Belle View flooding & other issues?
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Anonymous
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Currently looking for a single family detached home. We lived in Del Ray but are pretty rapidly getting priced out. Del Ray has issues with water, but our rental has never flooded and is not one of the streets that does.
Looked around Belle View today for the first times. Beautiful homes, but in the AE flood zone. How often/bad does this area flood? Would you buy in a flood zone? Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Edit to add we’re looking at 1.1 or less (ideally- ha). Would love an area like Del Ray, but not sure what else has community/walkability/tolerable commute to DC |
Anonymous
| Not sure what 1.1 is but if you mean new Alexandria, between the parkway, Belle haven road & Belle view road, I’d avoid. It doesn’t flood frequently, but when it does it’s quick and awful. What about further up the hill in Belle haven or further down the parkway? |
Anonymous
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Thank you! 1.1 million or less.
Yes - the New Alexandria area. Do many homes have issues with water damage? |
Anonymous
| New Alexandria |
Anonymous
| I can't remember the last time that area flooded. That said, if it really concerns you, look in Belle haven or Villamay. Houses are a little more expensive but they are great neighborhoods. |
Anonymous
| Are you getting a mortgage? You will be required to have flood insurance if you do. Homeowners does not cover flood. You will need to factor that annual premium into the actual price of the house. |
Anonymous
+1 Belle View proper is very low lying, but Belle Haven, Villamay, Marlan Forest, and most of Westgrove are all uphill |
Anonymous
| New Alexandria is darling, so many cute houses, but you'll be freaking out anytime a hurricane looks like it's headed this way. We used to live up the hill from that area and I remember people in boats rowing down the streets after one such event occurred about 18 years ago or so. Not worth the stress, skip it. |
Anonymous
Hurricane Isabel was really bad. I wouldn't consider that area at all unless the house itself had some significant water prevention features (like if the house was elevated up a few feet, no basement). |
Anonymous
It is possible to get a SFH in the ~$1.0-1.1m range up the hill from Del Ray in Beverley Hills and Monticello Park, even though most go for more than that. It will be on the smaller side, may need some updating over time, and may take some patience due to low inventory but they exist, just check past sales records on Redfin for examples. Those neighborhoods are hilly so there are plenty of homes up on elevated land, and that helps during the heavy rains as the water just flows down and away from the homes. |
Anonymous
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At that price point you are going to make compromises on a house in Beverly Hills, but you'll have a very short commute into DC. Here's one currently on market, but look at contingents and solds too. It's not impossible.
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/511-Tennessee-Ave-22305/home/11849313 https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/1100-W-Taylor-Run-Pkwy-22302/home/11851267 https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/2712-S-Arlington-Ridge-Rd-22202/home/11277395 |
Anonymous
Thank you for this and the encouragement! |
Anonymous
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I don’t have the links handy, but if you do some Googling, there are very detailed flood maps on line. You can see elevations and flood risk at a very detailed level. If you look at a house, find the topo map for that specific lot.
The elevation change is pretty dramatic along that stretch, so there are houses that are at severe risk of flooding that are just a couple of blocks away from houses that will never flood. |