Feedback on these two McLean houses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Location is better on #1 but #2 has the nicer, more modern looking house. But I know many people who like the idea of living off Georgetown Pike

I actually live off of Georgetown Pike. Tell the people that like the idea of it that it sucks. You can't get out of your own neighborhood thanks to all the Marylanders who can't find jobs in their own state and then clog the roads trying to get home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured #1 pretty quickly and was not impressed.

The workmanship throughout the house feels pretty shoddy. I would never pay this price tag for this in a house.

Examples:

Paint on the hinges on multiple doors
The banister on the staircase feels like it was a rush job - the finish feels gritty and you can see how they slapped together pieces of wood.
Obvious flaws in the glass of the staircase
The downstairs bar area lacks even a microwave. It’s just this massive marble slab
The grout in the walkway is already chipping
Baseboards look like they were slapped on without being properly sanded and cut correctly
Etc
Etc

The builders name is not one that I’ve ever heard of. I would have your family member do their research. There could be larger issues given how many cosmetic there are.

Location:

Pros:
The pond is great
Wonderful neighborhood

Cons:

The front yard is someone’s backyard and they are very close together

Shared driveway would be tough

This is helpful. Thank you. My biggest concern was the shared driveway. The quality of new construction even at this price point has not been particularly impressive in the few houses I've toured.

I agree with you on the quality of a lot of new construction. This house is particularly bad imo.

Is your family in a very tight timeline? They have a very budget. If they have a few months, there are beautiful, well constructed homes that come up at this price point.

I would also go to the websites of well-known builders. They often have coming soon houses if your family member has their heart 100% set on new construction.

Most of the new construction homes that have been on Zillow for a while are not great quality and/or overpriced.

Artisan Builders has a new development in the part of Great Falls that next to McLean. The homes start at $4.5M. They are very skilled and build incredible homes.

That low for an Artisan house? Thought it was more in the 6M+ range

We built with Artisan. Have been very happy with our house. The new neighborhood is called Falls Farm. I keep wanting to go out to see the houses, but the open houses are always on Sundays when my kids have activities.

I think those houses are a built smaller than their normal custom houses. I have driven by neighborhood. It is right off of Georgetown Pike and you can see it on the left as you drive out.

That’s great to hear that you’re happy with your home! I’m really curious—did you buy a spec house from Artisan, or did you work with them from the very beginning to design and build your home? I’m trying to get a better sense of what the process is like with them, and whether there’s a big difference between buying one of their spec homes versus going the custom route from the start. Any insights you can share would be really helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t trust any new build listing that doesn’t include the builders name. That’s a giant red flag to me.

This exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured #1 pretty quickly and was not impressed.

The workmanship throughout the house feels pretty shoddy. I would never pay this price tag for this in a house.

Examples:

Paint on the hinges on multiple doors
The banister on the staircase feels like it was a rush job - the finish feels gritty and you can see how they slapped together pieces of wood.
Obvious flaws in the glass of the staircase
The downstairs bar area lacks even a microwave. It’s just this massive marble slab
The grout in the walkway is already chipping
Baseboards look like they were slapped on without being properly sanded and cut correctly
Etc
Etc

The builders name is not one that I’ve ever heard of. I would have your family member do their research. There could be larger issues given how many cosmetic there are.

Location:

Pros:
The pond is great
Wonderful neighborhood

Cons:

The front yard is someone’s backyard and they are very close together

Shared driveway would be tough

This is helpful. Thank you. My biggest concern was the shared driveway. The quality of new construction even at this price point has not been particularly impressive in the few houses I've toured.

I agree with you on the quality of a lot of new construction. This house is particularly bad imo.

Is your family in a very tight timeline? They have a very budget. If they have a few months, there are beautiful, well constructed homes that come up at this price point.

I would also go to the websites of well-known builders. They often have coming soon houses if your family member has their heart 100% set on new construction.

Most of the new construction homes that have been on Zillow for a while are not great quality and/or overpriced.

Artisan Builders has a new development in the part of Great Falls that next to McLean. The homes start at $4.5M. They are very skilled and build incredible homes.

That low for an Artisan house? Thought it was more in the 6M+ range

We built with Artisan. Have been very happy with our house. The new neighborhood is called Falls Farm. I keep wanting to go out to see the houses, but the open houses are always on Sundays when my kids have activities.

I think those houses are a built smaller than their normal custom houses. I have driven by neighborhood. It is right off of Georgetown Pike and you can see it on the left as you drive out.

That’s great to hear that you’re happy with your home! I’m really curious—did you buy a spec house from Artisan, or did you work with them from the very beginning to design and build your home? I’m trying to get a better sense of what the process is like with them, and whether there’s a big difference between buying one of their spec homes versus going the custom route from the start. Any insights you can share would be really helpful!

We did a custom house. It took about 2 years from start to when we moved in. I thought it was a pretty fun process and would do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I toured #1 pretty quickly and was not impressed.

The workmanship throughout the house feels pretty shoddy. I would never pay this price tag for this in a house.

Examples:

Paint on the hinges on multiple doors
The banister on the staircase feels like it was a rush job - the finish feels gritty and you can see how they slapped together pieces of wood.
Obvious flaws in the glass of the staircase
The downstairs bar area lacks even a microwave. It’s just this massive marble slab
The grout in the walkway is already chipping
Baseboards look like they were slapped on without being properly sanded and cut correctly
Etc
Etc

The builders name is not one that I’ve ever heard of. I would have your family member do their research. There could be larger issues given how many cosmetic there are.

Location:

Pros:
The pond is great
Wonderful neighborhood

Cons:

The front yard is someone’s backyard and they are very close together

Shared driveway would be tough

This is helpful. Thank you. My biggest concern was the shared driveway. The quality of new construction even at this price point has not been particularly impressive in the few houses I've toured.

I agree with you on the quality of a lot of new construction. This house is particularly bad imo.

Is your family in a very tight timeline? They have a very budget. If they have a few months, there are beautiful, well constructed homes that come up at this price point.

I would also go to the websites of well-known builders. They often have coming soon houses if your family member has their heart 100% set on new construction.

Most of the new construction homes that have been on Zillow for a while are not great quality and/or overpriced.

Artisan Builders has a new development in the part of Great Falls that next to McLean. The homes start at $4.5M. They are very skilled and build incredible homes.

That low for an Artisan house? Thought it was more in the 6M+ range

We built with Artisan. Have been very happy with our house. The new neighborhood is called Falls Farm. I keep wanting to go out to see the houses, but the open houses are always on Sundays when my kids have activities.

I think those houses are a built smaller than their normal custom houses. I have driven by neighborhood. It is right off of Georgetown Pike and you can see it on the left as you drive out.

That’s great to hear that you’re happy with your home! I’m really curious—did you buy a spec house from Artisan, or did you work with them from the very beginning to design and build your home? I’m trying to get a better sense of what the process is like with them, and whether there’s a big difference between buying one of their spec homes versus going the custom route from the start. Any insights you can share would be really helpful!

We did a custom house. It took about 2 years from start to when we moved in. I thought it was a pretty fun process and would do it again.

My guess is that we ended up spending more the way we did it, based on some selections we made v what they would do for a spec house. But their spec houses are very nice if you find one that you like. Their styles vary dramatically (unlike a lot of builders who do spec houses).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have close family moving from out of state to McLean with a budget of ~4 million. Wanted to get feedback and criticism on these two properties that they recently toured:

1. https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/8310-Weller-Ave-22102/home/9265755

2. https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/893-Georgetown-Ridge-Ct-22102/home/109702428

I live near #1. It’s a great neighborhood. But that lot is odd. You are right up against the backyards of two neighbors. Then the shared driveway is also odd and there is no way to fix it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have close family moving from out of state to McLean with a budget of ~4 million. Wanted to get feedback and criticism on these two properties that they recently toured:

1. https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/8310-Weller-Ave-22102/home/9265755

2. https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/893-Georgetown-Ridge-Ct-22102/home/109702428

Who are the builders?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They sort of look like airports. Parts of airports.

Yes, they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They sort of look like airports. Parts of airports.

I was at Dulles last week and there in a redone spiral staircase that looks exactly like the one here in the United section of the terminal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:#1 pond is not a flood zone so I’m not so worried about it. My main concern would be the shared driveway, and being behind another house. I like the house for a new build. Not a huge lot for the price though.

#2 I hate the house, it’s on a main road and I don’t like GT Pike.

Mother Nature does not respect flood zones. Plus, that flood zone was probably determined before they disturbed all of the soil to dig out a lower level and put a house and pavement. Ponding indicates poor drainage. They should install a pole and hang a huge red flag out front. Buyer beware.

[Anonymous]

Weller Ave is a nice street in a nice neighborhood. Even though the house is big, it has a neighborhood feel. Georgetown Ridge is more of a street off of GT pike. I would not want to have to leave my neighborhood directly onto GTown Pike because the traffic truly sucks at most times of the day.

Not sure why people who have never been to these homes in person would worry about a flood zone (not an issue for this home).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both seem fine to me. I'm curious as to why specifically there is so much distaste towards house #2

Did you not see the two islands?

That's awesome not bad, I think people don't like the modern look of house 2

[Anonymous]

Two islands becomes much more common as you approach 10,000 ft and/or 4 million plus. It has its advantages when hosting large gatherings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:#1 pond is not a flood zone so I’m not so worried about it. My main concern would be the shared driveway, and being behind another house. I like the house for a new build. Not a huge lot for the price though.

#2 I hate the house, it’s on a main road and I don’t like GT Pike.

Mother Nature does not respect flood zones. Plus, that flood zone was probably determined before they disturbed all of the soil to dig out a lower level and put a house and pavement. Ponding indicates poor drainage. They should install a pole and hang a huge red flag out front. Buyer beware.

+1. But who’s says the builder hasn’t already mitigated with a French drain etc.

[Anonymous]

I think #1 is a much better house than the Cherry Hill house that just sold on the same street:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/8329-Weller-Ave-22102/home/9265838

However, the shared driveway and placement behind other houses is likely to turn buyers away.