With a $2M budget for a new home, should we consider Vienna or Pimmit Hills?

[Anonymous]

I live in TOV and our taxes are a bit higher but it pays for things like trash, snow removal, discounts at community center, etc so it honestly evens out. I would consider it a non issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really dislike the divide between the Town of Vienna and the rest of Fairfax County with Vienna mailing addresses, which the ongoing FCPS boundary review has laid bare. Pimmit Hills is less pretentious. Marshall HS isn’t better than Madison HS, but there’s no big difference apart from Marshall being IB and Madison AP, and Madison having more of a sports culture.

I own in Marshall district and disagree - I’d choose Madison over it any day. Who wants to go to high school next to a congested freeway?

OP - for $2M, buy what you can in Vienna.

And it will not be a new home by a builder…

These sold in last 6 months in Vienna under $2M, seem fine to me. The first is a new build.

$1.9M https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/300-John-Marshall-Dr-NE-Vienna-VA-22180/51769561_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

$1.92M https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/217-Talahi-Rd-SE-Vienna-VA-22180/51771929_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

$1.8M https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/300-Jade-Ct-NW-Vienna-VA-22180/51771201_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

That first one seems wayyyy underpriced - trying to figure out why

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Either is fine. Pay attention to lot sizes, sidewalks, school locations, and parks for both places.

Unfortunately, FCPS has closed the centrally located elementary school inside PH. It would have been walkable from the whole neighborhood. Fairfax County now calls that building a senior center; no idea what is inside.

There is a large Fairfax County regional library that backs to a public park; that park and the library are walkable from much of the PH neighborhood. Another public park is close to 267. Neither park is very well maintained.

That location is not walkable from the WHOLE neighborhood. Nothing in PH is walkable for the entire neighborhood, it’s simply too large.

[Anonymous]

Maple Avenue in Vienna is a horribly congested road of strip malls. I have no idea why people act like it’s some beautiful, walkable amenity. Also Madison has a weird sports-obsessed culture. If your kids are academically oriented, Marshall is better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maple Avenue in Vienna is a horribly congested road of strip malls. I have no idea why people act like it’s some beautiful, walkable amenity. Also Madison has a weird sports-obsessed culture. If your kids are academically oriented, Marshall is better.

I don’t think Marshall is better. Marshall games the US News ratings by automatically enrolling most juniors and seniors in IB English courses. If you know anything about the US News ratings, you know that they reward schools based on the level of their AP/IB participation.

Madison, like the other top AP schools, allows juniors and seniors to choose whether to take regular, Honors, or AP English courses.

[Anonymous]

Vienna is mostly umc. Pimmit hills is mc with a bunch of new McMansions mixed in.

[Anonymous]

I think there’s no way you will find a new build that small in Vienna. Most are 5500-6500. Not because we all want giant homes but that’s all builders build. Second, I think the price for a new build in Vienna is higher now

[Anonymous]

Pimmit Hills is flipping (tear down and then new build, specifically) pretty quickly and will be almost entirely UMC within 10 years. Lots of families with little kids are buying the new builds, many buyers have the same ethnic and religious background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there’s no way you will find a new build that small in Vienna. Most are 5500-6500. Not because we all want giant homes but that’s all builders build. Second, I think the price for a new build in Vienna is higher now

5500-6500 sf includes finished basement, 3500 sf is for above grade only. Yes, there are quite a few new houses with 3500 sf above grade priced under $2M

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there’s no way you will find a new build that small in Vienna. Most are 5500-6500. Not because we all want giant homes but that’s all builders build. Second, I think the price for a new build in Vienna is higher now

5500-6500 sf includes finished basement, 3500 sf is for above grade only. Yes, there are quite a few new houses with 3500 sf above grade priced under $2M

Side note, I hate how this area counts finished basements in the sq ft. Growing up in New England this wasn’t a thing and it’s always so jarring to see 3000 or 4000 and realize 1/3 of that is below grade so it’s actually - not - a big house in terms of primary living space square footage (kitchen, living, bedrooms, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will pay the ridiculous 24% town tax in Vienna. Ripoff. Also, is $2m the total cost (land and building) or are you looking to purchase a lot and then have rgr $2m for construction? I don’t like the TOV tax, congestion, but Pimmit is crap also. Neither

It cannot possibly be twenty-four percent.. Nobody would live in a town that taxes people more than any state tax rate

FACT: Its 19.5% atop whatever the Fairfax County assessment. So if your Fairfax County tax bill is $10k, you will be writing a check to TOV for $1950.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will pay the ridiculous 24% town tax in Vienna. Ripoff. Also, is $2m the total cost (land and building) or are you looking to purchase a lot and then have rgr $2m for construction? I don’t like the TOV tax, congestion, but Pimmit is crap also. Neither

It cannot possibly be twenty-four percent.. Nobody would live in a town that taxes people more than any state tax rate

FACT: Its 19.5% atop whatever the Fairfax County assessment. So if your Fairfax County tax bill is $10k, you will be writing a check to TOV for $1950.

We pay close to $5k annually to TOV - Fairfax assesses our home for $2.2m or so. Yes, it is a ripoff, covers trash pickup which we can get for about $50 monthly. Fairfax County runs the schools, and Madison HS has been fast dropping in the ranking last couple years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will pay the ridiculous 24% town tax in Vienna. Ripoff. Also, is $2m the total cost (land and building) or are you looking to purchase a lot and then have rgr $2m for construction? I don’t like the TOV tax, congestion, but Pimmit is crap also. Neither

It cannot possibly be twenty-four percent.. Nobody would live in a town that taxes people more than any state tax rate

FACT: Its 19.5% atop whatever the Fairfax County assessment. So if your Fairfax County tax bill is $10k, you will be writing a check to TOV for $1950.

We pay close to $5k annually to TOV - Fairfax assesses our home for $2.2m or so. Yes, it is a ripoff, covers trash pickup which we can get for about $50 monthly. Fairfax County runs the schools, and Madison HS has been fast dropping in the ranking last couple years.

Yikes. Not as bad the moco county tax but no thanks.

[Anonymous]

McLean has an overlay extra property tax levy from the county even though it is not a town.

So, no trash collection is included, no local control of zoning / development, but the county created a special tax McLean district to fund the McLean Community Center. None of the other Fairfax County community centers have a special tax - regular county budget pays for all the others. McLean has to pay for its from this special tax. Worst of both worlds, higher taxes with no extra benefit. Mumble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You will pay the ridiculous 24% town tax in Vienna. Ripoff. Also, is $2m the total cost (land and building) or are you looking to purchase a lot and then have rgr $2m for construction? I don’t like the TOV tax, congestion, but Pimmit is crap also. Neither

It cannot possibly be twenty-four percent.. Nobody would live in a town that taxes people more than any state tax rate

FACT: Its 19.5% atop whatever the Fairfax County assessment. So if your Fairfax County tax bill is $10k, you will be writing a check to TOV for $1950.

We pay close to $5k annually to TOV - Fairfax assesses our home for $2.2m or so. Yes, it is a ripoff, covers trash pickup which we can get for about $50 monthly. Fairfax County runs the schools, and Madison HS has been fast dropping in the ranking last couple years.

$5k annually or the traffic congestion, large homes on tiny lots, no town schools.....no way! I would much rather be in FC City or even Fairfax City, which has the lowest taxes.