http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/19/real...odes/index.htm

Zip Code/City/State/Default Notices/Auction Notices/Bank Repossessions/Total Foreclosure Filings

22193/Woodbridge/VA/125/121/94/340

22191/Woodbridge/VA/82/83/65/230

20110/Manassas/VA/71 /57/58/186

20164/Sterling/VA/71/49/49/169

 

Looks like the buzzards will be circling.

I'm one of em, but these places are waaaaaay too far from.... everything.

 

What are you talking about...you are near everything. We have the same things that Fairfax and loudoun county has. We have a outlet mall, lots of grocery stores including a Wegmans. Gas is a about 20-30 cent cheaper and of course you get more house for your money out here instead of paying in the 400's for a townhome/condo which I think is ridiculous IMHO

 

you're too far from dc. thats what people around here mean when they say its too far. too far from tysons area... too far from georgetown.

 

^But that is what the metro is for right?

 

thats not the point. but metro is def. a plus. is there a metro from woodbridge to dc? never taken so i dont know. but im sure i'd take over 2 hours to get there from woodbridge. also i know woodbridge has a high crime rate and i know several years ago had a bad gang problem.

 

woodbridge is ghetto IMHO same goes for springfield its kinda like manassas. Anytime you see a white guy who's harder than a black guy in SE, you know your in manassas/woodbridge. In addition, its too far from reston/tysons/DC and theres 2 much traffic getting into the city

 

The metro is in springfield which is close and me and the wife took it and it took about 1 hr on the weekend and we went to the spy musuem and walked around to see sites...so it wasnt that bad.

As for gangs, I havent seen any, but manassas is pretty bad

 

well springfield is better than woodbridge. but there's a lot of mexicans and low income families and gangs in springfield. but its better and closer than woodbridge def.

 

Everyone's got different priorities. If you're young and single I don't think you want to be living anywhere near Manassas or Woodbridge. It is a lot more suburbia (like Ashburn. Not much going on). Could we afford a house there? Probably but its out there and what fun is that? I'm not saying I'm that much better but I've driven into DC in 20 minutes. Not to mention if my career goes a different direction I wouldnt necessarily have to move because there's a million jobs around me.

 

On weekends, it's actually faster to just drive into DC and Georgetown than catch the metro in Springfield from Woodbridge. Probably 45 mins. Problem is parking depending on the activities that weekend. I admit everything seems pretty far but the cost of living is still high that younger people are forced to move further out if they actually want to own rather than rent property. There's also a trade off, would you rather have a 2-3 floor townhouse or 2 bedroom condo for the same price? If you're single, you'd probably enjoy living closer to everything and give up the space. Good or bad, I've noticed a lot of people mention that once the Fort Belvoir expansion is underway, Woodbridge would be a very close commute. This is good for home value 3-5 years away but traffic can only get worse. The area where I'm at now in Woodbridge seems pretty quite. It's mostly older communities with some new development popping up.

 

A sidebar, but does anyone else get sick of seeing 1/8 acre lots with McMansions built side by side and condo/townhome developments that looks like a human growing farm from The Matrix.

I've heard that some people are lobbying local governments to outlaw such zoning to improve the appearance of neighborhoods and prevent eyesores like that from affecting area home prices. I'm all for it, but it may jack up real-estate prices on those McMansions.

 

^I'm not a fan of those human farms either. Having spaced out condo complexes and lots of townhouses in a community is one thing but those double occupancy townhouses and 16' wide townhouses with mostly street parking would end up an eye sore. They're fine now since they're new and well kept but give it 10 years and they'll look run down rentals.

 

Yeah the Ft Belvoir expansion will be very nice and raise the property around springfield and woodbridge nicely, However it is not scheduled to be completed until Spring 2011 and we all know that is going to slip a year or two possibly.

As for eyesores, you will find those all over NOVA...thats is why IMHO, I think if you have the money to buy a SFH, then do it....yeah it means more house up keep, but the benefit is much greater in the long run

Most of the reasons why you see those communties that look run down is mostly because there is no HOA to enforce rules and keep the neighborhood looking nice

 

Buying in Ashburn can get you instant equity right now. try $100k We did...