Reply to Massive home addition causes confusion in Fairfax County neighborhood

Forum Index » Real Estate

Reply to "Massive home addition causes confusion in Fairfax County neighborhood"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Greenbriar is a mess. Has anyone actually driven through it?! Shudders. One of DS's team mates lived there.[/quote]

There is nothing wrong with the neighborhood. It isn’t shiny and new, but it isn’t “a mess”[/quote]

I wouldn't call it a mess, but it looks like a middle middle class neighborhood filled with 1950s-1960s split levels, some of which are quite poorly maintained. People are melting down about architectural cohesion when the neighborhood architecture isn't even nice. [/quote]

It was built in the late 60s-early 70s

What is wrong with a middle class neighborhood?

Are there some properties that aren’t well maintained? Sure. No HOA, remember? [/quote]

Surely you knew there wasn't an HOA when you bought the home.[/quote]

Yes, we knew there was no HOA. And?[/quote]

Then you knew you couldn't control what other people would build.[/quote]

Most in this neighborhood didn’t realize that the county zoning office would approve a monstrosity like this. What everyday citizen gets deep into zoning to figure out that the county would allow a 3 story Motor Lodge to be attached to modest cape cod?[/quote]

Are you saying you were oblivious to basic zoning requirements? Or that you expected the county to illegally deny a permit for a legal addition? It is troubling either way, but I'm curious.[/quote]

It’s troubling that someone just going along in life doesn’t spend hours thinking about the outer limits of what county zoning might allow?

No, we honestly didn’t realize. We’re not asking them to deny legal additions. If this is within the rules, there isn’t much to be done. The only move any of can make moving forward is to try to work with county officials to change things moving forward.[/quote]

You're surprised someone might want to build something at the maximum allowable height? Or it isn't something you cared enough about to make it an issue?

Pretty crappy of you to later decide it is important after someone spent $100k on their home.

If there was a substantive violation, that would be one thing.  But you've just been looking for a technicality to kill it. And I think that's an awful thing to do to a family.[/quote]

It also isn’t very nice for someone to figure out the maximum limits of a structure that can be legally built and then technically follow those limits without any thought at all for how the structure would look and how it would affect the neighbors. It isn’t very nice to do something that will make it harder for everyone on this block to sell their homes someday and then they’ll only be able to sell for less than they could have had this structure never been built. It isn’t very nice to think only about oneself and not care about how one’s actions will affect others.

And to be surprised when those you are harming have the nerve to ask questions about what you’re doing- well, that pretty much takes the cake. 
[/quote]

They knew what the structure looked like and liked it. That's why they built it. While you may think it's rude to build without consulting with the neighbors, it's definitely not required and shouldn't be expected. What would happen if the neighbor said, "We want you to cut off the top floor." Mike would then say, "But we want/need all those bedrooms?" Then the neighbor said, "But it's uglier that way." How would this be resolved?

It really sounds like the neighbors want the addition to be done more tastefully and expensively. If that's what the neighbors want, they should chip in to fund the difference. Apparently, it would benefit the neighbors, too, and the homeowner is fine with how the existing structure looks so doesn't really benefit. [/quote]

No, the neighbors would probably prefer that the owners here didn’t take an action that will harm everyone on the street by reducing the value of their homes.

I don’t live in this neighborhood, but I live in one that is similar. We have a very nice community of people who help their neighbors and have an interest in living in a pleasant neighborhood to raise their kids and, yes, everyone would like their property values to increase over time. Sometimes the economy is bad and values decrease, everyone knows that. But it would be rightfully upsetting to anyone if their property value went down because one owner decided to do something to his property that lowered his own and everyone else’s property values.

I imagine this homeowner would not have been happy if someone on his street did something that would make his home worth less than it would have been worth when it’s time to sell, or even take a loan on the house to finance improvements. 
[/quote]

This is part of why your home should never be treated as an investment. Many things impact property values that are entirely outside of your control. Lots of risk, and it's important to accept that. There's undeveloped land that is being sold to a commercial developer within eyeshot of my house. Previously it was a wooded area. That sucks for me, but I have zero right to that land. It was zoned commercial, and I have no basis for demanding that the property owner not develop it. Property all around you can change at any time. And it often isn't in a way you live. You have to deal with other people having property rights too. And, unfortunately, we don't have any right to our property values being preserved or going up. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics