Union Park - McLean Townhouse not selling?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah probably will sell close to the price they bought it for. What do you think of this community? Is it worth buying this sort of a condo-townhouse?

The area is a cut-through for traffic and kind of an odd location. It’s walkable to the Safeway and McLean Metro.

It’s not really a cut-through but there is traffic on both Anderson (to get to the shopping area and Pimmit Hiils) and Magarity (to get from Tysons to central McLean).

And it’s not an odd location given how close it is to the Metro. A lot of that area is slowly getting redeveloped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's close to Safeway and walking distance of McClean Metro. Having someone's living room above me is a no-go however. At least it's on the lower level.
The tile job in the kitchen is inappropriate. Its border should align vertically with the upper cabinets, not the countertop; a typical occurrence using cheap contractors that don't have a design background.

That was throwing me off too. Old people don't want stairs, young people with young kids don't want a townhouse, older people can afford more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's close to Safeway and walking distance of McClean Metro. Having someone's living room above me is a no-go however. At least it's on the lower level.
The tile job in the kitchen is inappropriate. Its border should align vertically with the upper cabinets, not the countertop; a typical occurrence using cheap contractors that don't have a design background.

That was throwing me off too. Old people don't want stairs, young people with young kids don't want a townhouse, older people can afford more.

False. There are plenty of younger people who’ll buy townhouses zoned to the Langley or McLean pyramids. One of the School Board members with two young kids lives in a townhouse.

[Anonymous]

Are there a lot of kids in this community? Jsut curious what the general vibe is? Do kids play in that green grassy space or walk to school bus together?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's close to Safeway and walking distance of McClean Metro. Having someone's living room above me is a no-go however. At least it's on the lower level.
The tile job in the kitchen is inappropriate. Its border should align vertically with the upper cabinets, not the countertop; a typical occurrence using cheap contractors that don't have a design background.

That was throwing me off too. Old people don't want stairs, young people with young kids don't want a townhouse, older people can afford more.

False. There are plenty of younger people who’ll buy townhouses zoned to the Langley or McLean pyramids. One of the School Board members with two young kids lives in a townhouse.

This isn't a townhouse. When people think of a townhouse, they at least own a sliver of land, and the entire unit (top to bottom) is theirs. This is a condo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much would you offer?

$650K at the most. It's horrifically dated, and I'd be worried about noise from the upstairs owners in a building like this. It's not a high rise, so they probably used wood between floors, which means if your upstairs neighbors play loud music or stomp while walking, you'll probably hear it all.

That’s about $200K less than any similar unit at Union Park has sold over the past year. You aren’t playing with a full deck.

Redfin conveniently linked to a couple of the recent sales:
https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/7421-Backett-Wood-Ter-22102/unit-1311/home/177559736
https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/7405-Backett-Wood-Ter-22102/home/197305506

If you think this one is anywhere close to as nice as those, you're not playing with a full deck. $650K is the right price for a dated condo. Anyone is of course free to overpay.

[Anonymous]

Are there a lot of kids in this community? Jsut curious what the general vibe is? Do kids play in that green grassy space or walk to school bus together?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there a lot of kids in this community? Jsut curious what the general vibe is? Do kids play in that green grassy space or walk to school bus together?

It’s within walking distance of the elementary school.

[Anonymous]

It's not a townhouse. It is a condo! 2 over twos are condos, but realtors/developers love to lie to buyers and pretent they are townhouses.

[Anonymous]

I would not buy any of those units - at any price. I watched them get built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not buy any of those units - at any price. I watched them get built.

Why? What’s wrong with these townhouses?

Are Hallcrest heights or kings manor better?

[Anonymous]

I'd likely pick Kings Manor. Houses built in that era mostly were well built. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Imagine living on the top unit. "I forgot my keys I left in my bedroom...four flights of stairs!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd likely pick Kings Manor. Houses built in that era mostly were well built. YMMV.

Read the posts about how some of those Kings Manor townhouses are smelly now with water damage. Time takes its toll on those structures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd likely pick Kings Manor. Houses built in that era mostly were well built. YMMV.

Read the posts about how some of those Kings Manor townhouses are smelly now with water damage. Time takes its toll on those structures.

Those houses were much better built than is typical for modern houses of similar size. Many are well maintained and in good shape.

If any house has water damage, one almost always will smell it. So it is unlikely to be hidden damage - and so it is easy to avoid buying a lemon.