Advice on MoCo and PG Neighborhoods

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:20910, zoned for Woodlin elementary

Totally agree with this. We are in the Linden neighborhood and love it. It sounds like just what you are looking for--the right price range, not far from DC, easy commute to college park. It's also a great neighborhood for families--there are always lots of kids out and about.

[Anonymous]

One more thing to consider - DC's taxes are far lower than MoCo and PG. You probably know this, but really crunch the numbers. Some towns in MoCo and in PG (including Takoma and Hyattsville) have taxes on top of the County and the State...on a standard mortgage, this turns into hundreds per month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With both your commutes, I’d definitely pick Historic Hyattsville, University Park, Calvert Hills. Your budget will go far and the route 1 corridor is in the full upswing of revitalization to give you the walkable “downtown” feel. You’ll still need a car for sure, but you won’t feel so suburban/disconnected from DC. University Park in particular is a beautiful neighborhood with a well regarded elementary.

I might even bet on Riverdale Park (closest to Whole Foods) were you can get something nice for $500k or less, and the purple line coming makes it a good bet on long term continual improvement. The (elem) schools don’t seem to be as highly regarded in that pocket as nearby options though.

Not anymore unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would hesitate to purchase in Prince George’s county because another recession will hit in late 2020 according to financial markets. PGCo was hit really hard last time around which made selling really hard for people who might have wanted to move for other economic opportunities. It took PGCo much longer to bounce back than other places in the DMV area.

LOL look at this prediction, made in February 2020- could this person have been more wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more thing to consider - DC's taxes are far lower than MoCo and PG. You probably know this, but really crunch the numbers. Some towns in MoCo and in PG (including Takoma and Hyattsville) have taxes on top of the County and the State...on a standard mortgage, this turns into hundreds per month.

Sure, and their services are also considerably worse than surrounding counties. Taxes pay for things that people need. Lower taxes translates into services of lower quality and/or less available than places with higher taxes.

[Anonymous]

DC if over 65 buying expensive house the property tax deal is best choice.
VA If under 65 very high income private schools VA best choice
MoCo not rich, multiple cars will use public schools under 65 best choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone so far who gave thoughtful advice! In terms of Hyattsville, what do you think is a good benchmark for price per square foot for something that has been completely updated? This is probably too specific a question, but I might as well ask! We saw a house we loved, but it was significantly more expensive than the other houses on the surrounding blocks. However, it was at least 1,000 sq ft larger than them and was a new build. We also thought we might feel awkward being in the nicest house on the block.

I think anything up to 380 is fair game these days, but if you are looking at new, the comps are 360 or so.

However - based on your description, I think University Park is a better bet than Hyattsville - the elementary school is stronger, and there are more homes in your price range -- unless you are looking for new, since Weirlein builders is all over Hyattsville Historic District area.

Are you looking for artsier or family oriented? UP may be better for the latter.

Thanks! One of the houses we're considering is a Werrlein one, but it's up by PG Plaza, not in the historic district. We looked at a house in UP and the neighborhood just seemed a bit stuffy? I'm not ruling it out, but the Arts District is more of what we like in a downtown and we would enjoy being able to talk to that.

Honestly, what makes me feel weird about the particular house in Hyattsville that I mentioned is it's large-ish, new, and built up high so it's sort of above the other homes on the block. There is a lot of tension about gentrification in the DC area, and I feel like it sort of screams that developers are coming in. I know it's probably a dumb fear, but I was worried people would judge us and be annoyed about it. There are a bunch of houses I saw when looking at the sold homes that are around the same size and close in price, but look like they fit into the neighborhood more.

Thanks to the other PP for their snide remark about how we only want to live around white people! Wasn't aware that simply asking about a house retaining value should we have to move soon after buying meant I was racist Pretty sure most people don't want their homes to go down in value and I just wanted some opinions on if all the hype about Hyattsville right now maybe artificially increasing home value that won't last.

Just want to make it very clear that I disagree with the PPs talking about how awful any school with low income and/or immigrant children is. If we do end up in Hyattsville, I'll be sending my (currently non-existent, haha) kids to the local public schools.

I live in Hyattsville. Honestly, this is nothing to worry about here, at all. You'd be just another neighbor we enjoy hanging out with at a block party/Vine Crawl/Hops Hop/Porch Fest. No one cares if you live in the fanciest or most modest house in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone so far who gave thoughtful advice! In terms of Hyattsville, what do you think is a good benchmark for price per square foot for something that has been completely updated? This is probably too specific a question, but I might as well ask! We saw a house we loved, but it was significantly more expensive than the other houses on the surrounding blocks. However, it was at least 1,000 sq ft larger than them and was a new build. We also thought we might feel awkward being in the nicest house on the block.

I think anything up to 380 is fair game these days, but if you are looking at new, the comps are 360 or so.

However - based on your description, I think University Park is a better bet than Hyattsville - the elementary school is stronger, and there are more homes in your price range -- unless you are looking for new, since Weirlein builders is all over Hyattsville Historic District area.

Are you looking for artsier or family oriented? UP may be better for the latter.

Thanks! One of the houses we're considering is a Werrlein one, but it's up by PG Plaza, not in the historic district. We looked at a house in UP and the neighborhood just seemed a bit stuffy? I'm not ruling it out, but the Arts District is more of what we like in a downtown and we would enjoy being able to talk to that.

Honestly, what makes me feel weird about the particular house in Hyattsville that I mentioned is it's large-ish, new, and built up high so it's sort of above the other homes on the block. There is a lot of tension about gentrification in the DC area, and I feel like it sort of screams that developers are coming in. I know it's probably a dumb fear, but I was worried people would judge us and be annoyed about it. There are a bunch of houses I saw when looking at the sold homes that are around the same size and close in price, but look like they fit into the neighborhood more.

Thanks to the other PP for their snide remark about how we only want to live around white people! Wasn't aware that simply asking about a house retaining value should we have to move soon after buying meant I was racist Pretty sure most people don't want their homes to go down in value and I just wanted some opinions on if all the hype about Hyattsville right now maybe artificially increasing home value that won't last.

Just want to make it very clear that I disagree with the PPs talking about how awful any school with low income and/or immigrant children is. If we do end up in Hyattsville, I'll be sending my (currently non-existent, haha) kids to the local public schools.

I also felt the way you do, that I would absolutely be sending my kids to public school. I was a huge public school advocate, teaching in them for many years. I then had children and realized why almost half of my coworkers sent their kids to private schools.

Just know that your feelings on schooling may change in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone so far who gave thoughtful advice! In terms of Hyattsville, what do you think is a good benchmark for price per square foot for something that has been completely updated? This is probably too specific a question, but I might as well ask! We saw a house we loved, but it was significantly more expensive than the other houses on the surrounding blocks. However, it was at least 1,000 sq ft larger than them and was a new build. We also thought we might feel awkward being in the nicest house on the block.

I think anything up to 380 is fair game these days, but if you are looking at new, the comps are 360 or so.

However - based on your description, I think University Park is a better bet than Hyattsville - the elementary school is stronger, and there are more homes in your price range -- unless you are looking for new, since Weirlein builders is all over Hyattsville Historic District area.

Are you looking for artsier or family oriented? UP may be better for the latter.

Thanks! One of the houses we're considering is a Werrlein one, but it's up by PG Plaza, not in the historic district. We looked at a house in UP and the neighborhood just seemed a bit stuffy? I'm not ruling it out, but the Arts District is more of what we like in a downtown and we would enjoy being able to talk to that.

Honestly, what makes me feel weird about the particular house in Hyattsville that I mentioned is it's large-ish, new, and built up high so it's sort of above the other homes on the block. There is a lot of tension about gentrification in the DC area, and I feel like it sort of screams that developers are coming in. I know it's probably a dumb fear, but I was worried people would judge us and be annoyed about it. There are a bunch of houses I saw when looking at the sold homes that are around the same size and close in price, but look like they fit into the neighborhood more.

Thanks to the other PP for their snide remark about how we only want to live around white people! Wasn't aware that simply asking about a house retaining value should we have to move soon after buying meant I was racist Pretty sure most people don't want their homes to go down in value and I just wanted some opinions on if all the hype about Hyattsville right now maybe artificially increasing home value that won't last.

Just want to make it very clear that I disagree with the PPs talking about how awful any school with low income and/or immigrant children is. If we do end up in Hyattsville, I'll be sending my (currently non-existent, haha) kids to the local public schools.

I also felt the way you do, that I would absolutely be sending my kids to public school. I was a huge public school advocate, teaching in them for many years. I then had children and realized why almost half of my coworkers sent their kids to private schools.

Just know that your feelings on schooling may change in the future.

I’m sure they did since thread is from 2020.

[Anonymous]

I'm an immigrant, I went to a high FARMS school and received free lunch and breakfast, then I went to college and grad school. Now I teach your children at a private school you pay thousands upon thousand of dollars. You value the work that I do. Why are you so afraid of immigrants? What have we done that would make you say to someone that they should avoid going to school with people who receive these services?

It has nothing to do with race or immigrant status and everything to do with class. Unfortunately, it is just a fact of life that low-income kids are more likely to struggle in school. If the number of underperforming students is too high, it negatively impacts academic quality by reducing rigor. This disproportionately harms high performing students because they not being challenged academically.

[Anonymous]

Here's my take as someone who bought in Mount Rainier several years ago. The city is great and still somewhat affordable, but that's changing fast. It's safe. Lots of infrastructure improvements going on. Family-focused events (re: parents slack channel, santa drives around on a fire truck during xmas, Easter egg hunt, etc.)

Schools are an issue, but there's TAG programs and Mount Rainier Elementary and Hyattsville Middle are average. We send our kids to private schools, which are far better than most publics in MoCo. DeMatha is a popular high school choice around here.

We saved a lot of money buying in Mount Rainier when people snickered about schools/crime/etc. Fast forward to today and we literally do not have a mortgage, we can afford to send our kids to great private schools they love, it's safe, lots of families have now moved in, and it's still not (too) infected w/ the DC striver mentality - but that will change in the future, I'm sure.

[Anonymous]

Is this Mount Rainier? https://www.mountrainiermd.org Seems super cute. I didn't realize how close it was to DC, which is nice for those forced to return to the office a few times each week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.redfin.com/MD/University-Park/4319-Clagett-Rd-20782/home/11033052

That is an unbelievably nice house, esp at that price. OP, you will not find anything better and homes in that neighborhood rarely come up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.redfin.com/MD/University-Park/4319-Clagett-Rd-20782/home/11033052

That is an unbelievably nice house, esp at that price. OP, you will not find anything better and homes in that neighborhood rarely come up.

OMG, I had no idea this was from 2020. How weird!

[Anonymous]

PG trolls are out in force lol