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Great Falls, VA. Looking for opinions and advise
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Anonymous
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We are thinking about writing an offer for a home in Great Falls. I think like most older houses there (built in the 70s) it doesn't have county water or sewer. Does anyone know what are the costs associated to maintaining this? Should we pay attention to anything in particular about this systems during the inspection? Can anyone share any good/bad experiences with similar homes?
Also, if you live in Great Falls, how do you like it? We like the space, mature trees and the relative proximity to civilization. I appreciate any advise you may have. thank you. |
Anonymous
Great Falls is totally out of fashion right now. There are hundreds of expensive houses just sitting and sitting and sitting on the market. You shouldn't necessarily view that as a bad thing. If the idea of Great Falls living (big house, big lot, peace and quiet, no walkability) appeals to you personally, and you're looking for a home, rather than to make a huge RE profit, this could be a great time to look in Great Falls. My friends who live there love it. They have a big yard with a swimming pool and tennis courts, and don't mind driving their kids everywhere or being called dinosaurs by the current crop of lemmings. |
Anonymous
| Does it have well and septic? I grew up in a house with a well and septic tank (not around here though). The only special cost associated with the well was that we had hard water so we had a water softener and you have to maintain it and buy bags of salt for it. The septic tank can be a little trickier. The house I grew up in had problems with the field and, well, let's just say there were parts of the yard that were frequently off limits. Also we had to have the tank emptied sometimes. I'd want to know where the septic field is and check it out. |
Anonymous
| I live in GF and wouldn't live anywhere else! Didn't know my friends and I are dinosaurs and don't care! We did buy a too big house. Make sure you factor in utility costs and a landscaping service if the yard is too big to care for yourself. As for well and septic, we've never had a problem with either. You don't pay for water. You will probably have a water softener and gave to lug those 40 lb bags of salt into the basement. With septic you just want toknow where the field is bc you can't plant or dig or build on it. The only real hassle is that when your power goes out and you are on a well, you gave no water for toilets, shower, etc. That can be a huge pain if power is out for a long time, such as in a blizzard. Some people invest in generators. Happy to answer any other questions. |
Anonymous
I have well, septic and heating oil. You absolutely need to be careful about the inspection. Underground heating oil tanks can degrade and leak creating a prohibitively expensive clean up and possibly affecting your water supply. We required that an inspector dig down and inspect the tank. It was intact but the gaing showed that we would have holes in a few years. We had it drained and an above ground tank installed. For the well, make sure you understand how old it is and have it inspected. You should also have your water analyzed both for chemicals but also to understand how acidic the water is in your well. Check the water softener too if its acidic. For the septic, you should get it cleaned when you move in. You should have it inspected. I know someone who didn't realize that you need to add chemicals once a week, a crust built up, and sewage backed up into their house. Get a generator with a transfer switch for the well. If you lose power, you lose water. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thank you very much to all PPs for the useful insight. I hadn't thought of the water supply problem during a power outage. We are not looking to turn a huge profit or flip the place, we are looking for the long term. After living in the city and crowded fairfax we are really looking forward the peace and tranquility that GF offers. We think GF is a great place to have more space, a large yard, big trees without having to move way out west to Loudon. The public schools in GF seem to be good, maybe better than the average FCPS.
One last question. Although homes in GF are appart from each other given the size of the lots and empty spaces, I've heard there's still a sense of community through the schools and pools. Is this true? |
Anonymous
Less so than in other parts of Fairfax, unless you think that a car pool is a "community." A lot of kids in Great Falls go to private school in DC and Maryland. |
Anonymous
| It depends on the neighborhood. We live on a street with about 15 houses and 2-5 acre lots, and there is no community. In some of the larger neighborhoods and neighborhoods with smaller lots there is a lot of "community." My friends with kids in GF elementary are very active and closely knit. Even as a private school family, we have many friends through church and community sports. There are lots of great local events such as July 4 parade, summer concerts on the green, Christmas tree lighting, etc., that allow families to feel part of the community, and if you have little ones you will meet people at the library and nearby park. Riverbend Country Club is a great built in community if you can afford it. You might want to check on the waitlist for Great Falls Swim and Tennis if you have school aged children and are looking for a community pool. People who can't get in and can't aford Riverbend sometimes join the Reston pools, but that takes you out of your neighborhood. |
Anonymous
| How bad is the commute from GF to the DC private schools? Is it feasible or does it just feel like a trek? |
Anonymous
I have made this trip all summer from Great Falls to the GDS - St. Albans area, during morning rush hour. Count on at least 45 minutes one way, assuming you're coming down Georgetown Pike to the Beltway to River (or continuing on and using Chain Bridge). One morning it was an hour, and one morning it was 1 hour, 15 minutes. In non-rush hour with absolutely NO traffic, the very best you can do is 35 minutes one way. If anyone tells you it's less than that door-to-door to, say, St. Albans, they are lying. Editorial opinion: I don't know why anyone in their right mind would 1st, choose a house in Great Falls and then a NW DC private. |
Anonymous
| For a number of reasons, the better private schools in the DC area are in DC and Maryland, not NoVa. It's probably easier to get from Great Falls to schools in Maryland like Georgetown Prep and Landon than it is to get to St. A's. |
Anonymous
Thanks for the honest advice. How about the MD privates? |
Anonymous
| OP here, for the record, I'm not the one asking about the commute to privates in DC. We are choosing the GF public schools (GF/Cooper/Langley). This is actually one of the reasons we looked in GF. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
NP here. It's great they were busted, no? this kind of stuff and worse goes on in any school, including the (gasp!) top 3 (or 5, or 7 whatever) in DC. Any parent would be delusional to think that there are any schools free of this problem. I give credit to cooper's principal for the way the news were handled and given to the community. In many schools these incidents go undetected, unreported and or hidden... |