Please help me decide 22101 townhouse vs 22043 townhouse vs 22207 single ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in 22207. There seems to be some decent inventory on the market now in 22207 and 22205. (and 22201, 22203 and 22209, where you might also look.) I like it here, and we're happy with our schools. (ATS/Williamsburg/Yorktown.) I didn't look in McLean because for the budget, I wanted to be as close in as possible and didn't need/want a bigger lot.

I would personally do a SFH instead of a TH at that price point if you can, unless you really hate outdoor maintenance. (and if you do, you might find something with a lot of hardscaping/deck to minimize it.) Most of the people I know in that range are looking for SFH.

I agree. Though, houses generally go within a few days. There have been a few nice options around the $1m mark recently.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2411-N-Roosevelt-St_Arlington_VA_22207_M50908-58194?view=qv

I just saw this one. Seems very nice to me. And thank you so much for your inputs.

That is very nice. Might be priced a bit high, IMO, but maybe this market is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in 22207 (Cherrydale), and I love our neighborhood. I don't have any opinion on where you should buy. I would just caution you from overspending on a house. We have similar income and bought our house for a little over a $1M in 2007. While the mortgage is do-able we now have 2 kids and the last 6 years of nanny, part time preschool, full time preschool and a brief stint in day care has added up quite a bit. Also, it costs quite a bit to furnish a new home with that many bedrooms.

So, while I would definitely get as many bedrooms as you can afford, I would not necessarily stretch to spend as much as you can b/c child care costs really do cost a lot in this area.

Best of luck in your search.

Thank you so much!! Wow we definitely couldn't afford $1M in 2007. That's a HUGE number to us in 2007. We are now very comfortable with a 1M purchase only with one person on the loan. If the price goes up to 1.2M then we need to put two people on the loan. We think 4 Bed is enough for us no need to have 5 or 6.

[Anonymous]

https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/1505-McLean-Corner-Ln-22101/home/9401121

This is a large size 4000 sqft townhouse on the market for a long long time. What's wrong with this ? Is it because of the crazy 300 per month HOA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in 22207. There seems to be some decent inventory on the market now in 22207 and 22205. (and 22201, 22203 and 22209, where you might also look.) I like it here, and we're happy with our schools. (ATS/Williamsburg/Yorktown.) I didn't look in McLean because for the budget, I wanted to be as close in as possible and didn't need/want a bigger lot.

I would personally do a SFH instead of a TH at that price point if you can, unless you really hate outdoor maintenance. (and if you do, you might find something with a lot of hardscaping/deck to minimize it.) Most of the people I know in that range are looking for SFH.

I agree. Though, houses generally go within a few days. There have been a few nice options around the $1m mark recently.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2411-N-Roosevelt-St_Arlington_VA_22207_M50908-58194?view=qv

I just saw this one. Seems very nice to me. And thank you so much for your inputs.

That is very nice. Might be priced a bit high, IMO, but maybe this market is crazy.

How lucky you had bought your house before this Spring. The market is so so so crazy in 22101 and we feel we are pushed to look into other areas that we could afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in 22207. There seems to be some decent inventory on the market now in 22207 and 22205. (and 22201, 22203 and 22209, where you might also look.) I like it here, and we're happy with our schools. (ATS/Williamsburg/Yorktown.) I didn't look in McLean because for the budget, I wanted to be as close in as possible and didn't need/want a bigger lot.

I would personally do a SFH instead of a TH at that price point if you can, unless you really hate outdoor maintenance. (and if you do, you might find something with a lot of hardscaping/deck to minimize it.) Most of the people I know in that range are looking for SFH.

I agree. Though, houses generally go within a few days. There have been a few nice options around the $1m mark recently.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2411-N-Roosevelt-St_Arlington_VA_22207_M50908-58194?view=qv

I just saw this one. Seems very nice to me. And thank you so much for your inputs.

That is very nice. Might be priced a bit high, IMO, but maybe this market is crazy.

$1.2 without a garage is a deal breaker for me. The yard looks teeny tiny too. I think the location is good though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in 22207. There seems to be some decent inventory on the market now in 22207 and 22205. (and 22201, 22203 and 22209, where you might also look.) I like it here, and we're happy with our schools. (ATS/Williamsburg/Yorktown.) I didn't look in McLean because for the budget, I wanted to be as close in as possible and didn't need/want a bigger lot.

I would personally do a SFH instead of a TH at that price point if you can, unless you really hate outdoor maintenance. (and if you do, you might find something with a lot of hardscaping/deck to minimize it.) Most of the people I know in that range are looking for SFH.

I agree. Though, houses generally go within a few days. There have been a few nice options around the $1m mark recently.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2411-N-Roosevelt-St_Arlington_VA_22207_M50908-58194?view=qv

I just saw this one. Seems very nice to me. And thank you so much for your inputs.

That is very nice. Might be priced a bit high, IMO, but maybe this market is crazy.

$1.2 without a garage is a deal breaker for me. The yard looks teeny tiny too. I think the location is good though.

Agree. Someone might pay that price for the location. It wouldn't be me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why four bedrooms if you are just starting a new family? And why TH if you want to have kids. TH is okay if you can not afford anything else but if you can then do not go backwards but forward. Once you have a kid you will love a green grassy area called backyard because you can go play ball, run and have a play set within few steps. Yes, you still can go to the park for socializing and all but you don't have to do it every time you want to take kiddo out of the house. Once you move into TH, you will immediately be sorry that you don't have a decent backyard, because the bathroom sized brick-paved thing does not qualify as one. Kids run, kids bump into things, kids fall, you need grass. You want grass.
TH is the only option for people with very tight budget who want to have a family and look for good schools areas, if you are in this position then do it, otherwise go to the next step, as the SHF is the next step.

Well in the case of the FCC townhouse the park is literally right across the street, as well as a farmers market, library, etc.

Also, FCC doesn’t have only one elementary school as another PP said. I wish people who don’t know what they are talking about would stop making incorrect statements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why four bedrooms if you are just starting a new family? And why TH if you want to have kids. TH is okay if you can not afford anything else but if you can then do not go backwards but forward. Once you have a kid you will love a green grassy area called backyard because you can go play ball, run and have a play set within few steps. Yes, you still can go to the park for socializing and all but you don't have to do it every time you want to take kiddo out of the house. Once you move into TH, you will immediately be sorry that you don't have a decent backyard, because the bathroom sized brick-paved thing does not qualify as one. Kids run, kids bump into things, kids fall, you need grass. You want grass.
TH is the only option for people with very tight budget who want to have a family and look for good schools areas, if you are in this position then do it, otherwise go to the next step, as the SHF is the next step.

Well in the case of the FCC townhouse the park is literally right across the street, as well as a farmers market, library, etc.

Also, FCC doesn’t have only one elementary school as another PP said. I wish people who don’t know what they are talking about would stop making incorrect statements.

To us, the FCC townhouse does look nicer than many rancher style SFH in mclean. We took a stroll at the small park across from the TH and had a quick lunch at the Penara Bread at the corner before going to see the open house. The neighborhood does seem kids friendly.

[Anonymous]

townhouses are terrible investments vs a sfh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why four bedrooms if you are just starting a new family? And why TH if you want to have kids. TH is okay if you can not afford anything else but if you can then do not go backwards but forward. Once you have a kid you will love a green grassy area called backyard because you can go play ball, run and have a play set within few steps. Yes, you still can go to the park for socializing and all but you don't have to do it every time you want to take kiddo out of the house. Once you move into TH, you will immediately be sorry that you don't have a decent backyard, because the bathroom sized brick-paved thing does not qualify as one. Kids run, kids bump into things, kids fall, you need grass. You want grass.
TH is the only option for people with very tight budget who want to have a family and look for good schools areas, if you are in this position then do it, otherwise go to the next step, as the SHF is the next step.

Well in the case of the FCC townhouse the park is literally right across the street, as well as a farmers market, library, etc.

Also, FCC doesn’t have only one elementary school as another PP said. I wish people who don’t know what they are talking about would stop making incorrect statements.

People say that it only has one elementary school because for all intents and purposes it's true. Yes, technically there are two -- Mount Daniel (K-1) and Thomas Jefferson (2-5) -- but that's just because there are too many students to house them all in one building. You're still going through the system with the same kids. It's not like it is in Arlington, McLean, or Falls Church in Fairfax County where you have multiple elementary schools that feed into middle schools and then high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why four bedrooms if you are just starting a new family? And why TH if you want to have kids. TH is okay if you can not afford anything else but if you can then do not go backwards but forward. Once you have a kid you will love a green grassy area called backyard because you can go play ball, run and have a play set within few steps. Yes, you still can go to the park for socializing and all but you don't have to do it every time you want to take kiddo out of the house. Once you move into TH, you will immediately be sorry that you don't have a decent backyard, because the bathroom sized brick-paved thing does not qualify as one. Kids run, kids bump into things, kids fall, you need grass. You want grass.
TH is the only option for people with very tight budget who want to have a family and look for good schools areas, if you are in this position then do it, otherwise go to the next step, as the SHF is the next step.

Well in the case of the FCC townhouse the park is literally right across the street, as well as a farmers market, library, etc.

Also, FCC doesn’t have only one elementary school as another PP said. I wish people who don’t know what they are talking about would stop making incorrect statements.

Do you live in FCC area? We have been living in Vienna for a long time and we so much want to move to an area at least in the LOOP and less traffic. I personally grew up with my grandparents in a town similar to FCC and I always went out to play with kids. Also one of us works in DC K street area and the other of us works in Arlington. This area was unknown to us when we started searching narrowly in 22101 zip. Now we see this one and we are attracted to this city area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why four bedrooms if you are just starting a new family? And why TH if you want to have kids. TH is okay if you can not afford anything else but if you can then do not go backwards but forward. Once you have a kid you will love a green grassy area called backyard because you can go play ball, run and have a play set within few steps. Yes, you still can go to the park for socializing and all but you don't have to do it every time you want to take kiddo out of the house. Once you move into TH, you will immediately be sorry that you don't have a decent backyard, because the bathroom sized brick-paved thing does not qualify as one. Kids run, kids bump into things, kids fall, you need grass. You want grass.
TH is the only option for people with very tight budget who want to have a family and look for good schools areas, if you are in this position then do it, otherwise go to the next step, as the SHF is the next step.

Well in the case of the FCC townhouse the park is literally right across the street, as well as a farmers market, library, etc.

Also, FCC doesn’t have only one elementary school as another PP said. I wish people who don’t know what they are talking about would stop making incorrect statements.

Do you live in FCC area? We have been living in Vienna for a long time and we so much want to move to an area at least in the LOOP and less traffic. I personally grew up with my grandparents in a town similar to FCC and I always went out to play with kids. Also one of us works in DC K street area and the other of us works in Arlington. This area was unknown to us when we started searching narrowly in 22101 zip. Now we see this one and we are attracted to this city area.

I do live in the FCC area. What do you want to know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:townhouses are terrible investments vs a sfh

The data don't support this claim. This may be true in far out burbs where land is plentiful and properties are built over multiple acres.
But in cities and close-in areas, THs have appreciation rates comparable to SFHs.
THs in 22101 have appreciated at the same rate as SFHs.

[Anonymous]

22101 is the most desirable area. Prices reflect that.
Buy what you can afford in the most desirable area. Location, Location, Location first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:townhouses are terrible investments vs a sfh

The data don't support this claim. This may be true in far out burbs where land is plentiful and properties are built over multiple acres.
But in cities and close-in areas, THs have appreciation rates comparable to SFHs.
THs in 22101 have appreciated at the same rate as SFHs.

Unless this is nyc