Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills - it's a stretch though

Afraid not - anything under 400K will be a teardown. Modestly updated/expanded will be around 500K. It will be nice but by no means top of the line.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2046-Cherri-Dr-22043/home/9470593

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1819-Pimmit-Dr-22043/home/9396655

These are double or triple the size of the standard 884 sq. ft. home in Pimmit Hills. One of the regular sized ones can be bought for the low 400s on a less than perfect lot, but it can be done.

The problem with what you are suggesting is that no one in PH renovates a PH-original house of 884 sq.ft. to standards fit for human habitation. People understand that a house this size, no matter how fixed up, is simply not attractive to today's families. In fact, the only renovated and un-expanded PH house I saw in three years was a remake into a two-bedroom that was marketed as a condo alternative. Nothing since then. Most people who renovate houses in PH will add on, which takes it out of the 400K range.

No, they still sell around $400K for a completely remodeled 884 sq. footer in Pimmit Hills. Awesome schools too - Westgate or Lemon Road Elementary. Marshall High. But I know there's not tons of them left with all the tearing down going on around there.

$391K - http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2018-Griffith-Rd-22043/home/9471727

I'm sure they do, all I'm saying is that it's uncommon. That particular house is up a flight of very steep stairs. They tried to rent it out for some time, then remodeled and sold.

correct, that home would've sold for more on a different lot. Most of the original homes w/o additions are being torn down because it's very easy and makes a lot of economical sense. No other neighborhood has easy to tear down housing most have basements, cinderblocks etc... that start to add costs to the tear down.

Anonymous wrote:01:35, what school pyramid or are you going private? Schools are what give me pause in PGC.

1:35 here. And I missed the part where OP said that she was commuting to Arlington/Foggy Bottom amidst all the humble-bragging about buying a house without your parents' help.

What led us to PG County was that DH works there, and a commute from anywhere we could afford in Virginia would have been terrible. Of course, we could have bought in certain parts of Alexandria, but I began to realize that the schools there weren't even very good, so why was I looking at these old ugly houses? Then we started looking at the Bowie/Glenn Dale area. I realized that for 400k we could buy a house that would cost at least 800k on any other part of the beltway. So I did a calculation in my mind- what would that 400k difference mean? For our financial situation, it meant we would be paying taxes on a 400k house instead of a 800k house, have an easy commute for dh, be paying a mortgage on 400k instead of 800k, etc., and put our 1 dc in private school. It meant that I could stay home if I want to at any point. For health reasons it is unlikely that I will have another dc, so that was another factor to consider. The elementary school where we bought is a 6, last year was a 7, which is fairly impressive for the # of FARMS kids in the school. I also will apply for the lottery for the French and Montessori schools near the house. I also researched the crime in the area we bought, mostly petty, theft, and theft from vehicle. We went to the neighborhood at all hours of the day. I knocked on a bunch of neighbors' doors and introduced myself and chatted with them. DH asked people he worked with about living in that part of the county. I asked questions on city-data. It took a long time, and it was sort of an absurd amount of research that I didn't feel I needed to do when looking in VA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills - it's a stretch though

Afraid not - anything under 400K will be a teardown. Modestly updated/expanded will be around 500K. It will be nice but by no means top of the line.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2046-Cherri-Dr-22043/home/9470593

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1819-Pimmit-Dr-22043/home/9396655

These are double or triple the size of the standard 884 sq. ft. home in Pimmit Hills. One of the regular sized ones can be bought for the low 400s on a less than perfect lot, but it can be done.

The problem with what you are suggesting is that no one in PH renovates a PH-original house of 884 sq.ft. to standards fit for human habitation. People understand that a house this size, no matter how fixed up, is simply not attractive to today's families. In fact, the only renovated and un-expanded PH house I saw in three years was a remake into a two-bedroom that was marketed as a condo alternative. Nothing since then. Most people who renovate houses in PH will add on, which takes it out of the 400K range.

No, they still sell around $400K for a completely remodeled 884 sq. footer in Pimmit Hills. Awesome schools too - Westgate or Lemon Road Elementary. Marshall High. But I know there's not tons of them left with all the tearing down going on around there.

$391K - http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2018-Griffith-Rd-22043/home/9471727

I'm sure they do, all I'm saying is that it's uncommon. That particular house is up a flight of very steep stairs. They tried to rent it out for some time, then remodeled and sold.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills - it's a stretch though

Afraid not - anything under 400K will be a teardown. Modestly updated/expanded will be around 500K. It will be nice but by no means top of the line.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2046-Cherri-Dr-22043/home/9470593

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1819-Pimmit-Dr-22043/home/9396655

These are double or triple the size of the standard 884 sq. ft. home in Pimmit Hills. One of the regular sized ones can be bought for the low 400s on a less than perfect lot, but it can be done.

The problem with what you are suggesting is that no one in PH renovates a PH-original house of 884 sq.ft. to standards fit for human habitation. People understand that a house this size, no matter how fixed up, is simply not attractive to today's families. In fact, the only renovated and un-expanded PH house I saw in three years was a remake into a two-bedroom that was marketed as a condo alternative. Nothing since then. Most people who renovate houses in PH will add on, which takes it out of the 400K range.

No, they still sell around $400K for a completely remodeled 884 sq. footer in Pimmit Hills. Awesome schools too - Westgate or Lemon Road Elementary. Marshall High. But I know there's not tons of them left with all the tearing down going on around there.

$391K - http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2018-Griffith-Rd-22043/home/9471727

the elementary school is a 6 - no, it isn't a 10, but it isn't a 1, either. My friend sends her gifted caucasian child there and likes it.

And it appears the neighborhood is fairly safe - the crimes look like they are taking place in one place (is that the park or a commuter lot?), and it isn't like it is happening every day.

I'm sure the crime map for my neighborhood would look scary as we have had some non violent home break ins (turned out to be some teens) and the shopping center up the road has seen some theft. Heck, the butt slasher dude started at a store there. But, seriously, a couple crimes does not mean the place is the ghetto.

Anonymous wrote:I change my mind - this one is in good shape and $100K cheaper. Buy this one in Cheverly:

http://franklymls.com/PG7985875

check out the crime map and the poor school ratings

http://www.trulia.com/property/1080627593-2815-Laurel-Ave-Cheverly-MD-20785

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the poster who said fox mill, Franklin farm in Reston/Herndon. Anything that feeds to Crossfield, Floris or Fox Mill elementary schools.

I think oak hill is good, too - the area behind the franklin farm shopping center was what I had in mind when I was recommending it. And some of franklin farm area tracks to Navy ES - also good.

I was the one who suggested these neighborhoods, and we found crossfield and floris were basically out of our price range. We did put in a bid on a short sale in the floris area (were outbid by $50K in a bidding war with at least 4 other contracts), but that is the ONLY way you are going to get anything in floris district on that budget. I've seen a few houses in crossfield under $450K, but they are very few and far between.

Agree with the poster who said fox mill, Franklin farm in Reston/Herndon. Anything that feeds to Crossfield, Floris or Fox Mill elementary schools.

I change my mind - this one is in good shape and $100K cheaper. Buy this one in Cheverly:

http://franklymls.com/PG7985875

OK, I know people are going to point out all the bad things about this house, but I honestly think it has potential in your price range:

http://franklymls.com/PG7957203

I believe this is on the same street that my friend who is always talking about how much she loves Cheverly and her neighborhood lives on. Yes, it needs lots of work, but it has good bones and the changes can be done over time. You also likely can bid them down, as it has been on the market for a while.

It isn't shiny and new, but it is a decent sized house with a yard in a nice neighborhood close to public transportation and lots of local amenities.

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I would never buy anywhere in the hope that the high school would improve. Improvements in bad school systems take years.

since it is 13 years away, they can also buy into a neighborhood with a good elementary school at a much lower cost, save some money and send their kid private if need be in High School. People do this all the time, even in districts with really good high schools by most metrics.

I went to a parochial HS due to the lack of advanced academic options in our local HS. My family is not religious at all. These things happen all the time for any number of reasons.

Yes, these things take time, but my feeling is that PG is seeing a lot of middle income families moving into places like Hyattsville and Cheverly and College Park areas - families who cannot afford the housing prices elsewhere but need to be close to the city. These families are changing the area demographics and it will change the local schools in a positive manner.

It is a bit of a gamble, of course, but as long as they go in knowing this and keeping all options open, I think it can be a solid decision. You may not agree personally, and that is your right. But, honestly, people make their housing purchase decisions based on so many factors. If a sfh with a yard in a certain price range just is not attainable within a reasonable commute in the very best school district, you look elsewhere. Not everyone can afford Langley in FCPS or whatever the equivalent is elsewhere - we certainly couldn't. But we just weren't willing to live in a TH anymore, so we tried to find the best combination of all factors (price, commutes, walkability/amenities, schools) we could.

And let's be honest - how many people stay in their first house for more than 10 years? We bought a year and a half ago and my husband is already thinking about the "next house." Situations change. You obviously shouldn't buy thinking "we'll move anyway" (we all know where that mentality got us..), but there is a high probability that they will due to any number of life circumstances.

It might be more comfortable to live in a spacious TH than an older tiny SFH. I agree would not be expecting schools to get better. Most people in our area traded their TH for SFH after a few years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills - it's a stretch though

Afraid not - anything under 400K will be a teardown. Modestly updated/expanded will be around 500K. It will be nice but by no means top of the line.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2046-Cherri-Dr-22043/home/9470593

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1819-Pimmit-Dr-22043/home/9396655

These are double or triple the size of the standard 884 sq. ft. home in Pimmit Hills. One of the regular sized ones can be bought for the low 400s on a less than perfect lot, but it can be done.

The problem with what you are suggesting is that no one in PH renovates a PH-original house of 884 sq.ft. to standards fit for human habitation. People understand that a house this size, no matter how fixed up, is simply not attractive to today's families. In fact, the only renovated and un-expanded PH house I saw in three years was a remake into a two-bedroom that was marketed as a condo alternative. Nothing since then. Most people who renovate houses in PH will add on, which takes it out of the 400K range.

Added to say that commute to FB and Arlington from PH is awesome. I live there and work in FB - if I can take Rt 66, I'm at my desk in half an hour door-to-door, which I think is excellent for commuting from the burbs. Silver Line metro will add to the options. We are very happy we bought here, despite the visual imperfections of the neighborhood.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to say to OP that you're doing well to have 400k to spend on a house. there are MANY people in this country, even area, that will never have that much.

We'll be house shopping next year and will "Only" have 400-450 to spend, and I feel like that's a big accomplishment that gets minimized in this area of small homes costing half a million

OP here. You're absolutely right. I feel like I'm doing very well professionally and financially. It's quite discouraging to see how limited I am in real estate, though. How do people get so much money, especially in a city with so many feds? I assume trust funds.

You assume wrong. And that was not a nice comment either. I do not know one single person with a trust fund. Many manage it on their own.

I don't have a single friend in this area who has bought above the $500k range without help from parents.

I did. You know how? I started with that $400,000 house and traded up when I got equity and more savings. This is how it's always been done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pimmit Hills - it's a stretch though

Afraid not - anything under 400K will be a teardown. Modestly updated/expanded will be around 500K. It will be nice but by no means top of the line.

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/2046-Cherri-Dr-22043/home/9470593

http://www.redfin.com/VA/Falls-Church/1819-Pimmit-Dr-22043/home/9396655

These are double or triple the size of the standard 884 sq. ft. home in Pimmit Hills. One of the regular sized ones can be bought for the low 400s on a less than perfect lot, but it can be done.

The problem with what you are suggesting is that no one in PH renovates a PH-original house of 884 sq.ft. to standards fit for human habitation. People understand that a house this size, no matter how fixed up, is simply not attractive to today's families. In fact, the only renovated and un-expanded PH house I saw in three years was a remake into a two-bedroom that was marketed as a condo alternative. Nothing since then. Most people who renovate houses in PH will add on, which takes it out of the 400K range.