Archive for the 'Reston Real Estate' Category

Plain Jane or Surprise Inside?

In Reston we have a number of apartments that were built in the 1970’s that converted to condominiums in the late 1980’s. Vantage Hill, Parkcrest Circle, and Ivy Oak are just a few of them.

Ivy Oak Condominiums

As a Realtor, I always find them interesting. They are mostly tan brick with the ever present Reston Brown trim. They tend to be a little on the boxy side, a little on the plain side; but most of them are set on large beautiful land parcels. Some are set in the woods, others have open park like areas but they all have way more of open space than your typical condominium community.

Vantage Hill sits on 15 beautifully wooded acres that have been designated a Backyard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. That’s 15 acres for 152 units or, more than 4000 square feet per unit. I don’t know where else you’d find anything approaching that amount of open space in a more recently built condominium.
The other surprise is on the inside. By today’s standards these units are large. Ivy Oak units range from 1760 – 1875 square feet. Ivy Oak is also unique because they are townhouse style condominiums; they are on 2 levels so no one is living above you. The floor plan on the main level is very open and many have wood burning fireplaces.

When you look at the money for the space and then add the physical setting of these communities, they stack up pretty well against their more contemporary counterparts.

We all know the old adage of not judging a book by its cover- the same is true for property. You do yourself a disservice when you refuse to view a property based solely on your response to the outside. Take a look, and then decide.

Prices on these units range from around $140,000 for a one bedroom in Vantage Hill  to about $325,000 for a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath in Ivy Oak.

Vantage Hill, Parkcrest, and Ivy Oak owners, tell us what you love about your neighborhood.

When your cluster board won’t keep things up…

Living in a townhouse means that you live in very, very close proximity to your neighbors. It also means that what your neighbors do or don’t do will have an impact on you and on your home’s value.

Spalling Concrete Sidewalk

I recently showed a great townhouse in the Lake Anne area. The place itself was in fairly good shape—it needed some updates but generally it wasn’t too bad. What stopped the buyer wasn’t that the home needed a new kitchen it was that the areas of the property that are owned in common, the parking lots, sidewalks, retaining walls, large trees and even light poles all needed attention, everything looked under cared for and a little worn.

I started looking more closely; the buyer was right. The asphalt in the parking area was in kind of shabby condition at best, the sidewalks needed power washing, the light poles were peeling, the trees needed trimming and a few significant retaining walls were in bad shape.

The buyer asked me to get information about how the Cluster Board was going to address these issues. The listing agent relayed there was no active plan in place to address any of the issues my buyer identified. End result; the buyer just couldn’t get comfortable with the lack of action on obvious maintenance issues and so decided to keep looking.

Neglecting your property has consequences. Next to location, condition is the next single biggest factor in determining if your property will fetch a price at the top of your market range or at the bottom of your market range. When you live in a townhouse this means that it’s not only the condition of your home that counts; it’s the condition of all of the property you own in common with your neighbors.

So, what do you do when the “powers that be” don’t or won’t take action to address maintenance issues?

Missing mortar in brick

I think the first thing to do is to read and understand your Cluster Bylaws and to know your Cluster financials. Most Cluster Bylaws state specifically that the Board is directly responsible for maintaining the commonly owned parts of the property in a way that keeps it safe and that maintains and enhances the property values. It’s important to know your Cluster financials because if the Board has been under reserving, (not saving enough for repairs, replacement and maintenance), the problem is bigger than just inactivity.

The next thing to do is to get involved. Cluster Boards are notoriously over committed. Volunteer to get bids for work that needs doing, organize a Cluster clean up day, and be willing to participate on committees. Do not just be a person that complains.

And if that doesn’t work…

It’s time for a Coup. Organize your like minded neighbors, identify candidates and get them elected to the Board. In most communities this isn’t too difficult to do. I think that 99% of what doesn’t get done is really a function of inertia and a lack of leadership.

You can have a huge positive impact on your community and your property values if you are willing to take on the responsibility and the time it takes to get projects done.

What you will find once you’ve taken over the reins of power is that it’s easy to understand where the inertia comes from. One day you’ll find yourself looking at bids from asphalt contractors and you’ll realize, “hmmm…I don’t actually have any experience with replacing a parking lot” then you’ll know why it’s so easy to do nothing. When you are seized with anxiety…push past it, your neighbors need you and you won’t regret it, well you might regret it but do it anyway.