If you are headed to Fort Belvoir and are looking for a reasonably priced townhouse community where the developer left green space and clustered courtyards then check out Springfield Oaks in Fairfax County.

 

 

Situated on 18 acres of wooded and gently rolling terrain the 382 townhouses in Springfield Oaks are only 5 miles from Fort Belvoir. The community is also within 5 minutes of the Lorton Station VRE, about 15 minutes to the Springfield Metro or you can catch a Fairfax Connector or Metro bus at either entrance to the community

 

Having owned a townhouse myself in Springfield Oaks I knew how well the association worked to keep the neighborhood up to date and they have recently completed a brand new tot lot. The neighborhood is divided into two sections crossed by Alban Road. Both the upper and lower sections of the neighborhood share services including twice a week trash pickup, community leaf cleaning and snow removal.

 

Every year the community sponsors events to bring the neighbors together including ice cream socials, Easter egg hunts and Halloween parties. If you need a lesson on Oak tree species all you have to do is drive through the neighborhood and look at the street names including, Blue Oak, Chapman Oak and Pin Oak to realize how many types of Oak trees there are.

 

If you are headed to Fort Belvoir check out www.militaryrelocationnews.com or Fort Belvoir On-Line Relocation Guide for more information. Give the Cindy Jones team a call at 703-346-2213 to chat. If you are in the area we can meet for coffee and talk about about whether this is the right time for you to buy a home. No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about the home buying process property in today's market.

 

Coming this weekend in Kings Park in Springfield (VA) a remodeled King model situated on a quiet corner lot.  The former two small main level bedrooms have been combined into a master suite with huge walk-in closet, extra vanity and updated bath.  Enjoy the completely remodeled kitchen with new cabinents, counters and appliances.  Upstairs are three bedrooms and a remodeled bath.  The lower level has a recreation room and huge storage area.  Hardwood floors throughout the main and upper level of the home.

This terrific home will be priced at $389,000.  Get your checkbooks ready!

Read more about the Kings Park neighborhood:

It isn't hard to figure out what the developer of the first Kings Park was planning when they laid out the plan for the community and the homes. With one look at the street names Thames, Victoria, Trafalgar and Cromwell among others you might think you have made a trip back to England. Then when you add the names of the five original models; King, Queen, Princess, Duke and Duchess, you realize absolutely there is a royal connection!

Our family bought our very first home in Kings Park in 1981. Having just returned from five years overseas we were anxious to settle down for awhile and having grown up in Springfield it was an easy choice to make the original Kings Park the place to buy our first "real home." We were attracted to the neighborhood due to the mature trees, green space parks, community pools and easy commuting to our jobs. With the gentle slope of our 1/3 acre lot we were able to set up a zip line between the top of the back yard and the back fence which became a neighborhood hangout for the under 5 age group! 

Since the neighborhood was first built over 40 years ago it has been popular with military families looking for easy access to the Pentagon or Fort Belvoir. Children attend schools in the Lake Braddock School Pyramid and both Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University are close by. Public bus transportation, a VRE station and slug lines are easy to get to from anywhere in the neighborhood. Homeowners can walk to the Kings Park Shopping Center and even the Kings Park Library branch of the Fairfax County Library System.

When you want to take a break you walk or ride your bike through two different "back" entrances to Lake Accotink or for anyone who likes the challenge of dirt biking the nearby trails through Wakefield Park are considered some of the best in the area. Wakefield Park is also the location for the Audrey Moore Recreation Center where you will find an indoor pool and popular fitness center. During the summer Lake Accotink Park hosts free Friday night summertime concerts which are an absolute hit with everyone. Music ranges through swing, jazz, pop and rock. If you haven't seen your neighbors for a few days chances are you will find them there with a picnic basket and folding chairs

If you are interested in learning more about Northern Virginia Relocation, local neighborhoods or things to do give the Cindy Jones team a call at 703-346-2213. No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about whether now is the right time for you to buy a home in Kings Park or any Springfield (VA) neighborhood.

It includes the extension of the tax credit to military families who have been stationed outside the US for at least 3 months in 2009.

For qualifying families they have until June 30, 2011 to purchase a home a qualify for the tax credit. 

Now that is good news!  

These logs were washed up on the shore of the Occoquan River after days of rain and high tides.  This pile of logs reminded me of an old split rail fence.  Walking along the Occoquan River in Prince William County is a great way to relax on a crisp fall day.

On the surface everything about this home looked good.  Granite counters, stainless steel appliances, beautiful bathrooms, large lot, great price.  What's not to love?  Turns out this little gem was in reality a "pig in a poke." 

A check of the Fairfax County Building Permit site found permits issued and all of them with an incomplete status next to them.  Out of the permits that were pulled by electricians and plumbers we couldn't find any that said the remodeling work had passed inspection.  Since the property is being sold "as is" chances are that it might not even have an occupancy permit for the new owner to be able to move in.

It is an issue that buyers in Northern Virginia face everyday when they look to purchase a foreclosure or short sale.  Since most of these properties are sold "as is" you don't have many outs when it comes to discovering major defects.

 

 

If you see a home that is in the middle of a major remodel take a few minutes and check for building permits and inspections. 

Alexandria City

Arlington County

Fairfax County

Prince William County

If you have questions most of the city and county government agencies are more than happy to answer them for you.

Before you buy a "pig in a poke" in Northern Virginia check to make sure that what you are buying won't be better as a tear down than a place to call home.  If buying a new home in Northern Virginia is in your future give me a call at 703-346-2213.  Let me help you navigate the murky waters of our current market.  No hassle, no pressure just straight talk about whether now is the right time to buy a new home.

 

If you know an active duty military family or veteran then let them know to head to their local Applebee's Restaurant on November 11th to choose one of the six free dinners especially for them.

If you work with military families this is a great chance to send out a message and be in touch on Veteran's Day. 

There isn't much else to say but thank you for all who are actively serving and those who have served our country.

Location of Applebee's Resaurants in Northern Virginia  

LET'S EAT!

 

When it comes to thinking about firsts and flying everyone immediately thinks of the Wright Brothers and Kitty Hawk.  As well they should.  However what many don't realize is that the Wright Brothers made what might be considered a more important flight in Arlington VA at the Fort Meyer Army Post.

The US Army Signal Corps wanted an aircraft that could hold two people and fly for at least one hour.  The first test came in September 1908 when Orville Wright took up a two seater plane and circled the parade grounds at Fort Meyer 57 times.  He then took a passenger up and flew for one hour and 12 minutes. 

Later that week on another test flight Orville Wright and his passenger First Lt. Thomas Selfridge made another flight.  That flight crashed killing Lt Selfridge, making him the first military flight casualty in the US.

The Signal Corps had one more requirement.  The plane needed to fly at least 40 MPH.  In July 1909 the Wright brothers came back to Fort Meyer and flew a course between Fort Meyer and Alexandria and hit an airspeed of 42.6 MPH.  The US Government then ordered their first military and commercial aircraft.  A production and test facility were established across the river in College Park Maryland. 

Today as you pass Fort Meyer you see the spires of the Air Force Memorial honoring not only the men and women of the Air Force who have given their lives but also for the early pioneers of flight.  Lt. Selfridge is buried in Arlington Cemetery close to the spot where his plane crashed.  Fort Myer serves as home to the US Army School of Music and The Old Guard the army's ceremonial unit. 

Short sales in the Northern Virginia market aren't new. They were around in previous down markets with a different twist. Sellers actually had to come to the money with the table to close the deal or sign a promissory note to cover the difference. Sellers sucked it up and did it in order to move on.

Today the amount of money that most sellers are upside down keeps that from being a realistic scenario. However there is a train wreck coming and it isn't about the number of short sales or a tsunami of foreclosures but instead the way real estate agents are handling the deals.

There are a lot of agents running around Northern Virginia suggesting they are "short sale experts" when in fact that don't even understand how a contract is written and ratified. Last week while working through multiple offers for buyers I encountered not one, not two but three agents who "ratified" contracts when the buyer's offer had clearly been countered by the seller.

In one cases the agent even wrote on the contract that instead of agreeing to our subsidy request that they would let the lender determine the amount. Say what? Anyone who works with short sales or foreclosures knows the lender will say ZERO if you give them an opportunity. This isn't a ratified contract but a counter offer. Yet this contract went to the bank as part of a short sale package.

It doesn't take much if you get a group of agents together to hear the horror stories of these types of examples and many far worse. There is going to be a major collision between agents who know what they are doing and agents who are unresponsive and far worse. It will be interesting to see the listing agent explain to their client when the home goes to foreclosure why the contract they thought was ratified in reality was not.

It is time for standards to be in place and enforced by the associations to keep the entire industry from getting a black eye. Otherwise the collision between the two sides that are forming among agents is not going to be pretty.



This post originally appeared on my blog VaRealEstateTalk

The view down the Occoquan River from the roof deck of River Club 1 in Belmont Bay.  The roof deck is one of the reasons that River Club 1 has been a popular destination for buyers looking for a smaller condominium building in Belmont Bay.  If you are interested in making Belmont Bay your home give me a call at 703-346-2213.  Let me show you why som many of my buyers have decided to call this neighborhood home.

Greentree Village is what you might expect to see in a community in Fairfax County, Virginia. Located in West Springfield, the neighborhood seems typical of many in the area. Brick front townhouses backing to trees and grassy islands slow traffic down for the kids to be able to play safely. Across the street from the neighborhood is one of the 380 parks maintained by the Fairfax County Park Authority. A Fairfax County Connector bus stop is at the entrance to the neighborhood, within 15 minutes is the Springfield Metro, the Rolling Valley and Sydenstricker Slug Lines are all close by as well. Multiple shopping centers add to the appeal as well as being in the West Springfield HS Pyramid.

However the neighborhood also contains a little mystery as well. Tucked behind the basketball court protected by a wrought iron fence are three gravestones from the 1800's. One has the name Addison Keen and another one with the name Clarintine V. Close by you can also see a broken headstone for W. Keen. Unlike other historic graveyards in the area there are no markers to explain how these final resting places ended up in this location.

Anyone who drives through Springfield knows the main road is called Old Keene Mill and Greentree Village lies at an "L"to Old Keene Mill and Keen Road. So what part of the history of the area did the Keen family bring to this particular area? First of all there was a mill on the Pohick Stream that runs through the area and records show it was owned by William Keen. An 1850 census of the area shows that William Keen was 35 years old, married and his occupation was miller.

In 1855 William Keene was convicted of murdering another local man. Local history reports disagrees as to whether William Keen was legally convicted of the murder but he was sentenced to death by hang. Over the following years additional information came forward that perhaps there had been jury tampering which led to his conviction. In 1858 his death sentence was commuted to 10 years in prison by the governor of Virginia. However it is unknown what actually happened to him. Prison records were lost when parts of Richmond was burned during the Civil War. It is not known whether William Keen died in prison, was released or walked out along with all of the other prisoners in 1867.

Whatever the story it makes living in one of the 124 townhouses in Greentree Village just a bit more intriguing. So as you are wandering through your neighborhood in Fairfax County take a closer look around. There is an amazing amount of history tucked in very unusual places.

If a move to Springfield or anywhere in Northern Virginia is in your future give me a call at 703-346-2213. Let me help you find the neighborhood that is just right for your needs. No hassle, no pressure just straight talk about whether now is the right time for you to buy a new home.