I live in 20906 and while our neighborhood (and some others I saw while househunting) is pretty nice, there's definitely some more iffy areas in the zipcode. Schools are an issue, especially middle school and high school, but we have an infant so it'll be awhile before we have to worry about that too much.

OP here. Thanks for the suggestions and advice.

Careful with 20906. I grew up there and bought my first starter home there, but the schools aren't great, there are a bunch of houses that are rentals, and crime is an issue. Read the crime reports, drive around the neighborhoods during the day and night. Check out the shopping centers, etc. Yes, you can find affordably priced large homes there --- but then you should ask yourself why that is. Also: in many of the neighborhoods built in the late 60s/70s there are plumbing issues. Google pinhole leaks and you will see what I am talking about.

Layhill/Norbeck

nice 'hoods there

Anonymous wrote:We bought in this neighborhood and we like it...

http://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/5-Hutchinson-Ct-20906/home/11129942

http://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/13211-Osterport-Dr-20906/home/11129566

We bought in this neighborhood and we like it...

http://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/5-Hutchinson-Ct-20906/home/11129942

http://www.redfin.com/MD/Silver-Spring/13211-Osterport-Dr-20906/home/11129566

You'll definitely need to go farther out to get that much house for your money. We live in Sligo Park Hills too and didn't find anything in the $500s with four bedrooms, basement and land and with "character" like OP seems to want. Depends on your priorities. You couldn't pay me to live where I'd be car dependent, so we stayed smaller house but closer in. And it sounds like $650k is an absolute eating ramen for a year top for OP, so realistically high $500s might be better which will definitely put them outside the beltway if they can't compromise on their specs.