Fairfax vs Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember the the gs rating of the elementary school and poverty levels directly correlate to the neighborhood and people who live next to you so watch out for that.

Also know that Arlington rezones almost annually, so be aware of surrounding schools and don't count on your in bounds schools staying the same.

I agree with the earlier poster to buy as far north of Route 50 as possible. Anything close to Route 50, even if currently zoned for good schools, is at risk of being rezoned to lower performing schools. Pretty much all the schools in the northernmost parts of Arlington are good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember the the gs rating of the elementary school and poverty levels directly correlate to the neighborhood and people who live next to you so watch out for that.

Also know that Arlington rezones almost annually, so be aware of surrounding schools and don't count on your in bounds schools staying the same.

I agree with the earlier poster to buy as far north of Route 50 as possible. Anything close to Route 50, even if currently zoned for good schools, is at risk of being rezoned to lower performing schools. Pretty much all the schools in the northernmost parts of Arlington are good.

.

I agree with getting as north as possible from Rt 50, but because the school age population is growing in South Arlington (but not North Arlington), it's much more likely that the kids from the south will be bussed north. I can't see the reverse happening but I do agree with your advice.

[Anonymous]

Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baileys Crossroads is the absolute poorest area in NOVA. The third is the only I would consider.

No way. Barcroft seems way worse. In any event unless you want your kids in school with a bunch of kids who don’t speak English, just don’t get something new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember the the gs rating of the elementary school and poverty levels directly correlate to the neighborhood and people who live next to you so watch out for that.

Also know that Arlington rezones almost annually, so be aware of surrounding schools and don't count on your in bounds schools staying the same.

I agree with the earlier poster to buy as far north of Route 50 as possible. Anything close to Route 50, even if currently zoned for good schools, is at risk of being rezoned to lower performing schools. Pretty much all the schools in the northernmost parts of Arlington are good.

.

I agree with getting as north as possible from Rt 50, but because the school age population is growing in South Arlington (but not North Arlington), it's much more likely that the kids from the south will be bussed north. I can't see the reverse happening but I do agree with your advice.

This is a reason to aim for FCPS, specifically in McLean. Many fewer variables in play. Arlington seems like it's more focused on "equity" and catering to developers who want to build apartments and townhouses on every inch of land.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

with current interest rate and housing price, I think young couple with children might stay put in a townhouse for a while or even till teenager years.
I live in a newly built townhouse community where the townhouse is in the 900k+ range. I see a lot of young families with toddlers and even families with teenagers.
I doubt people will move any time soon unless they have the means. The fact is not every family can afford SFH in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://redf.in/qh3Uinh
https://redf.in/1nyfy4

2002, so older but great location.

Saw this one in person, it does not show well.

This has been on market for 130 days!! Something is amiss…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

I think the townhouse situation you describe (primarily childless couples, high percentage of rentals, etc.) is more common in certain areas like along the orange metro line in Arlington. I know that a significant percentage of the $650-900K townhouses around the Ballston, Clarendon, and Rosslyn metros are owned by investors who rent them.

I see a lot of families with younger kids in townhouse communities in Fairfax and outside the areas alluded to above. In DC, obviously the vast majority of school-aged kids live in townhouses or row homes.

Moreover, I don’t think investors are buying new $900+K townhouses away from metros as rental units. At current interest rates, no sensible investor is going to spend that much money on a rental unit unless they like lighting money on fire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

with current interest rate and housing price, I think young couple with children might stay put in a townhouse for a while or even till teenager years.
I live in a newly built townhouse community where the townhouse is in the 900k+ range. I see a lot of young families with toddlers and even families with teenagers.
I doubt people will move any time soon unless they have the means. The fact is not every family can afford SFH in this area.

Yeah the current interest rates are a problem, we just bought at around that price a TH, we really wanted a SFH but the current rates made that a non-stater (granted we recently got married and don't have kids yet so less of a need now to have a SFH). Fact of the matter is if we compare say 3% and 7% interest rate, at 3% you could have bough a 1.2/1.3m (assuming same PITI) but now that same PITI at 7% only gets you something along the lines of 800/900k.

Rates will most likely fall but question is when and to what extent. When will rates fall back down to 2018/2019 levels (4/4.5%)? That is difficult to say. If they do come back to 4.5 then affordability comes back, but before that many (especially first time buyers) will have to settle for a TH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember the the gs rating of the elementary school and poverty levels directly correlate to the neighborhood and people who live next to you so watch out for that.

Also know that Arlington rezones almost annually, so be aware of surrounding schools and don't count on your in bounds schools staying the same.

I agree with the earlier poster to buy as far north of Route 50 as possible. Anything close to Route 50, even if currently zoned for good schools, is at risk of being rezoned to lower performing schools. Pretty much all the schools in the northernmost parts of Arlington are good.

lol.

No. Ballston is the only significant area of growth in n Arlington and crushing W&L and the elites terrified of diversity at kenmore and insist on Swanson. That cannnot last.
More n Arlington kids will get bussed to Williamsburg and Yorktown that are under capacity.

Kenmore is huge and can handle the south Arlington boom for now; but if anything south of 50 is more likely to be in north Arlington schools than vice versa.

It’s simple math; which eventually will overcome hypocritical racism of n Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember the the gs rating of the elementary school and poverty levels directly correlate to the neighborhood and people who live next to you so watch out for that.

Also know that Arlington rezones almost annually, so be aware of surrounding schools and don't count on your in bounds schools staying the same.

I agree with the earlier poster to buy as far north of Route 50 as possible. Anything close to Route 50, even if currently zoned for good schools, is at risk of being rezoned to lower performing schools. Pretty much all the schools in the northernmost parts of Arlington are good.

lol.

No. Ballston is the only significant area of growth in n Arlington and crushing W&L and the elites terrified of diversity at kenmore and insist on Swanson. That cannnot last.
More n Arlington kids will get bussed to Williamsburg and Yorktown that are under capacity.

Kenmore is huge and can handle the south Arlington boom for now; but if anything south of 50 is more likely to be in north Arlington schools than vice versa.

It’s simple math; which eventually will overcome hypocritical racism of n Arlington.

The Arlington townhomes are in a neighborhood where many parents apply to option programs like Campbell ES, etc.

All the Arlington boundaries will likely be redone next year. Kenmore neighborhoods look to move to Swanson MS. It’s possible more WL HS neighborhoods will move to Yorktown HS. And more Wakefield HS neighborhoods to WL. But it’s anyone’s guess what boundary changes will actually happen. To achieve better looking (non-gerrymandered) boundaries and streamlined pyramids, some neighborhoods might actually move in the other direction—Yorktown to WL and WL to Wakefield.

The townhomes in Fairfax City look nice, and the school district (which has its own city school board but is run by Fairfax County) is strong.

The townhomes in Falls Church are zoned to the Falls Church HS pyramid. The high school is getting completely rebuilt, and will be the envy of all the neighboring school pyramids when complete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

I think the townhouse situation you describe (primarily childless couples, high percentage of rentals, etc.) is more common in certain areas like along the orange metro line in Arlington. I know that a significant percentage of the $650-900K townhouses around the Ballston, Clarendon, and Rosslyn metros are owned by investors who rent them.

I see a lot of families with younger kids in townhouse communities in Fairfax and outside the areas alluded to above. In DC, obviously the vast majority of school-aged kids live in townhouses or row homes.

Moreover, I don’t think investors are buying new $900+K townhouses away from metros as rental units. At current interest rates, no sensible investor is going to spend that much money on a rental unit unless they like lighting money on fire.

If OP is going to live in a townhouse, she should move into a community that has amenities (like a pool) - those are the ones that attract families. OP - check out the townhouses near Jefferson Golf Course off of Lee Hwy/29. There are so many families in that community, that they have to send 2 school busses.

[Anonymous]

OP - if you're concerned about schools, look at the school forums here. Everyone I know in Arlington County has been really unhappy with the schools. I know so many people who switched to private schools over the past two years because they are locked into low interest rates and love the location but hate the schools. I would never buy in Arlington right now - you can get much more for your money with the same, if not better, schools in Fairfax County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

I think the townhouse situation you describe (primarily childless couples, high percentage of rentals, etc.) is more common in certain areas like along the orange metro line in Arlington. I know that a significant percentage of the $650-900K townhouses around the Ballston, Clarendon, and Rosslyn metros are owned by investors who rent them.

I see a lot of families with younger kids in townhouse communities in Fairfax and outside the areas alluded to above. In DC, obviously the vast majority of school-aged kids live in townhouses or row homes.

Moreover, I don’t think investors are buying new $900+K townhouses away from metros as rental units. At current interest rates, no sensible investor is going to spend that much money on a rental unit unless they like lighting money on fire.

If OP is going to live in a townhouse, she should move into a community that has amenities (like a pool) - those are the ones that attract families. OP - check out the townhouses near Jefferson Golf Course off of Lee Hwy/29. There are so many families in that community, that they have to send 2 school busses.

Strongly disagree with buying into a community with a pool. A pool means lots of noise, people inviting outsiders over all the time, and perhaps most importantly much higher fees due to maintenance and insurance. Townhouses without pools have fees of around $100-$150/month. So if you're looking at a townhouse with a common pool, check how much more the fee is and decide if the added cost is worth it to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speaking from personal experience as someone who had ES aged children in a townhouse -- I would NOT choose a new construction townhouse over a dated single family home. NEVER. First, your kids won't have any friends in those neighborhoods. The people buying are either young couples without children or investors who are going to rent them out to young couples without children. You'll likely have a revolving group of neighbors living in a group house situation. Second, you can EASILY find SFHs in that price range zoned to those schools or similarly rated schools. Buy an SFH in an established neighborhood so your kids can have neighborhood friends and a yard to play in. We just moved out of our townhouse into a SFH and it has made a HUGE difference in my children's lives. They go outside all the time now. The fresh air alone is worth it.

I think the townhouse situation you describe (primarily childless couples, high percentage of rentals, etc.) is more common in certain areas like along the orange metro line in Arlington. I know that a significant percentage of the $650-900K townhouses around the Ballston, Clarendon, and Rosslyn metros are owned by investors who rent them.

I see a lot of families with younger kids in townhouse communities in Fairfax and outside the areas alluded to above. In DC, obviously the vast majority of school-aged kids live in townhouses or row homes.

Moreover, I don’t think investors are buying new $900+K townhouses away from metros as rental units. At current interest rates, no sensible investor is going to spend that much money on a rental unit unless they like lighting money on fire.

If OP is going to live in a townhouse, she should move into a community that has amenities (like a pool) - those are the ones that attract families. OP - check out the townhouses near Jefferson Golf Course off of Lee Hwy/29. There are so many families in that community, that they have to send 2 school busses.

Strongly disagree with buying into a community with a pool. A pool means lots of noise, people inviting outsiders over all the time, and perhaps most importantly much higher fees due to maintenance and insurance. Townhouses without pools have fees of around $100-$150/month. So if you're looking at a townhouse with a common pool, check how much more the fee is and decide if the added cost is worth it to you.

Furthermore on the pool point, assuming someone has a TH with a decently size backyard (not even big but just something, which granted lately seems to be most new THs don't even have a yard...but older/slightly older ones do), one could always just get an inflatable pool and go that route. Won't be big but still nice enough to just chill in the water. Never tried but even one with a backyard, new builds tend to have the third/fourth floor roof deck, many seem big enough to accommodate a modestly sized inflatable pool.