominium has agreed to an en-bloc sale to a developer, which will replace the townhouses with a largely high-rise neighborhood. WMATA also has an RFP to redevelop some adjacent parcels, so in a few years the area will be considerably different.

Current owners will have the option to sell out, or "trade-in" and get preferential pricing in the new buildings. Pricing has apparently not yet been set, so there's no guaranteed payout amount -- which is why the prices are so low (condos under $200K). Note that the fees are high, since utilities are included; that's fine for a landlord, who can write off the fees as a business expense.

In the near term, there's some potential rental income. In the medium term, you can evidently save a lot on a newly-built condo three Metro stops away from "National Landing."