Haymarket/Gainesville/Bristow- move w/kids

[HEATHER72]

I've lived in Morris Farm for four years now. By the way, it's not Morris FarmS.

So I can answer some of your questions -

1. Did you have a pre-drywall inspection, and/or an inspection before closing? If so, did they catch any of these problems before closing?

We bought a spec house and did not have it inspected. Brookfield did fix any issues we had, which were mainly little cosmetic things. Did have an issue with a leak in the basement, but was fixed to our satisfaction.

2. I don't have a comment about inspections.

3. Do you have any advice on how to get Brookfield to come & keep their promises?

Like I said before, we really did not have any problems with them fixing things on our punch list. The couple of things I needed fixed between the 45 day list and the year list, were fixed quickly and without question.

4. Have you found the community to be friendly and welcoming?

Absolutely, but as in every neighborhood, you'll have those to keep to themselves. I know more neighbors here than any other place I have lived. It helps that our house backs to a common space and there are kids out and about playing.

5. Do you have any advice on how to help our kids make friends?

Hmm hang out at the pool?


6. Since Morris Farms is near a huge lake and riverbed (Broad Run), do you recommend that we purchase flood insurance? Any thoughts on that?

We did not purchase flood insurance. Did buy Water Backup or Sump Pump Overflow insurance. There are many retaining ponds around the neighborhood. I don't see flooding as being an issue since the neighborhood is well above Broad Run.

7. I noticed that several homes are already for sale. Thoughts?

You mean shortsales?

I also noticed, in walking around the neighborhood, that some of the fence posts between courtyards and easements are already leaning. Things that make ya go Hmmm....

... that's what the covenant police is for

[ngadude]

Originally Posted by CubberMom

NGAdude, thanks for your reply! We have put down a deposit on a Gettysburg, and are scheduled to close at the end of June.

I have lots of questions!

1. I'm sorry to hear about the problems with your house. (We actually considered a Yardley -- it is a very nice design, roomy & attractive floor plan.) Did you have a pre-drywall inspection, and/or an inspection before closing? If so, did they catch any of these problems before closing?

2. We are scheduled to have a pre-drywall inspection and a final inspection. Although Brookfield SAYS that they 'welcome' inspections, they do not allow the buyers to accompany the inspector, and they do not allow the inspector to put blue tape on the walls. I wonder if they resent inspections?

3. Do you have any advice on how to get Brookfield to come & keep their promises?

4. Have you found the community to be friendly and welcoming?

5. We are moving from 40 minutes away. Do you have any advice on how to help our kids make friends? We have teenage boys and girls in elementary school.

6. Since Morris Farms is near a huge lake and riverbed (Broad Run), do you recommend that we purchase flood insurance? Any thoughts on that?

7. I noticed that several homes are already for sale. Thoughts?

I also noticed, in walking around the neighborhood, that some of the fence posts between courtyards and easements are already leaning. Things that make ya go Hmmm....

THANKS for your input!

OK, I'll see if I can answer you questions. Welcome in advance to Morris Farm!

1. Brookfield also discouraged me from having an inspector for the pre-drywall inspection and of course telling me I couldn't be there when it was done if an inspector was there - and at the time I was kind of naive and took their word. If I had to to do it again I think I would have. Although, most of the problems I've had were things found in the in the pre-closing inspection, that they promised to fix post-closing but still haven't, a year and a half later. I should have insisted those things get fixed prior to closing, but they scheduled the pre-closing inspection the same day as closing (inspection in the morning, closing in the afternoon) so I took them at their word they would fix those issues post-closing. Once you go to closing it seems they then aren't in a rush to fix things. Major problems found at pre-closing such as badly scratched hardwood floor, chipped granite countertop, missing runner carpet on the stairs, etc. were not fixed for 6 months after closing. My advice would be to make sure the schedule the pre-closing walkthrough a few days in advance, and insist everything found get fixed BEFORE you go to closing. That was a big mistake on my part.

2. See #1.

3. I had to keep going after them, and write letters to the local Washington area office. I'm still having to do that on a few issues remaining. I guess unfortunately you have to keep chasing after them - that's the only thing that's worked for me. But a lot of trouble can probably be avoided if unlike in my case - pre-closing walkthrough isn't the morning of the day of closing and you get them to fix all problems found there prior to closing! That's what I'd recommend doing in 20/20 hindsight.

4. Everyone I've met walking around the community has been very friendly. In my case we were the first house on the cul-de-sac so we got to meet everyone else there as they moved in, and we have a great group of neighbors.

5. Don't have any children - although on the cul-de-sac we are on all the children seemed to make friends with each other quickly and play together. Of course, might be different on a non cul-de-sac street or in this case the cul-de-sac is all new houses built within a 1 year timespan. Although these children are younger too - pretty much all elementary school. So, I can't help out too much on this other than for that observation.

6. I haven't heard of anyone in the neighborhood having flooding problems and we've seen some heavy rain periods in the year and a half since we've been there.

7. There's been a number of houses up for sale in the neighobrhood since I've been there. I think it just seems like a lot of people get transferred to other areas, so I suspect that's the main reason why there's always some houses for sale. It seems at times in this area people don't stay in one place very long and get transferred. I'm just speculating though - as in the section where I'm in all the houses have been built in the last year and a half or so and all of those houses are still the original owner. I do notice houses up for sale in other areas of the neighborhood where the houses are a little older, but don't know anyone personally in any of those houses so am just speculating.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your move.

[CubberMom]

NGA Dude, your tip about scheduling the inspection BEFORE the closing was very helpful! I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Thanks again for your time and sharing your experience.

We had our pre-drywall inspection last week, and our inspector said he was "pleased" with the quality of the building. There were a few things that still needed to be done but nothing serious. Chris, the building supervisor, was very patient and answered all our questions.

One interesting thing is.... before we OK'ed the electrical, we asked about outlets. The very nice man who sold us the house did NOT have correct information about where the outlets are located. If you are thinking about adding outlets, or moving them, whatever, you need to ask the builder (Chris), not the salesman.

[GSBat]

Originally Posted by SCDad

We are also moving to the Haymarket area after looking all over Northern VA. We really liked what we saw and the people we met. We also have a child entering kindergarten and a three yr old. We heard about St. Paul's School and Haymarket Baptist. Both have kindergarten classes and preschools. Both schools report their kindergarten classes are full, but at least St. Paul's is willing to put us on a waiting list. If you hear of any other private kindergarten schools please pass them along. We do not want to put our daughter in a class of 28 in a public school. That will be our last resort. Thanks for passing information about any schools you learn about.

Haymarket has several ES in a 3 mile area. My son has attended school here for a couple of years and the average class size seems to be 23.The teachers do a great job and the kids seem happy. So far, I cannot fault the education avaiable in this area. As for testing results, my son missed 1 question on the entire SOL test, so they seem to be covering the basics.

We live in Piedmont and my son has had no problem finding friends. On a typical day there could be up to 10 kids playing CTF or football in our yard or our neighbors yard. My son is heavily involved in after school activities which are abundant in this "little" area - soccer, basketball, swim team, cub scouts, just to mention a few. I've seen notices that hockey has come to our little community recently.

Houses are big and yards typically small, but Haymarket does have a friendly, small town atmosphere with great perks. We have a Wegmans just 4 miles away. That plaza also has several other national stores. Additional plazas in Gainesville are about 5 minutes from us - corner of Somerset Crossing and 29, corner of 15 and 29 and Gateway. There is also a Bloom grocery store less that 1 mile from us and the Giant in DV is only 2 miles away. Both of these plazas have a number of shoppes besides their anchor grocery stores.

If only we had a larger branch of the PWC Library, I would be truly happy, lol, but I'm serious about needing a bigger library. Long park is nice and we have a new athletic center and a batting cage that is quite promising . We are surrounded by some very nice wineries that offer pleasant diversions. My son loves the lazor tag center in Sterling, only 30 minutes from home and much more reasonable (and bearable) than Chuckie Cheese. There a couple of paintball facilites (we have not tried these) and golf courses, of course, lol.

Traffic had its horrific moments when we first moved to Haymarket in 2008, but completion of most of the construction on 15 has resolved that. It takes us only moments to reach 66 and with the widening of lanes at the 234 (PW PKWY) interchange traffic there is rarely a problem. The most traffic we incur is traveling to Gateway in Gainesville off Linton Hall, but there are so many other alternatives for shopping that I usually only make my way to that area for Lowes, Sports Authority and Target.

Haymarket is nice.

[old bird]

This thread is great, with lots of great information. I'd like to ask some questions that are related - I will be moving to the area with 2 sets of young twins, so we need good schools and lots of space. The Haymarket/Gainesville/Bristow area seems to meet the needs.

My job will be in DC, so I'm planning on taking the VRE. My question is, if I'm outside of Bristow, say in the Haymarket area, how long should it take to get to the Bristow or Manassas VRE station? It doesn't seem like a far distance, but I know traffic varies. My preference is to drive less than 15 minutes, since it will be a long train ride as it is.

TIA.

[dod236]

We live in Gainesville and it takes my husband about 10-15 minutes to the Bristow station, he leaves home around 10 minutes to 7. He mentioned around 7, there are more cars headed that way. Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by old bird

This thread is great, with lots of great information. I'd like to ask some questions that are related - I will be moving to the area with 2 sets of young twins, so we need good schools and lots of space. The Haymarket/Gainesville/Bristow area seems to meet the needs.

My job will be in DC, so I'm planning on taking the VRE. My question is, if I'm outside of Bristow, say in the Haymarket area, how long should it take to get to the Bristow or Manassas VRE station? It doesn't seem like a far distance, but I know traffic varies. My preference is to drive less than 15 minutes, since it will be a long train ride as it is.

TIA.

[Radovich34]

Originally Posted by vwlizard

We are nervously entertaining the idea of moving to the Bristow/Gainesville/Haymarket area this summer and would appreciate some help.

My children will be entering Kindergarten and 1st grade. We are moving from a Boston suburb. We currently love where we live, but my husbands office is in Springfield and I feel like we should move before the kids get any older. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Bristow/Gainesville/Haymarket look like the kind of places I'd like and have good schools. Our price range is up to 500,000, but I'd like to keep it closer to 400-450. We do need a yard (kids and 2 large dogs) and a good amount of space.

Does anyone know communting time to the Braddock Rd/Backlick intersection in Springfield?

What do HOA fees usually cover and how much are they?

Any neighborhoods where the kids all run around like a swarm of bees and SAHM's can easily make friends?

Anyone recommend one town over the others?

Thanks for you help,
Liz

Hi Liz,
We are also relatively new to the area and citydata helped us a lot.

If you decide on the Bristow-Gainesville area, I can highly recommend St. Anne's Academy for Girls if you have daughters. It is a Classical Christian school which has a phenomenal curriclum. We are registering for their preschool and elementary school.
Here is there website address: [URL="http://www.stannesacademy4girls.org"]www.stannesacademy4girls.org[/URL]
It is an awesome website, providing a solid academic program for girls. You do have to go through an interview process but they are all very nice,

Home prices have decreased substantially so you won't have a difficult time finding a home in the 400-450 range. Lots of neighborhoods in the Bristow-Gainesville-Haymarket area for small families. I DO NOT recommend Springfield, Annandale or Fairfax. However Burke is nice and not far from the Braddock Road/Backlick Road area.