Archive for January, 2008
Move to Fairfax County, right outside of the Nations Capital and you will find yourself right in the middle of it all. With our rich history dating back to the 1600’s, our top notch school system, world-class shopping and access to the monuments and museums in DC you can always find something to do.
With Fairfax County’s recognition in 2007 as one of the nation’s top digital communities, recent ranking in the top 5 school systems in the US and Forbes naming the county #1 nation in median income it is no wonder that the residents are proud to call the area home.
With all of the history you can find throughout the county you can spend plenty of weekends exploring historic mansions, churches and towns. If the great outdoors is more your speed then you need over a year to hit every one of the 380 parks on 20,000 acres operated by the Fairfax County Park Authority.
World class entertainment hits Fairfax County every summer at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts the only performing arts park operated by the National Park Service. With its great lawn a picnic and a concert are a fantastic way to spend an evening. George Mason University Center for the Performing Arts and Little Theater of Alexandria are among just a few of the other local county venues. It goes without saying that just across the “border” in DC you will find the Kennedy Center and other theaters featuring touring productions of Broadway plays.
Neighborhoods and housing choices in Fairfax County are varied. You can find just about anything you are looking for. Whether it is a newer planned community, historic communites or a mid-century modern neighborhoods it is all available. With pubic transportation such as the Metro, VRE, our unique “slug” lines or the beltway, almost any location you choose will give you a variety of ways to get to where you are going.
So if a move to Fairfax County is in your future give me a call. As a native of the area I’ll be glad to show you around and help you find the best new home for your needs.
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Military Relocation-Aquia Harbour In Stafford County VA
January 26th, 2008 Categories: Military Relocation
Within minutes to the gates of Quantico in Stafford County VA is the gated community of Aquia Harbour. Built in the early 1970’s the neighborhood original attracted weekend boaters and those wanting a retreat from the city. Then with the widening of the major highways, the addition of the VRE as a commuting option and the growth of Northern Virginia, Aquia Harbour became a full time community.
With 2000 acres, including 400 acres of protected wetland, you have a hard time realizing that you are only 45 miles south of DC and 15 miles north of Historic Fredericksburg. The Aquia Harbour neighborhood is different from many others in the area due to the fact that the homes do not fall in the standard tract home category. With a variety of builders and styles each of the areas in the community are unique and for residents who have been there since the beginning, tell a long history about each builder who came and went.
If you are a boater then the Marina and Yacht Club are the first place you want to check out. There is a 150-slip Marina with dredged waterways offering 5 feet of depth leading to the Potomac River. Want to play golf? There is a nine whole course with alternate tees to create a “back nine” for you to play. There are two community swimming pools, nine park areas with a variety of activities and if that wasn’t enough there is a 20 stall stable with indoor and outdoor riding arenas.
Homes in Aquia Harbor range in size and price depending on location and age of the property. With over 2300 homes finding what you want shouldn’t be a problem. As of January 2008 there are 73 active listings ranging in price from $241,500 to $749,000. There are currently three properties listed as foreclosures within the community.
So if you are looking for an affordable neighborhood in Stafford County with loads of commuting options to Quantico, Pentagon, or Fort Belvoir, consider Aquia Harbour. If your orders bring you to Northern Virginia this year give me a call. I’ve been through the best and worst of military moves and know how stressful it can be.
If buying is not in your plans. Don’t worry I am happy to help youfind a place to rent in any of this or other Northern Virginia neighborhoods as well.
Read more about Military Relocation to Northern Virginia.
If you have orders to any of the local area bases give me a call. I’ve been through the best and worst of military moves and look forward to helping you with your relocation.
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As you drive around many older neighborhoods in Fairfax County Virginia you see street after street where both the booming real estate market and potential oversight by the local zoning authorities have created neighborhood nightmares. Whether it is the McMansions sitting next to the original single family homes or where zoning violations are evident the question becomes can these neighborhoods be saved?
Having grown up in the area and watched some of these Fairfax County neighborhoods go from quiet “country” hamlets to full blown subdivisions it is sad to see the transformation. Yesterday I was driving through one area to check in on some original neighbors and began to wonder what it would take to put things right again.
Now don’t get me wrong I’m not against progress and most of these older homes are obsolete by today’s building standards. However when there are no community standards for expansion then you end up with neighborhoods that have little appeal to anyone. The larger McMansions were not truly built to be large single family homes and the smaller homes now surrounded by them bring little interest from younger buyers who might have considering purchasing them with plans to update or undertake a reasonable rennovation.
Unfortunately, it seems that the only thing that can be done is for a smart developer to come in and rebuild the entire community. Does that sound like a radical choice? If you had asked me that question a few years ago I would have thought NO. Now as I look around at the number of homes in foreclosure, the original homes that can’t be sold and the look of neglect that is creeping into the streets of these neighborhoods it could be that the answer is very different.
Many of these neighborhoods are close to public transportation, county parks and plans for revitalization of the shopping areas are already approved. With raw land close in being harder to come by it makes me curious as to how long it will take for a smart developer to figure out how ripe these neighborhoods are for the picking and start quietly buying up the foreclosures and getting their plans in order to rebuild when the market rebounds.
So I’ll be standing by, checking the tax records and county planning maps to see if there are others who are thinking the same way I am. In the meantime it is a sobering view of what happens when no one is minding the store! Neighborhoods with no identity!
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As with so many military bases in Northern Virginia the need to improve older base housing often means tearing down outdated housing to make way for homes that meet the needs of today’s families. At Quantico that meant getting rid of the largest collection of pre-fab Lustron homes found in the US.
Unlike a stainless steel refrigerator, owners and residents of Lustron homes could hang their children’s art work with magnets. In fact you could use magnets all over the house because the homes were entirely pre-fabricated out of porcelain enameled steel. The other unique feature of these homes was their exterior colors. Unlike typical military housing which is fairly bland (loads of brick) Lustron homes came in maize yellow, dove gray, surf blue, desert tan, flamingo pink, sea blue–green.
Over the years families who lived in the Lustron homes either loved them or hated them. They were originally thought to be the answer to the post war housing booming by creating pre-fab houses that could easily be built on a poured slab foundation. Built-ins were a big component of the houses with built-ins found in the living room, dining room and bedrooms. All of the houses had sliding pocket doors to save the room that swinging doors needs. Since the houses could be assembled in just a few months the military with a need to beef up base housing as quickly as possible after WWII purchased 58 of the Lustron homes at Quantico MCB.
In the early 1990’s while running education programs for the military I spent one day a week on Quantico. A couple of the Marines I worked with invited me over to take a look at their unusual Lustron homes. They were small but as a fan of mid-century modern and unique homes they were an interesting example of how an idea to use left over materials from WWII might have changed our entire housing industry. Unfortunately the idea failed and instead of 25,000 Lustron homes rolling off the assembly line the plant only turned out 1500 before it closed down.
Fortunately when the decision was made to build new housing at Quantico the developer realized that the Lustron homes should not just be razed to make way for the new houses. In mid-2006 applications were taken from interested parties who might want to dismantle one or more of the homes and relocate them to another site. A few of the homes were dismantled to be used for Katrina housing and at least two of the homes will remain on Quantico as part of the National Historic Register.
So with the change in housing needs of the military a little piece of history leaves Quantico but at least many of the homes will find new lives to house another generation of young families.
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Military Relocation-Inside the Gates of Fort Belvoir
January 17th, 2008 Categories: Focus on Fairfax County, Military Relocation
Yesterday was the day that most military members dread, waiting at the ID office to get your updated cards for your new post and new tags for your car. Fortunately for me they Fort Belvoir ID office takes appointments and my wait to update all my information only took an hour so I didn’t have to waste the entire day. It gave me a chance to look around and see what was new on post.
One of the things that strikes most people with PCS orders to Fort Belvoir is how big the base actually is. With 8,600 acres Fort Belvoir is one of the largest installations in the Military District of Washington and houses multiple commands including other branches of the US Armed Forces. The largest and best known commands on post include the Department of Defense agencies such as the Defense Systems Management College and the Defense Mapping School.
When you drive through Tulley Gate (where you will need to register your car) one of the first things you see are the signs for the Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge which has well marked trails and plenty of wildlife for the whole family to enjoy. If you aren’t in to walking outdoors the two fitness centers or two 18 hole golf courses might be more what you are looking for.
Over the last few years base housing at Fort Belvoir has been going through a significant upgrade. Newer neighborhoods have been built to replace some of the smaller outdated homes and historic neighborhoods refurbished. In fact if you didn’t know you were on post when you see the first of the new neighborhoods you would think you were in Cameron or Lorton Station just a few miles away. With small shops set around the different neighborhoods you can grab a Starbucks or a sit at an outdoor café for a bite to eat.
The historic neighborhoods built in the 1930’s feature Colonial Revival homes with slate roofs, dormer windows and tall brick chimneys. And just like the Lustron homes that graced Quantico, Fort Belvoir also had a prototype home built as well. In 1948 in conjunction with Higgins Industries a “Thermo-Con” cement home was built on base. Though only one house was built it was considered important enough historically to be placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and is used to today for guest housing.
The next big change coming to Fort Belvoir will be the new state of the art hospital to replace DeWitt Hospital. When the announcement was made in 2005 that Walter Reed Army Medical Center would be closing it was obvious that the current facilities (where my daughter was born) would not support the almost 85,000 military and civilian patients that the area has. The new hospital will have 1.2 million square feet of space and have the facilities to support all of the new technologies needed for a leading medical facility. The new hospital will open in 2010.
So that is a quick tour inside the gates of Fort Belvoir. There is a lot to see and do when you get here both in and outside the gates. If you have orders to head to Fort Belvoir this year give me a call. I’ll be glad to help you with all of your questions about the area and show you around.
© Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Cindy Jones.
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Outside the Gates of Fort Belvoir-Homes of the Rich and Famous
January 12th, 2008 Categories: Military Relocation
Just a few miles outside the gates of Fort Belvoir visitors and residents of Fairfax County can find some of Virginia’s finest historic homes and our nation’s national treasures. For their time these homes were the envy of the neighborhood and the owners most certainly among the richest families in Fairfax County.
Sitting on the best piece of property that any colonist could have imagined is Mount Vernon the home of George Washington. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to picture the prominent colonist in the 1770’s sitting on the back porch watching the large mast ships headed into the docks in Alexandria. With the distinguished white frame home, stone fences and outbuildings wandering through the grounds is a great way to get a feel for how life might have been 300 years ago.
If you happen to be in the area between on a weekend between January 12 and February 10th you can get a peek in the basement of Mount Vernon to see the cornerstone of the property. This is a special event coinciding with the movie National Treasure II which suggests that the cornerstone actually opens to a secret passageway under Mount Vernon. Sorry but that is just a bit of Hollywood magic.
Just a short hop down the road you will enter the gates to Woodlawn Plantation. Looking at this stately brick home built between 1800-1805 you have to be amazed by the construction and architecture that created a home that has stood for 200 years. Built for George Washington’s grand-daughter Nelly Custis-Lewis on a 2,000 acre site the property the home is a beautiful example of the Federal style popular with mansions at the time. Designed by the same architect, William Thornton, who created the US Capitol the home was furnished with many of the original pieces from Mount Vernon. Situated at the top of a hill known as Gray’s Hill the back porch of the home has a view of the Potomac River and was the first property owned by the National Historic Trust formed in 1951.
The last stop on this tour of Fairfax County’s rich and famous colonists is Gunston Hall home of George Mason. Built between 1755-1760 and designed by one of the indentured servants, William Buckland, the home was one of the first with elaborate woodworking details that were not typical of the colonial style. Originally situated on 5,500 acres the home had a number of unique architectural elements that were not typical for the time period. The most notable was that the upper and lower floors were not an exact duplicate of each other. There are still archeological digs on the grounds of the property trying to determine some of the placement of the original landscaping and outbuildings. Gunston Hall maintains a flock of rare Hog Island Sheep and Devon Steer.
So if you have PCS orders to Fort Belvoir this spring and are planning house hunting you might want to check out these famous Fairfax County homes while you are in town. They aren’t for sale but I would be glad to help you find one that is.
© Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved
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As someone who has moved all around the world with the military the first few days after the PCS orders arrive the questions about housing, schools and shopping can lead to sleepless nights and the big question “where are we going to live?”
If the orders in your hand mean you are heading to the Pentagon then let me welcome you to the neighborhood! Most military personal headed to the base often choose to live in Northern Virginia close to public transportation and the famous “slug” lines. Whether you are going to buy or rent there are plenty of neighborhood options for you to choose from. The first thing you need to do is check the 2008 BAH rates for the Pentagon. Pentagon rates fall in the Washington District (DC053) and you can use zip code 22152 as an example.
If you are thinking of buying a home, the current Northern Virginia market provides you the chance to find a good value on a home closer to the the Pentagon in Alexandria and Fairfax County. Many military personal are dusting off their VA Certificate of Eligibility and checking with local lenders about the options available to use their VA loans. If buying is the plans make sure you have talked to a lender prior to making your house hunting trip. Knowing what monthly payment you are comfortable with is important for looking at homes in neighborhoods that meet your price criteria.
Once you have determined your price range you have the option to start your search on-line to get an idea of the type of homes that are within your price range. There are a number of neighborhoods in Northern Virginia that have always been popular with military families stationed at the Pentagon including Kingstowne, Lorton and Fairlington. If you have school age children starting with information on local schools through the Fairfax County or Alexandria City sites or the Great Schools website will also assist you in determining the right neighborhood for your family.
Military FlagThe best way to get to know the area is to call on a Realtor® who not only has been through the stress of numerous military moves but is a native of the area. I’ve lived through the best and worst military moves and know how to help your family learn about Northern Virginia and find a neighborhood that you will want to call home while stationed at the Pentagon.
My military relocation network is at your fingertips through my on-line resources, on the phone and in person. Don’t lose sleep over your orders. I’m here to help you with a smooth transition!
Related Posts:
Tour of Northern Virginia Neighborhoods
Should I Buy a Northern Virginia Home in 2008
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Fairfax County Foreclosures-Looking High and Low
January 8th, 2008 Categories: Auctions & Foreclosures
It doesn’t matter what price range you are searching if you are looking for a foreclosure in Fairfax County you can find it. There are properties on the high end of the market and there are properties on the low end of the market.
If you are looking for a high end home and money is no object then perhaps one of the million plus properties might be your ticket.
Better yet if you are an investor looking for a property to use as rental property then perhaps you want to look on the lower end of the dollar scale.
However no matter what price range you are looking for the requirements for purchasing a foreclosure property are going to be the same. The third party mortgage holders expect a buyer to submit a letter from a reputable lender stating they are qualified to buy the home. Some properties, for example those listed by Countrywide Mortgage, require that you are qualified according to their specific guidelines and by one of there mortgage consultants.
This is a critical step in submitting an offer for a property in foreclosure and one that you should undertake before you even begin to look at properties. Just as with buying any property knowing how much you can afford not only to buy but how that purchase may impact your lifestyle are important. When you are looking at foreclosure properties you also need to consider your finances for repairs. You may find a new property in pristine condition or you may find a property that will require considerable “sweat equity” to bring it up to livable condition.
So as you weigh your options and research whether a foreclosure property may be right for you, make sure you have talked to a lender so you understand and are comfortable with your financial situation. If you need assistance in connecting with a lender let me know and I will be glad to pass on some names for you to contact.
For more information on Northern Virginia Foreclosures
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Marine Barracks DC-The Oldest Post of the Marine Corps
January 6th, 2008 Categories: Military Relocation
In 1801 President Thomas Jefferson rode through Washington DC scouting for a location to house the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Ever since that day the Marine Barracks DC has stood in a prime location and protected the city during the War of 1812. Though not as well known to those outside of the military as Quantico Marine Base located 30 miles south of DC the Marines stationed at the barracks are an integral part of the security and ceremonies that happen in the Nations Capital every day.
If you have ever watched the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, seen the silent rifle team or listened to the Marine Corp Band playing Hail to the Chief then you have seen some of the Marines stationed at the Barracks. Every Friday evening at sunset during the summer in DC the Marines from the Barracks put on a parade with all of the pomp and circumstance that you would expect and more. Thousands of people sitting on the lawn in absolute silence watching and listening and it would be hard to find a dry eye in the crowd by the end of the evening.
The Home of the Commandant’s located on base has been home to all but two of the Marine Corp Commandants since it was built in 1806. The house was not destroyed by the British when they attached DC in 1814 and it thought to be the longest continuously occupied building in DC. The home has grown from a small four room home to a 15,000 square foot Federalist style home with over thirty rooms.
The Marine Corps Barracks DC is listed as a National Historic Landmark and though it is not open to the public tours area available at 10 am on Wednesday or you can make private arrangements through the Public Affairs Office at (202) 433-4173. If you are making a trip to DC in the near future make sure you put this little know part of Marine Corps history on your itinerary.
If you are a Marine with PCS orders to the Marine Corps Barracks, Military District of Washington, Pentagon or Quantico give me a call. I’ve lived through the best and worst military moves and know how to help your family learn about the area and find a neighborhood that you will want to call home while stationed in the area.
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As someone who has moved all around the world with the military the first few days after the PCS orders arrive the questions about housing, schools and shopping can lead to sleepless nights and the big question “where are we going to live?”
If the orders in your hand mean you are heading to Fort Belvoir then let me welcome you to the neighborhood! Most military personal headed to the base often choose to live in either Fairfax or Prince William County and whether you are going to buy or rent there are plenty of neighborhood options for you to choose from. The first thing you need to do is check the 2008 BAH rates for Fort Belvoir. Fort Belvoir rates fall in the Washington District (DC053) under zip code 22206.
If you are thinking of buying a home, the current Northern Virginia market provides you the chance to find a good value on a home closer to the main gates of Fort Belvoir. Many military personal are dusting off their VA Certificate of Eligibility (remember that green certificate) and checking with local lenders about the options available to use their VA loans. If buying is the plans make sure you have talked to a lender prior to making your house hunting trip. Knowing what monthly payment you are comfortable with is important for looking at homes in neighborhoods that meet your price criteria.
Once you have determined your price range you have the option to start your search on-line to get an idea of the type of homes that are within your price range. There are a number of neighborhoods in Northern Virginia that have always been popular with military families stationed at Fort Belvoir including Kingstowne, Lorton and Westridge. If you have school age children starting with information on local schools through the Fairfax County or Prince William County sites or the Great Schools website will also assist you in determining the right neighborhood for your family.
The best way to get to know the area is to call on a Realtor® who not only has been through the stress of numerous military moves but is a native of the area. I’ve lived through the best and worst military moves and know how to help your family learn about Northern Virginia and find a neighborhood that you will want to call home while stationed at Fort Belvoir. My military relocation network is at your fingertips through my on-line resources, on the phone and in person. Don’t lose sleep over your orders. I’m here to help you with a smooth transition!
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