Visiting Manassas Area (Burke, Centreville, Woodbridge: foreclosures, crime, townhouse)

[AMT 660]

Hello,

My family is considering relocating to the NOVA area to work in DC and will be visiting the Manassas area during the July 4th weekend. Is there any part of Manassas I should avoid looking into and is there any area I should be looking. I'm interested in a SFH, three bedroom between $250-$300 with little or no work to be done to the home.

Thank you.

[kevinm]

You're not going to find a SFH under $500k in a neighborhood you would want to be in. The price range you are quoting is for a townhouse in the Centreville area.

[HEATHER72]

Any SFH for $250K is going to need some work. There's a reason why they are that cheap remember. To be closer to DC, you should look for a townhome.

For what it's worth... Brookfield is building a ton of new smaller homes in Morris Farm in Gainesville in the low 300K range. The key word being small, but that's only relative to the area we live in. These would be normal size homes in the rest of the country.

[saganista]

Actually, Trulia found 160 3-BR SFH's in Manassas for less than $300K, and a few of them were in actual Manassas, not Manassas Park. One of them is within walking distance of downtown and the VRE station...

[saganista]

Morris Farm is low 300's to low 600's, and that would up the commute to about 30 miles each way to either the CIA or the Pentagon. Closer in would be so much easier to deal with...

[5stones]

with little or no work to be done to the home.

another thing with your price being under 300k This option will be HARD to come by.

Most homes in that price will need work. unless you are willing for an hour or over commute.

If working in DC (as in the actual DISTRICT) I would encourage you to look for TH, you are more likly to find a newer TH in your price.

[AMT660]

Thanks to all who have replied. It appears one option is to move closer to DC given the price range I'm looking for. What about the 95 corridor? I know traffic would be a little hectic, but are there any areas worth looking into?

[5stones]

I'm not real familiar with that housing area but KNOW that I95 is horrible.So the closer you can get north the better.
Look for areas with acess to the VRE.

People really like the Lakeridge area for homes and schools etc... search on this forum for Prince william county and Woodbridge and should find ALOT of good info on neighborhoods and commutes etc...

I still wouldn't rule out really searching hard for a tH in west springfieid Kingstowne or Burke. all good areas and ALOT better for commuting into DC.

[knopfler]

Originally Posted by AMT 660

Hello,

My family is considering relocating to the NOVA area to work in DC and will be visiting the Manassas area during the July 4th weekend. Is there any part of Manassas I should avoid looking into and is there any area I should be looking. I'm interested in a SFH, three bedroom between $250-$300 with little or no work to be done to the home.

Thank you.

There are an abundance of single family homes (60's and 70's colonials and split levels) in your price range off Sudley Manor Drive going towards Splashdown Park. The crime levels are fine there, but the schools can be somewhat sketch on the elementary school level, so pay attention to that if you have kids in that age range. I understand Sudley Elementary is the best of the bunch, and West Gate Elementary is the worst of the bunch. Stonewall MS and Stonewall HS are the feeder schools - Stonewall HS was Time Magazine's 2004 High School of the year. I don't think that's a wholly accurate representation of Stonewall, but you could do a lot worse - they have a renowed IB program.

There are some foreclosures in the 200k range there, and those need work - but for 250k-300k in that area you'll find something that doesn't need work.

Welcome in advance to Prince William County!

[VRE332]

Originally Posted by 5stones

i'm Not Real Familiar With That Housing Area But Know That i95 Is Horrible.so The Closer You Can Get North The Better.
Look For Areas With Acess To The Vre.