Young professional starting job in Old Town Alexandria..where to move? (Huntington: rental market, townhouse)

[jesswade]

You can find cute, quaint private owned rentals in the Old Town area. There are pros and cons of renting from both of course. With a private individual, just make sure you have a good feeling about that person. So that if things break, etc. they fix them & are all around good landlords.

Crime can happen anywhere, like the other poster said. Where ever you go especially in this area, just make sure you pay attention to where you have to walk to at night to get to your place.

The Del Ray section of Alexandria is cute and it has some condos and apartments (Commonwealth Crossing) that Apartment community has secured entrances, walking to restaurants (directly across the street is Monroe's) etc. Its about a mile to Old Town. I had a friend live there for 6 years with her daughter. She was a single mom and never had any problems.

[eastli84]

As a young professional myself, you're going to want to be as close to work as possible, while living in a somewhat exciting area. I dont know much about whats available in Old Town, but in Arlington (right off Columbia Pike), you could rent a 1br apartment for $1320/mo at The Wellington. The commute to Old Town would be no more than 30 mins plus you'd be living in a pretty cool hood. 1 br's within walking distance to metro in Crystal City/Pentagon City go for 1500 and up. Let us know what you decide on, and good luck!

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by jesswade

I've lived in Alexandria my whole life and grew up around Landmark and many other areas in Alexandria. The Landmark area has gotten worse and worse over the years.

The crime rate , esp. near S. Whiting has shot way up. Mugging, stabbings, and murders.

I also lived right outside Hampton for a year, so I hear ya! But for a young single female, coming home at night, you do NOT want to put yourself in an area that has such a high crime rate.

This isn't news to me. Back in 08 2 people were shot and killed here including one which was less than 150 yards from my building (the next street over from S Whiting.) The 7-11 there along with the Fields of Landmark complex seems to bring some bad seed here. Living in this area can be different perspective for me (6'4 and a half 300+ pounds male) and a single female.

Also, you lived right outside of Hampton. Probably a wild guess but one of the complexes off Rt. 134 in York County? I used to live in Yorkshire Downs for awhile. One thing that is certain; NoVA is no Hampton Roads.

[flowergirl7]

Originally Posted by eastli84

As a young professional myself, you're going to want to be as close to work as possible, while living in a somewhat exciting area. I dont know much about whats available in Old Town, but in Arlington (right off Columbia Pike), you could rent a 1br apartment for $1320/mo at The Wellington. The commute to Old Town would be no more than 30 mins plus you'd be living in a pretty cool hood. 1 br's within walking distance to metro in Crystal City/Pentagon City go for 1500 and up. Let us know what you decide on, and good luck!

Agreed. I'm not the kind of person who goes out at all hours to party or anything but I do enjoy the convenience of having drug stores, supermarkets, bookstores, etc etc. nearby. Have you lived at The Wellington or know someone who does?

[flowergirl7]

I'm considering Windsor at Arbors. The price is right BUT: (1) I don't think it's walkable to the metro and (2) I haven't heard great things about the condition of the buildings - but of course the photos look beautiful on their website. Does anyone have experience with that community? Thanks

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by flowergirl7

I'm considering Windsor at Arbors. The price is right BUT: (1) I don't think it's walkable to the metro and (2) I haven't heard great things about the condition of the buildings - but of course the photos look beautiful on their website. Does anyone have experience with that community? Thanks

The Windsor at Arbors is right off the VERY busy Duke St, so noise may be a factor. It would be a rough walk to the Van Dorn Metro but plenty of buses to take you there (I think they may have one of their own.) The buildings look fine from the outside.

[flowergirl7]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

The Windsor at Arbors is right off the VERY busy Duke St, so noise may be a factor. It would be a rough walk to the Van Dorn Metro but plenty of buses to take you there (I think they may have one of their own.) The buildings look fine from the outside.

Noise- noted. I will investigate further. Thanks!

[ACWhite]

Flowergirl7, welcome to the area! I live near Pentagon City, and I think it's nearly ideal for you (other than living right in Old Town, which is very cool but probably too expensive), if you can find a place you like for the price you want. You are going somewhat against traffic for the commute, with the only possible problem being that Route 1 may get more and more congested over time, because there is some development going on. It's bad at times now, but not at other times. You may also want to investigate Avalon at Cameron Ct. This is about 2 miles west of Old Town. It's not charming, and not as new any more, but at least at one time, it was nice, with good amenities, and I would think you could get a one bedroom in your price range.

Also, with regard to the rent-from-a-corporation vs. an individual owner question, one thing you may want to consider is whether the person is wanting to rent you the place because s/he could not sell his/her home for a price desired. Around here many owners are not cash flow positive because it costs much less to rent than to buy. Many owners are renting reluctantly for less than they are currently paying in PITI and utilities, because they have to (can't sell). These owners are going to be very reluctant to spend a lot of money to maintain the place or do extras for you because they are already losing money every month. Another potential pitfall is that a bank may foreclose on an owner who is not making payments, and you may have to move with little notice. So you may want to investigate these things if you consider going that route.

[flowergirl7]

Thanks, ACWhite I'm excited to be moving to the area. Good point about renting from individuals. I have some prospective individual landlords I will be meeting with, and luckily it sounds more like they've owned the properties for several years - as in, they used to live in the condo a couple years back but have been renting it out due to changes in life circumstances (possibly related to getting married or having kids?). Anyway they sound pretty nice and I'm looking forward to meeting them.

The only gripe I have about renting from corporate property mgmt companies is the move-in fee which sometimes doubles as an amenity fee. I've been reading up and I guess a "move in fee" is typical for the area but it's new to me and quite honestly flabbergasted me.

[ACWhite]

Flowergirl7, that fee is probably just something they impose when they think market allows it, rather than changing the rental rates, which may tick off current tenants (e.g., when conditions are softer, current tenants may demand lower rents offered to new tenants). They just made up the name. You may be able to negotiate it away.

If by "several years" the owners mean they bought the property in 2005 or 2006, they may well be in the category I described. That was the peak of the bubble years, and while Alexandria and Arlington have not declined as much as other areas, they have declined, and it does cost a lot to sell expensive property here. Owners who bought very recently, or in the early 2000s, would be more likely to be holding onto property because they want to do so. Many people (not all, of course) need to sell in order to have a big enough down payment to afford a house when they marry or have kids. But they don't want to sell at a loss if they can avoid it. This is an overgeneralization, of course, but I would certainly try to find out about the status of my potential landlord if s/he is in the riskier category, or have assurances written into the lease or addendum.

I had a friend who owned a condo in the late 80s and early 90s, and married in 91. Prices did not rise enough for her to sell until about 2000, so she was a reluctant landlord for almost a decade here.