Buying first house .. Fort Hunt area?

[Anonymous]

Hi all .... my husband and I are in the process of buying our first house. After doing some basic math we realized that spending $3500 on rent is ridiculous and we should just buy. Unfortunately we have only been out of grad school and working for 2-3 year and don't have a ton of money saved up for a down payment. So we are looking to put down only around 5%.

We are looking for a house in the $600,000-$700,000 range that have relatively good elementary schools in Northern Virginia. We don't currently have kids yet but are TTC now and fingers crossed will be pregnant before we move. We are hoping to close in the fall.

Could people tell me about the Fort Hunt area? Do you like it out there? We looked passively at McLean and North Arlington but realized that we would never get the house we wanted for our budget. Ideally we would like a SFH that is relatively done and doesn't need major renovations. Are there any other areas you would suggest other than the Fort Hunt area?

We would prefer not to be more than 15 miles outside of the city. Thanks for your thoughts!

[Anonymous]

Fort Hunt is nice and very family-friendly, but the commute up is pretty rough. You may want to look a bit north and west. Springfield/Burke areas. West Springfield is nice, great schools, and lots of bang for your buck. Folks on this board are saying it is a good place to buy right now because of the coming town center (fall 2014) and the BRAC. Downside is that not much is on the market there. People do not tend to leave!

[Anonymous]

OP here ... thanks for the tips! My husband is planning on leaving earlier (before 7:30 to go to the gym) and then he never comes home before 7:30pm. Would that timing be better for the commute? Now since we live in DC he works out at the gym in our apartment building then goes into work around 8:30. Since he will have to start commuting he is going to go to the gym in the city then go directly to work. At night he would rarely be coming home before 7-7:30pm.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Fort Hun Area and my husband works in DC. He commutes in on metro--parks at Huntington Station yellow line, which is very close. Schools are great, very family-friendly. Wouldn't live anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

A difficult commute, any way you look at it -- especially the stretch through Old Town.

[Anonymous]

OP again - yes I agree. Pretty much anywhere commuting into DC sucks. Hell sometimes its horrible right in the city! We currently live 3 miles from DH's work and it has taken him an hour to get there on metro. Obviously its all a crap shoot. I work from home so I am lucky.

We have toured around the Fort Hunt area and really like the Riverside Garden and Waynewood areas in Fort Hunt. We are hoping that we find the right house and can get it locked down in the next few months.

Just wanted to see what people thought about the area compared to North Arlington or McLean or Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A difficult commute, any way you look at it -- especially the stretch through Old Town.

+1 7:30 is not going to cut it. Agree with West Springfield area - bang for buck and great neighborhoods. Alternate commute options are good (VRE or metro) and the regular commute around 7:30 is not bad. Every once in a while it is nightmarish, but you can always take back routes to get around 395 accidents. That OT route is horrible if you live in FFX County Alexandria like Ft. Hunt.

The market should pick up soon.

[Anonymous]

I just posted about the commute. We used to live in the Fort Hunt neighborhood, just south of Old Town and before Villamay. It was a lovely, beautiful place to live. We truly loved it there, but the day we moved to McLean, DH's commute into the District (and my commute to the children's schools) became a breeze by comparison and our quality of life vastly improved. You asked for my honest advice, and now you have it.

[Anonymous]

OP here - Thank you PP for your honest comments. While ideally we would love to live in McLean or North Arlington we just haven't been able to find anything in our price range. Even townhouses need a lot of work in the $600k-$700k range.

VRE/Metro are hard to do for my DH since his hours are all wonky. Sometimes he can leave early (7-7:30pm) but then when he gets busy he doesn't leave until 10pm or later and the wait for the train sucks.

We are just looking right now and will keep our eye on places in McLean/North Arlington in case anything in our price range pops up but what we have seen so far in Fort Hunt is great. The houses are nice, the neighborhoods seem really friendly and you are really close to Old Town which we love. We really don't like the urban sprawl part of 66 or down through Springfield although I didn't hear there was a town center going in down there. Since we grew up in a more rural area with lots of yards and space we would love to have something with at least a yard for when we have kids. Plus our dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - Thank you PP for your honest comments. While ideally we would love to live in McLean or North Arlington we just haven't been able to find anything in our price range. Even townhouses need a lot of work in the $600k-$700k range.

VRE/Metro are hard to do for my DH since his hours are all wonky. Sometimes he can leave early (7-7:30pm) but then when he gets busy he doesn't leave until 10pm or later and the wait for the train sucks.

We are just looking right now and will keep our eye on places in McLean/North Arlington in case anything in our price range pops up but what we have seen so far in Fort Hunt is great. The houses are nice, the neighborhoods seem really friendly and you are really close to Old Town which we love. We really don't like the urban sprawl part of 66 or down through Springfield although I didn't hear there was a town center going in down there. Since we grew up in a more rural area with lots of yards and space we would love to have something with at least a yard for when we have kids. Plus our dog.

PP again. We moved to the area between Old Town and Villamay when we only had one child. As our family expanded and the children grew, we had some concerns about the public schools in that area, which precipitated our move to McLean. I would personally encourage you to strongly look in north Arlington or McLean (have you looked at the neighborhoods off of Westmoreland) even if it means a lesser house, it will be better in most respects in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Here is an option for your family in McLean, OP. The Chesterbrook area is a great place to raise a family.

http://www.ttrsir.com/eng/sales/detail/279-l-1510-38qfwk/divines-chesterbrook-mclean-va-22101?campaign=listhub&refcode=SIRzillow

[Anonymous]

Watch 22152 and 22015. Most is walkable, all is super family-friendly, and an easy (for the 'burbs) commute in to DC. Sure VRE and Met are options, but I don't know why people would not just drive. It is faster 98% of the time to go by car. HOT lanes coming soon will make it even better.

[Anonymous]

With the savings in gas, you could stretch that $700k to a decent TH in No Arl.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1424-12th-St-N-22209/unit-4/home/11252325

And the time you save is immeasurable. If your husband is working till 7:30, living close in is only chance to even see the kids...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watch 22152 and 22015. Most is walkable, all is super family-friendly, and an easy (for the 'burbs) commute in to DC. Sure VRE and Met are options, but I don't know why people would not just drive. It is faster 98% of the time to go by car. HOT lanes coming soon will make it even better.

Yeah, Burke & VRE is also very good option.

[Anonymous]

I would not live in Ft Hunt if I had to commute downtown. South of the beltway is awful commuting if you are east of 395/95. If you are south of the beltway, stay to the west.