alternative for fairfax/fairlakes to buy a house

[Anonymous]

Hi,

i am trying to buy a SF home and I am currently living in fairlakes. My school district is not great but still above average. I am equidistant to a lot of places I drive.
People who live there probably know the location and its convenience. I love this place. I live in a small town home and I am running out of space. I dont want to compromise on this location but I cannot spend anything more than 500k. Is there a good location that will satisfy my needs? I would love to keep my children in FCPS.
They are in K and 3rd grade.

[Anonymous]

How far from Fairlakes can you move to and not suffer for your commute? Might Oakton or Fairfax work?

[Anonymous]

We're looking in the same area and our budget is below $450K. I'd love to hear suggestions, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How far from Fairlakes can you move to and not suffer for your commute? Might Oakton or Fairfax work?

I am the OP. I can go to Oakton, But I know the houses are very pricy and very old too. Fairfax, is poorman's Oakton.

[Anonymous]

for 500k, you can get a 1950's rambler in vienna with great schools.

[Anonymous]

There is an older neighborhood called Greenbriar that has less expensive single family homes and the schools are good. Also try Country Club Estates. Both are a few miles west of Fair Lakes.

[Anonymous]

We live in Fair Oaks Estates and love it, Navy is the Elem, Oakton HS, very down to earth family friendly community, homes around 500K

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How far from Fairlakes can you move to and not suffer for your commute? Might Oakton or Fairfax work?

I am the OP. I can go to Oakton, But I know the houses are very pricy and very old too. Fairfax, is poorman's Oakton.

Fairfax is pretty big, so it totally depends on where you're looking. Houses in my parent's neighborhood are going for almost $600K right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an older neighborhood called Greenbriar that has less expensive single family homes and the schools are good. Also try Country Club Estates. Both are a few miles west of Fair Lakes.

Greenbriar resident here. Yes, the homes are older, but many have been totally redone. Nice, family friendly neighborhood too. Look on the West side of the neighborhood so your kids will go to Greenbriar West ( AAP center). Go to the FCPS website to make sure you are well within the boundaries. Double check with the FCPS website to make sure your potential house is well within the boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an older neighborhood called Greenbriar that has less expensive single family homes and the schools are good. Also try Country Club Estates. Both are a few miles west of Fair Lakes.

Greenbriar resident here. Yes, the homes are older, but many have been totally redone. Nice, family friendly neighborhood too. Look on the West side of the neighborhood so your kids will go to Greenbriar West ( AAP center). Go to the FCPS website to make sure you are well within the boundaries. Double check with the FCPS website to make sure your potential house is well within the boundaries.

I'm not the OP, but the poster looking in the area under $450K. We drove through Greenbriar a couple weeks ago at the suggestion of someone on the city-data board. I thought it was fine, but my husband was not impressed and thought some of the houses were in disrepair and "dumpy." Is it just that it is winter and people haven't fixed their houses for the spring yet? I want to drive through again in the spring, because I am still interested in this neighborhood due of its location and closeby amenities. Is there an HOA?

Also, I am wondering if there is something wrong with greenbriar east? I was looking for a school with a full-day K, and east has that currently while west does not. However, based on everything I have read, west is next on the list to get it for risk number AND redistricting.

[Anonymous]

Follow the boundary vote on Feb. 24 and lots of your questions should be answered.

Yes, Greenbriar has some houses that some would call "dumpy". But there is quite a lot of activity here in the spring with pride in ownership. I've seen many "flips" in the neighborhood...where a company buys a fixer, rehab's it and sells it. I would attend some open houses and get a "feel" for what the neighborhood has to offer and if it will work for you. Seek and ye shall find.

There is nothing wrong with Greenbriar East.

[Anonymous]

Hi, OP. I've researched a bunch of these areas mentioned.

If I were you, I would stretch and move to Oakton in the Waples Mill ES district. It goes to Oakton high.

A Vienna rambler will be smaller then a townhouse. The OP wants more room.

Greenbriar: look up old threads in DCUM on Greenbriar and you'll find ones where realtors said "don't live there" or something like that,and that it's a bad area. Altough that is just what I've read, others might know more.

Fair Oaks Estates: Nice looking neighborhood, but it is right by a HUGE electrical substation with about a building size area full of antenna type looking things and a cell tower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, OP. I've researched a bunch of these areas mentioned.

If I were you, I would stretch and move to Oakton in the Waples Mill ES district. It goes to Oakton high.

A Vienna rambler will be smaller then a townhouse. The OP wants more room.

Greenbriar: look up old threads in DCUM on Greenbriar and you'll find ones where realtors said "don't live there" or something like that,and that it's a bad area. Altough that is just what I've read, others might know more.

Fair Oaks Estates: Nice looking neighborhood, but it is right by a HUGE electrical substation with about a building size area full of antenna type looking things and a cell tower.

I live in Oakton, but I completely disagree. A Vienna rambler will put you in a nice community with plenty within walking distance and most likely will have a small but nice yard, 5x larger than what a townhouse will offer. The town setting will offer a higher quality of life compared to the rural/ ugly strip mall dichotomy that Oakton offers. Plus Waples Milll ES is huge! I think it is about 800 kids. If I remember correctly the closest to that number in Vienna is Louise Archer, I think they run at about 600 kids. I am not sure about Wolftrap ES, but the other Vienna elementary schools come in at around 400 kids. I also happen to think that both Madison and Marshall high schools are far better options than Oakton High school. Oakton isn't a terrible high school (but to be honest, I opted for private over sending my kid there), but it certainly isn't one that you base a move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Follow the boundary vote on Feb. 24 and lots of your questions should be answered.

Yes, Greenbriar has some houses that some would call "dumpy". But there is quite a lot of activity here in the spring with pride in ownership. I've seen many "flips" in the neighborhood...where a company buys a fixer, rehab's it and sells it. I would attend some open houses and get a "feel" for what the neighborhood has to offer and if it will work for you. Seek and ye shall find.

There is nothing wrong with Greenbriar East.

thanks. I did agree with my husband that there were some homes that needed repair, but I didn't think the whole neighborhood was "dumpy." I also think that we have to be realistic about what $450K will actually get us in this area if we want a SFH. I'm not willing to move even further out just so we can have a newer house. The most frustrating thing was that we had planned to move somewhere cheaper before our daughter starts K in the fall, but it isn't looking likely now. So my husband remembers what we could afford in our target city as opposed to here, and I think he is sad about what could have been. Me, too, but I'm trying to make the best of our situation.

Is there an HOA there? And what are the fees for the pool? What other amenities are closeby?

I have been following the full-day K amendment fight with interest, and discovered the boundary battle was part of it. I figure we'll have a lot more information when we go out househunting AND put our current little TH on the market in a few months.

[Anonymous]

There is no HOA in Greenbriar. That was a positive for us. There is a informal community association that does lots though for a minimal fee.

The Greenbriar pool is a Membership-only deal. Members sell their memberships privately. The pool does maintain a list of people who are interested in buying. We were on it for about 4 months and got ours, and we'll definitely get our money back whenever we sell. Yearly maintainance fees are $350 a year and worth every penny. DC loves the pool and goes every day during the summer.