Cindy Jones-Northern Virginia Real Estate & Military Relocation Services

Tucked away among the trees off of Old Bridge Road in Prince William County is the community of Lake Ridge.  With over 7000 detached homes, townhomes and condominiums a buyer can find just about any type of home at a price that fits their budget within Lake Ridge.

As you drive through each of the different sections of Lake Ridge you will get a true sense of "small town America."  Frequent community events including Youth Flag Football, T-Ball, Summer Camps, Yard Sales, and Holiday Parades give everyone young and old a chance to meet their neighbors. 

With multiple grocery stores, plenty of places to eat and a nice mixture of small shops residents of Lake Ridge don't have to drive far to find everyday necessities.  When the need arises Lake Ridge is only a few miles from the huge Potomac Mills Outlet Mall, Ikea, Costco, Lowes and Home Depot.

If your family includes children there are 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 high school all within the community.  Many children can walk to school and for the others it is a short bus ride.  There are also a number of pre-schools located within the boundaries of the community as well.

Looking for recreation activities?  Then Lake Ridge is the place for you.  If you are a runner join the Ridge Runners Club, launch a small boat Hooes Run Boat Ramp, play tennis at one of the seven courts, swim at one of the five pools, or join one of the many other clubs that meet at one of the two community centers.  If that isn't enough for you Prince William County Park Authority also operates Lake Ridge Park with a 9 hole golf course and a small marina.

Lake Ridge has always been popular with military families who find themselves with orders to Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon or Quantico.  Not only are all of the reasons listed above important to military families but the drive to Fort Belvoir is within 30 minutes or less depending on where you live in the community.  There are multiple options for commuting to the Pentagon including slug lines, bus routes from commuter lots and the VRE with transfer points to the Metro.  Quantico is a reverse commute on either I-95 or Route 1.

So if you are looking for a neighborhood where the developers left the cookie cutters at home then give me a call to take a tour of Lake Ridge.  Let's see if this Prince William County community is the next place you want to call home.

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, 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.  

The only down side of living in a neighborhood full of Oak trees is the annual dropping of acorns.  Though the squirrels are fat and happy!

If you are headed to Fort Belvoir check out www.militaryrelocationnews.com or Fort Belvoir On-Line Relocation Guide for more information. Feel free to drop me an email or give me a call 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 make a move. No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about the home buying process property in today's market.

Despite all of the press about the sagging real estate market, buyers in Prince William County continue to come out and pick up some great bargains.  October sales volumes continue to outpace 2007 numbers in most neighborhoods.   Prices have fallen to affordability levels for buyers looking to use FHA, VHDA and VA loans.

In the three Woodbridge zip codes you can see significant increases in every zip code except 22192.  This zip code includes Lake Ridge, Old Bridge Estates and River Falls to name a few.  The most of sales are in the Dale City area of Woodbridge where currently there is also a significant inventory.

Buyers who are looking for good deals this is the time to check out what is happening in the area.  With significant commuting options to DC, Fort Belvoir and Quantico the area is perfect for military families.  With good schools and plenty of shopping the area has everything you need close by. 

If you are thinking of buying a new home or investment property give me a call.  We can sit down for a cup of coffee and talk about buying a home in today's real estate market.  No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about buying real estate in today's market.

Are you looking for a neighborhood that offers you good schools, close by shopping and multiple commuting options to DC and other points?  Then you need to take a look at the affordable homes in the community of Lake Ridge in Prince William County. 

Since many of the best values are in bank owned properties and the condition can vary, our team regularly tours foreclosure properties to determine condition and whether those properties should be on a short list for our investors, contractors or first time homebuyers.  Yesterday the foreclosure tour of Lake Ridge included three detached homes.  They ranged in condition from good to fair and prices ranged from $219,000 to $274,900.

The first home on the tour is a 3 level detached colonial with an unfinished basement.  The home has good sized rooms on the lower level with an eat in kitchen, family room with fireplace, formal living room and dining room all on the first floor.  The hardwood floors could stand to be refinished,  someone could live with them as is for now. but the carpet in the living room and dining room needs to be replaced.  With a large unfinished basement and priced at under $275,000 this home would be great for either a first time buyer who can put in a little sweat equity or an investor who would like to do a quick fix up and have a nice rental property.

The second home needs a good deal of work and would only be recommended for a contractor or someone who might want to consider an FHA 203K loan.  All of the bathrooms need work, the carpet needs to be replaced, kitchen cabinets are original but for some reason they put expensive granite on them.  They would be worth saving! The property sits on a pipestem and does have nice privacy in the backyard.

The last home on today's tour has been nicely updated.  It is a split foyer with new hardwood floors, updated bathrooms and a big yard.  Someone put some work into this home before it went to foreclosure.  None of the kitchen appliances matched but that is not a big deal.  The biggest visible concern with this home is that it sits on a busy street.  For buyers with small children this might be an issue.  However at a price of $219,000 this home seems to be a steal and certainly gives a buyer a lot of home and yard for the money.

As with any property you should have a home inspector look at the major systems in the home and the roof to determine whether the home is structural in good condition. Understand that when you are buying a foreclosure you are buying a home "as is." If you are looking for your first home or an investment property in Lake Ridge these three homes are just examples of what you can find for under $300,000. 

If you are thinking of buying a new home or investment property give me a call.  We can sit down for a cup of coffee and talk about buying a home in today's real estate market.  No hassle, no pressure, just straight talk about buying real estate in today's market.

This year in Prince William County has been full of surprises. Very few people predicted the meteoric fall in prices. And even fewer then predicted the huge increase in sales on over 2007. Our inventory though still high has dropped from an 18 month supply of homes to closer to 9 months. Now as winter approaches I'm curious to see if anyone is willing to make a prediction for 2009?

Will we continue to see prices drop?

Will 2009 sales outpace 2008?

Will the change in FHA loans have an impact on the area?

What areas of Prince William County will have the most sales?

Which areas of Prince William County will continue to slide?

Let's gather our crystal balls and see if we can predict next year better than we did 2008!