6704 Lupine Ln was listed for $5.5 and just sold for $4.5. Another beautiful home.

Anonymous wrote:Is this really all you get for $4 million these days?

If you are gullible.

OP, have your family look in the $5-6M range and negotiate.

There is a great home that just closed (852 Alvermar Ridge Dr) that needs some work but had some great custom touches. It was listed for $5.4M, but just closed for $4.1M. It is in the Reserve and is absurdly huge (13K so feet) which is not the best, but seems to have been bett

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about this one?

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/8533-Georgetown-Pike-22102/home/9262205

It’s really on the far border of McLean.

And right on Georgetown Pike. The insane traffic noise and congestion on Georgetown Pike, especially during rush hour when it's a major cut-through route between the Beltway and Tysons Corner, would make your daily life a constant headache. While the properties right on the Pike may seem like prime McLean real estate, you'll struggle to even pull in and out of your own driveway safely during peak times. The constant stream of cars and lack of proper sidewalks or buffer space between homes and the road means you'll never really get that peaceful, upscale McLean lifestyle you're probably looking for, even though you're technically in one of the area's most prestigious zip codes.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Anonymous wrote:How about this one?

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/8533-Georgetown-Pike-22102/home/9262205

It’s really on the far border of McLean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

House 1 is in a preferable location but has a shared driveway. Looks like a nice new ski location house. House 2 is only accessible offf Georgeown Pike. Looks like many upscale newish shops and malls. Neither is large lot.

Realtor is driving the relocating family to weird properties. Need to move so how about this place? It's new!
Note some one bought a house in the reserve for less $ - https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/7797-Solitude-Ct-22102/home/9830358

This house is 20 years old! And showing its age. The kitchen and the master bath are dated.

Buyers at this price point want turnkey.

The grounds are gorgeous and the bones are great, the flow is nice for open concept if that’s your thing. Even the beigyness of it/aging is graceful. It’s not a nasty looking shade. Doesn’t smack you in the face with grey and white modernity but I could live with it.

This house has great potential but requires significant work. Its location in the Reserve is not great and the overall quality of homes in the neighborhood is subpar. The exterior is beautiful, but the pool and pool house need attention. Inside, the builder-grade fixtures, bathrooms, and kitchen would all need to be gutted. I believe it would sell quickly in the $3.5M-$4M range.

There’s also a “coming soon” listing in Spring Hill Farm, priced below this home. The build quality there is exceptional. Though the homes in Spring Hill Farm were built just a few years after those in the Reserve, they are crafted with far more attention to detail and quality.

Spring Hill Farm is a great neighborhood. Only 18 houses on 25 acres. George Sagatov was the builder and the houses are beautiful and built to last 100+ years. The HOA fee is 1/2 that of “THE Reserve”

This particular home in Spring Hill Farm is odd. The rest of the homes were built by Artisan Builders. Why was this one done by another builder?

Also, why no pictures of the inside of the home? It’s been on the MLS since November.

That Spring Hill Farm house has been bought and sold four times since it was built. Almost all of the other homes in Spring Hill Farm still have the OG owner.

How about this one?

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Mc-Lean/8533-Georgetown-Pike-22102/home/9262205

Both are so ugly! If I had a 4M budget, I would hope to find a property that is aesthetically pleasing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

House 1 is in a preferable location but has a shared driveway. Looks like a nice new ski location house. House 2 is only accessible offf Georgeown Pike. Looks like many upscale newish shops and malls. Neither is large lot.

Realtor is driving the relocating family to weird properties. Need to move so how about this place? It's new!
Note some one bought a house in the reserve for less $ - https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/7797-Solitude-Ct-22102/home/9830358

This house is 20 years old! And showing its age. The kitchen and the master bath are dated.

Buyers at this price point want turnkey.

The grounds are gorgeous and the bones are great, the flow is nice for open concept if that’s your thing. Even the beigyness of it/aging is graceful. It’s not a nasty looking shade. Doesn’t smack you in the face with grey and white modernity but I could live with it.

This house has great potential but requires significant work. Its location in the Reserve is not great and the overall quality of homes in the neighborhood is subpar. The exterior is beautiful, but the pool and pool house need attention. Inside, the builder-grade fixtures, bathrooms, and kitchen would all need to be gutted. I believe it would sell quickly in the $3.5M-$4M range.

There’s also a “coming soon” listing in Spring Hill Farm, priced below this home. The build quality there is exceptional. Though the homes in Spring Hill Farm were built just a few years after those in the Reserve, they are crafted with far more attention to detail and quality.

Spring Hill Farm is a great neighborhood. Only 18 houses on 25 acres. George Sagatov was the builder and the houses are beautiful and built to last 100+ years. The HOA fee is 1/2 that of “THE Reserve”

This particular home in Spring Hill Farm is odd. The rest of the homes were built by Artisan Builders. Why was this one done by another builder?

Also, why no pictures of the inside of the home? It’s been on the MLS since November.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

House 1 is in a preferable location but has a shared driveway. Looks like a nice new ski location house. House 2 is only accessible offf Georgeown Pike. Looks like many upscale newish shops and malls. Neither is large lot.

Realtor is driving the relocating family to weird properties. Need to move so how about this place? It's new!
Note some one bought a house in the reserve for less $ - https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/7797-Solitude-Ct-22102/home/9830358

This house is 20 years old! And showing its age. The kitchen and the master bath are dated.

Buyers at this price point want turnkey.

The grounds are gorgeous and the bones are great, the flow is nice for open concept if that’s your thing. Even the beigyness of it/aging is graceful. It’s not a nasty looking shade. Doesn’t smack you in the face with grey and white modernity but I could live with it.

This house has great potential but requires significant work. Its location in the Reserve is not great and the overall quality of homes in the neighborhood is subpar. The exterior is beautiful, but the pool and pool house need attention. Inside, the builder-grade fixtures, bathrooms, and kitchen would all need to be gutted. I believe it would sell quickly in the $3.5M-$4M range.

There’s also a “coming soon” listing in Spring Hill Farm, priced below this home. The build quality there is exceptional. Though the homes in Spring Hill Farm were built just a few years after those in the Reserve, they are crafted with far more attention to detail and quality.

Spring Hill Farm is a great neighborhood. Only 18 houses on 25 acres. George Sagatov was the builder and the houses are beautiful and built to last 100+ years. The HOA fee is 1/2 that of “THE Reserve”

Hideous

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the high-quality new builds sell well before they hit the MLS.

OP, have your family call a few of the reputable builders in McLean. Set up a meeting and see what lots/projects they have available. Or look at their websites. They have a very generous budget and deserve a beautiful home that will hold its value.

I would familiarize myself with the various parts of Mclean first if their goal is to limit themselves to Mclean. Mclean is huge and diff parts provide diff lifestyle. There isn't a universal preference when it comes to people with high budgets. Properties in OP's price range exist in different settings/locations as diff areas provide advantages/disadvantages. Schools are considered good all over Mclean, there are only 2 HS options and debate on their inferiority/superiority are endless and numerous under the school forums. If they need public schools and care about this, I suggest checking there and not here for specifics. Many people buying homes in this price range to not care about public schools, so it would be more about whether to choose a more car oriented area or bigger lots or a more central amenity rich area with some walkability and transit. Traffic is bad on major highways, some streets leading to HWs are congested and in some locations access to amenities are via these very few congested roads. People already said this here.

A lot of the high-quality new builds sell well before they hit the MLS.

OP, have your family call a few of the reputable builders in McLean. Set up a meeting and see what lots/projects they have available. Or look at their websites. They have a very generous budget and deserve a beautiful home that will hold its value.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

House 1 is in a preferable location but has a shared driveway. Looks like a nice new ski location house. House 2 is only accessible offf Georgeown Pike. Looks like many upscale newish shops and malls. Neither is large lot.

Realtor is driving the relocating family to weird properties. Need to move so how about this place? It's new!
Note some one bought a house in the reserve for less $ - https://www.redfin.com/VA/McLean/7797-Solitude-Ct-22102/home/9830358

This house is 20 years old! And showing its age. The kitchen and the master bath are dated.

Buyers at this price point want turnkey.

The grounds are gorgeous and the bones are great, the flow is nice for open concept if that’s your thing. Even the beigyness of it/aging is graceful. It’s not a nasty looking shade. Doesn’t smack you in the face with grey and white modernity but I could live with it.

This house has great potential but requires significant work. Its location in the Reserve is not great and the overall quality of homes in the neighborhood is subpar. The exterior is beautiful, but the pool and pool house need attention. Inside, the builder-grade fixtures, bathrooms, and kitchen would all need to be gutted. I believe it would sell quickly in the $3.5M-$4M range.

There’s also a “coming soon” listing in Spring Hill Farm, priced below this home. The build quality there is exceptional. Though the homes in Spring Hill Farm were built just a few years after those in the Reserve, they are crafted with far more attention to detail and quality.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both of these homes remind me of the famous “luxury” river front house that sat for years in McLean. 7022 Green Oak Drive was listed for $7 million in 2021.

It sold in March of this year for just over $3M.

How did this go so cheap??

The owners were very motivated to sell. And $3M was the top of what they could get.

The value for this house is in the lot and the current house will likely be torn down. The problem is that the house was exceptionally cheaply built in 2003. The kitchen has what I’m pretty sure are IKEA cabinets and the countertops are very thin.

I don’t know why banks are willing to give 30 year mortgages on a low-quality home that will need to be torn down in less than 25 years. I guess they figure the land will keep appreciating.

The few pictures that I could find honestly don't look that bad: https://patch.com/virginia/mclean/look-inside-599m-custom-built-waterfront-estate-mclean-0
5 acres along the river seems like a steal

See if you can find photos of the kitchen online somewhere. That’s what most of the house looks like.

Much of the 5 acres is not usable with the current zoning and logistically with the topography. There are significant restrictions on what can and cannot be built on the land since it’s part of a park easement. The prior owners got into significant legal trouble by cutting down a few trees without permission.

You have 5 acres or privacy, just because you cannot build a 30K sq.ft estate or subdivide and build 5 homes doesn't mean it's not worth the price. The price is privacy because nobody will build next to you, and beautiful views. It's where all these modern all glass homes should be build instead of tiny .5 acre lots staring into the windows of the neighbors. It's for people who want privacy and don't mind car dependent lifestyle. This isn't my cup of tea, but I do appreciate the beauty of this lot and I am sure that the house went for the price of the land. There was a tear down in a more central Mclean location that had 2 acres on a hilly lot and with lots of trees and that's sold for 2 mil back in 2020. So, yeah, I agree with the PP who says it's sold for the price of the land.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both of these homes remind me of the famous “luxury” river front house that sat for years in McLean. 7022 Green Oak Drive was listed for $7 million in 2021.

It sold in March of this year for just over $3M.

How did this go so cheap??

The owners were very motivated to sell. And $3M was the top of what they could get.

The value for this house is in the lot and the current house will likely be torn down. The problem is that the house was exceptionally cheaply built in 2003. The kitchen has what I’m pretty sure are IKEA cabinets and the countertops are very thin.

I don’t know why banks are willing to give 30 year mortgages on a low-quality home that will need to be torn down in less than 25 years. I guess they figure the land will keep appreciating.

It's not because of topography, hilly lots sell fast in more central areas and large homes get built there. Builders know how to handle retaining walls and build homes on downward slopes and on the hills. It's likely for other reasons, maybe it's a remote area and not as desirable and difficult to get to, or maybe it's due to airplane noise as they fly over the river. IDK. There are huge homes costing many millions along the river and they have similar topography.

The few pictures that I could find honestly don't look that bad: https://patch.com/virginia/mclean/look-inside-599m-custom-built-waterfront-estate-mclean-0
5 acres along the river seems like a steal

See if you can find photos of the kitchen online somewhere. That’s what most of the house looks like.

Much of the 5 acres is not usable with the current zoning and logistically with the topography. There are significant restrictions on what can and cannot be built on the land since it’s part of a park easement. The prior owners got into significant legal trouble by cutting down a few trees without permission.

Yeah that’s the whole point

Who cares, how much house do you need? The views make up for it, the scenery is what's worth millions itself. I am sure there would be no challenge to build a 10K sq.ft house there, they build them on similar steep downward sloping much smaller lots in hillier parts of NOVA. I personally like this house the best at least whatever part of interior they show, it has character and takes advantage of the views.

So, in your opinion, why did the house not sell for years? There were several hearty price drops. Why did it sit for months even after the price was dropped to $3.5M?

Looks like it was heavily marketed and it was featured in the Washington Post and other publications. The agent is known to be easy to work with.

I don't know why this specific house has a problem, could be all sorts of things. Maybe this location isn't super popular compared to others. But it's not just topography. Builders know how to build homes on steep slopes and hills, I see these homes all the time and they are large and on much smaller lots. There are homes on small hilly lots selling for over 3.5 mil but they are new homes. Likely this one is considered a fixer upper or a tear down, so this is a price of the land. Likely people with this budget are looking for a larger new home. Older mcMansions that need a major reno have a ceiling on how much people are willing to pay for an acre of buildable land and then plunk another 3+ mil or whatever a luxury new home will cost in addition.