Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

why do you need the cash?

OP here

I'm in one of those careers where you can make a lot of money and die at age 50 having never seen your kids or hop out at age 40, move to government, and make 5-10% of your prior salary as a GS-15. I'm opting for the latter

Umm if this is the case and you are making 10x the salary of a GS-15 ... then why are you even considering moving, you could easily find a lovely and enormous house in DC or McLean within budget?

If you are making $1.5M, work two more years, pay off your house and go gov.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand OP’s quest for Ashburn when he can cash in, move to a place like Falls Church and still have the lifestyle that he wants?

Lol Falls Church is nothing like Ashburn. I'm assuming OP want giant, brand new housing in a cookie cutter neighborhood. Our housing is either as expensive as McLean both in age and size.

Stay where you are. Your McLean property will continue to appreciate and you're in one of the top school pyramids. A larger/newer home with a miserable commute is a poor quality-of-life tradeoff.

If your finances allow, you could also consider upgrading to a nicer home in McLean or Great Falls, staying within the best areas for schools and preserving a reasonable commute.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your commute/driving tolerance? I commute in 2x a week from the western exurbs (Fauquier not Loudoun) and it’s about 1 hour 10 minutes door to door each way. I take the 66 express lanes all the way in, which yes is expensive but totally worth it. I do not mind my commute at all. Traffic on Mondays and Fridays is noticeably lighter, so those are the days I go in. I get in around 8 and leave around 4:30.

Same, from Fauquier. I don’t use the express lanes, go in periodically, and try to arrive around 9:45-10 and leave at 3pm or after dinner. If I need to be in earlier, I’ll stay in a hotel.

It’s not awful.

How are you coming in at 10 and leaving at 3? That's not a full work day?

+1 and spending 2.5 hours commuting to spend 5 hours in the office is pretty inefficient.

the whole rto is inefficient. Whats your point?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your commute/driving tolerance? I commute in 2x a week from the western exurbs (Fauquier not Loudoun) and it’s about 1 hour 10 minutes door to door each way. I take the 66 express lanes all the way in, which yes is expensive but totally worth it. I do not mind my commute at all. Traffic on Mondays and Fridays is noticeably lighter, so those are the days I go in. I get in around 8 and leave around 4:30.

Same, from Fauquier. I don’t use the express lanes, go in periodically, and try to arrive around 9:45-10 and leave at 3pm or after dinner. If I need to be in earlier, I’ll stay in a hotel.

It’s not awful.

How are you coming in at 10 and leaving at 3? That's not a full work day?

+1 and spending 2.5 hours commuting to spend 5 hours in the office is pretty inefficient.

Anonymous wrote:Virtually every federal agency is or soon will be mandating a minimum of 50% in-person work for local managers/supervisors based on guidance from the WH. And at most federal agencies, non-supervisory staff will be required to be in the office 2 days per week (instead of the 2 days per PP now) by spring ’24.

You might consider a nice TH in McLean (3000+ sq feet) for $1.5M or less that has some of the very best public schools in the state. Another option would be Chantilly. Chantilly has some very good public schools and you can get a very nice SFH (but not a new McMansion) for under $1.25M.

The only reason I can see to buy in Ashburn is to get a newer McMansion, but you’ll have a 2.5-3hr average commute (4+ hours when are accidents or construction), you won’t have quality time with your kids for several days each week, and your kids education would suffer (Ashburn schools are OK but definitely not among the best in the state based on test scores or top tier college admittance). If your family insists on a McMansion, I think a dose of reality is needed.

How do you know this? Has something been put out that specifically states this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

WAZE or google during the commute time and get your true answer. Do a week or two to get an average.
Why haven't you thought of this?

Why end with criticism rather than simply trying to be helpful?

In Waze you can find the travel time for different days and times by choosing “Leave later” rather than “Go now” at the bottom after you put in the address. Where it will then say “Today” toward the upper right, tap the drop down to select a different day of the week.

Google maps has that feature too. Waze has a tendency to get you stuck in some areas you really should not be in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what is your commute/driving tolerance? I commute in 2x a week from the western exurbs (Fauquier not Loudoun) and it’s about 1 hour 10 minutes door to door each way. I take the 66 express lanes all the way in, which yes is expensive but totally worth it. I do not mind my commute at all. Traffic on Mondays and Fridays is noticeably lighter, so those are the days I go in. I get in around 8 and leave around 4:30.

Same, from Fauquier. I don’t use the express lanes, go in periodically, and try to arrive around 9:45-10 and leave at 3pm or after dinner. If I need to be in earlier, I’ll stay in a hotel.

It’s not awful.

How are you coming in at 10 and leaving at 3? That's not a full work day?

OP, look at where the Loudoun Commuter Connections bus goes. I used to work near Capitol Hill and commute via metro from Falls Church. The Loudoun bus stopped right outside my office door, and those commuters got home in about the time I did (given I had to walk to/from metro and transfer lines). Plus they had nice cushy seats for the whole commute!

I don’t understand OP’s quest for Ashburn when he can cash in, move to a place like Falls Church and still have the lifestyle that he wants?

Ashburn is big. Where in Ashburn are you looking? That is critical regarding commute. For example, the Ashburn side of Willowsford is a great community that draws a lot of families like yours who are cashing in on equity, but it's also not very convenient to the metro or the commuter bus/transit center, and the rush hour traffic through Brambleton adds a lot of time. As others have mentioned, the tolls are cost prohibitive. It also matters where in DC you are commuting to.

We commuted for a few years from the Broadlands area to Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom. This was pre-kids through when our first was about a year old. We carpooled (HOV), left super early, and used the commuter bus. Nothing was perfect, but it wasn't horrible. I actually preferred the super early commute, but this would not be doable for us with kids. We had some terrible 2+ hour commute days but those were the exception. The bus was most consistent (posted times are accurate, but you have to factor in your drive time to the transit station). Ultimately, this would not be my choice for 3+ days a week, but you certainly will not be alone or weird in choosing it. We're in western loudoun now and do not go into the office more than once a month or so (different jobs now).

I do t get all these posters saying it's NBD. I live in Falls Church, 15 min from downtown with no traffic, 50+ minutes with traffic. There is no way Ashburn is a 60 minute commute. No way.

Anonymous wrote:Does it have to be Ashburn? There are lots of townhomes within walking distance of the Vienna Metro.

If I were you, I’d look at jobs in a LCOL area. For under $500,000, we’re in one of the best pyramids in the state. You might be able to pay cash. DH’s commute is 15 minutes each way. It’s seven minutes to one after-school activity and three minutes to another. I’d you’re willing to move to Ashburn, look farther afield. Albemarle, Henrico, Midlothian, and James City County all have at least one really good school pyramid. There are probably other counties.

Have you ever seen a map? WITW? You are recommending Charlottesville, Richmond, south Richmond, and WILLIAMSBURG as better alternatives to Ashburn?

That's the best laugh I have had in so long, thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be going into the office 3 days a week

3 kids

Looking to cash in on appreciation of our McLean home that we bought 6 years ago

Wife works from home

WAZE or google during the commute time and get your true answer. Do a week or two to get an average.
Why haven't you thought of this?

Why end with criticism rather than simply trying to be helpful?

In Waze you can find the travel time for different days and times by choosing “Leave later” rather than “Go now” at the bottom after you put in the address. Where it will then say “Today” toward the upper right, tap the drop down to select a different day of the week.

Anonymous wrote:I think Ashburn housing market is way overpriced. Don’t do it because you think you’ll get more bang for your buck. You can get the same type of single family home closer in for the same price.

My contacts tell me Ashburn still has about 10-15 yrs til peak maturity. Time to get in is now, especially in the neighborhoods that are 2-3 miles around the rumored ashburn town center near the metro. Looking at 30-40% instant appreciation if the town center development is true which we will find out in 2025.