Relocation is always stressful.  It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve made a move the minute you get the word to pack your bags you need to learn the “language” of a new area.

In Northern Virginia part of that new language is deciphering the difference between our cities and our counties.  Northern Virginia has a mixture that often leads to confusion.  For example we have:

Fairfax County and Fairfax City
Alexandria City and Alexandria (postal address) in Fairfax County
Falls Church City and Falls Church (postal address) in Fairfax County

Once you have figured that out then you need to realize that the schools may be different depending on whether you live in a city of county.  Falls Church City runs its own school district.  But if your mailing address is Falls Church it doesn’t mean your children will attend a Falls Church City school.  Using the school boundary locator provided by the various counties and cities will help you sort it all out as you look for a place to live.

Alexandria City Schools Schools
Fairfax County Schools
Falls Church City Schools

 

As you search through the MLS for potential places to live you will notice a code in front of all of the letters.  Each of those codes can also help you decipher where a home is located.  FA is Falls Church City, FX is Fairfax County, AX is Alexandria City and FC is Fairfax City.

Each locale may also offer a different set of services for their residents and have different tax requirements as well.  In Fairfax City for example the city offers curbside leaf pickup for residents but in Fairfax County you will need to bag and dispose of your leaves through your own trash service.  Fairfax City has it’s own CUE bus service that takes residents to the metro, George Mason University and various points in the Fairfax City area.  Fairfax County offers the Connector bus which has different bus routes that run throughout the county and Alexandria has the Dash bus which runs through Alexandria City.

When you get ready to plan your house hunting trip to Northern Virginia remember that the area has some of its own language when it comes to understanding where you might be living.  Oh and don’t forget we also have slugs which have nothing to do with slimy garden pests.

If you are relocating to Northern Virginia in 2010 give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call 703-346-2213.  As a native of the area and a survivor of many relocation moves,  I can help you understand our language and help you find the best home to meet your needs while living in the area.

 

The Fisher House Foundation was established in to provide a "comfort home" for military families who need a place to stay while a loved one is being treated for injury or illness at a military hosptial.  Started as a public-private partnership in 1990, Fisher Houses around the country provided a home away from home for over 12,000 families.

Now Fort Belvoir will be the site of the newest Fisher House in Virginia.  The other two Virginia properties are located at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA and the Hunter Holmes McGuire house in Richmond Virginia.  The new home at Fort Belvoir will feature 12 family suites, a kitchen, dining sitting rooms and den.  The house is being built across the street from the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital which opened in Fal 2011.

The 10,000 square foot home is scheduled to be completed in April 2012.   It is a compliment to not only the new Fort Belvoir hospital but the Wounded Warrior Transition Unit on post as well.  Fisher House is supported by not only the Department of Defense but also by a private foundation.  It is a cause that I've personally been involved in, touched by and contributed to for years.

If you are interested in learning more about Fisher House you can check out their website.  In addtion to the Fisher House the foundation also supports Hero Miles and Scholarships for Military Children.

 

                No Hassle-No Pressure-Just Straight Talk About The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market

If you are interested in learning more about the Northern Virginia Real Estate market including Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William Counties give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group, Inc a call at 703-346-2213. 

Military Relocation Specialist serving military families relocating to and from the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir, Quantico MCB and all of the Military District of Washington installations. 

Check out www.varealestatetalk.com and www.cjrealtygroup.com for more information.

 

Licensed in Virginia

 

Located in West Springfield, Greentree Village appears typical of many in the area.  Brick front townhouses backing to trees.  Well placed traffic islands slow cars 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.  The new NGA headquarters is only a few miles away and Ft. Belvoir is close by as 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 VA, NGA, Ft. Belvoir or anywhere in Northern Virginia is in your future give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group 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.

 

The Sydenstricker School in Springfield VA was the last one room school house in operation in Fairfax County. It closed in 1939 but the building is still used today as a community meeting hall. The belfry contains the original school bell purchased in 1920's from the Sears Roebuck store in Alexandria.  The school was named after the first minister of the original Sydenstricker Church next door built in 1909. Rev. Syndenstricker was also the uncle of Nobel Prize Winner Pearl Buck the author of The Good Earth.

Schools in Springfield VA and Fairfax County have come a long way since the Syndenstricker school closed.  For the 2011-2012 school year you will find  177,000 students enrolled in Fairfax County Schools, the 11th largest school district in the US.   Per the Fairfax County School website the country schools are comprised of "138 elementary schools (grades K-6), 22 middle schools (grades 7 and 8), 4 secondary schools (grades 7-12), 21 high schools (grades 9-12), 7 special education centers, 2 alternative high schools, and 48 alternative programs."

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has been ranking number 1 in the US and World Report for multiple years.

You won't find a single one room school house in the entire Fairfax County Schools system today.

Moving to Springfield or Fairfax County area?   Make sure you check out the Fairfax County Public School Website for information for information on the schools and programs offered.

Searching for houses in Springfield Virgiina and wonder what school your children would attend?  Enter the address in the Fairfax County School Boundary link to find out.

If you are still looking for a home in the Springfield VA area or anywhere in Fairfax County give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call  703-346-2213.  Not only did I attend Fairfax County Schools from kindergarten through high school graduation so did my children.  Let me show you the neighborhoods that meet the needs for your family.

Buyers moving to Northern Virginia often see the phrase "inside" or "outside" the beltway in MLS descriptions and wonder where are these locations on the map.  For those who have lived in the Northern Virginia most of our lives we have watched "outside" the beltway on the Virginia side expand far west and south of DC.

Just as the term "slugging" started as a phrase to describe riders using counterfeit tokens, the term inside or outside the beltway started with a different meaning in our area as well. The phrase was originally used politically to describe the fact that most of the power in the DC area was located inside the beltway where the Federal Government is located.

The first written reference to the term is found with the Warren Commission Report about Watergate printed in 1975:

"In the White House of Richard M. Nixon, it was said that Watergate would become serious only if it "got outside the Washington Beltway." Guess we know how that turned out!

Neighborhoods in Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and McLean are some examples of neighborhoods inside the beltway in Northern Virginia. Neighborhoods inside the beltway used to lean towards smaller older homes on tree lined lots however there has been a boom of condo developments inside the beltway. With the metro and buses within walking distance, many of the newer neighborhoods quickly gained popularity with buyers wanting to ditch their car for their daily commute.

 

Outside the beltway has expanded significantly over the past 10 years and some might say that it extends all the way to the Shenandoah Valley where you can find commuter lots for van pools to DC. The selection of neighborhoods outside the beltway is generally more diverse if for no other reason than the space constraints of trying to squeeze homes within a smaller geographic area has been removed. There has been significant new home development outside the beltway in recent years in the western part of Fairfax County, Prince William County and Loudoun County.

So another mystery of local terminology is revealed. If you want to know more about living either inside or outside the beltway give me a call at 703-346-2213. I've got a few other localisms I can clue you into as well!

 

 

 

 

Welcome To Northern Virginia

 

Residents of Burke VA have a game they like to play.  It's called name everything with the word “Burke” in it.  Between streets, shopping centers and parks you could easily come up with a 100 locations with the name Burke.  Considering Silas Burke’s role in the development of the area it makes sense.

What may be surprising to many is that there were a number of families and are homes in the area that predate the landmark Silas Burke house built in 1824.  One of those homes is Kings Grant.


Kings Grant was built on 21 acres of the original Ravensworth Estate.  Ravensworth Estates encompassed 24,000 acres purchased in 1685 by Col. William Fitzhugh.  During the early colonial days it was the largest tobacco plantation in Northern Virginia.   As was customary at the time parcels of big estates were divided among the heirs of of the owners.  Eventually 21 acres were given to his son a Commander in the Stafford Militia to build his home.

The home he built in 1780 still stands in Burke today.  If you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t see it as it is tucked away inside another subdivision in the community.  For me this home was where I spent many weekends as a young girl when it was owned by the Ruffner family. 


The Ruffner’s owned and ran Patty’s Riding School and Stables.  On weekends you would find me along with a number of other horse crazy girls either in the riding ring or on the trails.  We learned to muck stalls, clean hooves, proper care of our tack and much more.  At the end of our round of lessons we would have a Saturday night camp out on the grounds.  At the time none of us knew or cared that the house we tromped through or the grounds we were sleeping had any historic significance. 

 

The Ruffner's eventually sold the land for development but the original farm house from 1780, the stables and log cabin still remain. It's fun to know that a piece of history both of our area and of my childhood is still there tucked behind the trees for future generations to see.

Cindy have you lost your mind? You can't walk to the Pentagon from Daventry in Springfield (VA). It's 20 miles. You will be arrested as soon as you set foot on I-395 aka Shirley Highway. What is wrong with you?

Alright already but you can walk to the direct Pentagon Slug Line at the entrance to the Daventry neighborhood. From there you will be whisked safely down the highway to the drop off point at the Pentagon. If you aren't familiar with the term "slug lines" in relation to Northern Virginia commuting don't panic. It is a unique and legal way to hitch-hike your way to the Pentagon, State Department, World Bank or many other locations in DC.

A free ride isn't the only reason that Daventry is a popular neighborhood in Springfield. The community offers a community pool, community center, tennis courts, four tot lots and access to walking paths connected to the huge Fairfax County Park Authority network of trails and access to Lake Accotink.

Daventry offers a variety of housing including 512 townhouses most with garages, 212 single family homes and Ramblewood at Daventry offers 160 condominiums. In addition to the ease of commuting to the Pentagon using the slug line, it is also within 5 miles of the Springfield Metro Station accessible by driving or taking the Metro or Fairfax County Connector Bus also located at the entrance to the community.

Multiple shopping centers are close by featuring Giant Foods, Trader Joes and Whole Foods. You can find plenty of places to eat including Mikes American Grill, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Austin Grill,

If living in a neighborhood where you can "walk" to the Pentagon sounds appealing then give me a call at 703-346-2213. Let me show you how to take advantage of the slug line and all of the other great benefits of the Daventry neighborhood.

If you are headed to Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon or any of the Military District of Washington installations stop by CJ Realty Group to learn more about the Northern Virginia area.

 

Homes for Sale in Daventry

Are PCS orders considered a hardship?

Yes they are.  Last fall the Fannie Mae issued guidelines to include Permanent Change of Station (PSC) orders as a hardship. For the owners of this home in Port Potomac it was a difficult decision to make.  They missed the cut-off date for qualification of the DoD Homeowners Assistance Program by three weeks.  Faced with a significant decline in the value of their home in Port Potomac a short sale became their next option.

As often happens with short sales the first buyer's lower offer was not supported by an appraisal or a Broker Price Opinion so they decided to move on.  With an approved price in hand the second buyer was able to benefit and close within 60 days.  The family was able to move on to their new duty station together with the stress of a short sale behind them.

For more details and the Fannie Mae hotline for military families check out  "Are PCS Orders a Hardship for a Short Sale."  If you have a VA loan and are faced with selling your home in a downturn Woodbridge VA real estate market you may want to read "Ft. Belvoir VA Compromise Sale Update" to learn about new relocation benefits you may qualify for.

If you are a active duty with a home to sell in Port Potomac or any of the near by Woodbridge VA neighborhoods give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call at 703-346-2213. 

 

Are PCS orders considered a hardship? It's a question that we are asked frequently by military families stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Quantico MCB, the Pentagon and other installations part of the Military District of Washington. Last fall the Fannie Mae issued guidelines to include Permanent Change of Station (PSC) orders as a hardship. A hot line was (877-MIL-4566) created for service members to be able to discuss foreclosure prevention options available.

In addition Fannie Mae also announced a six month military forbearance program where the death or injury of a service member on active duty causes a hardship for military families with a mortgage obligation. Don't know whether you have a Fannie Mae backed loan? Check to see if you have a Fannie Mae Loan.

The Treasury Department has also announced military families may be eligible for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) approved short sale without showing a drop in income. You can read the official guidelines for HAFA on their website.

Last year both Chase and USAA approved short sales for two of my military clients with PCS orders. USAA also approved a VA Compromise Sale for a military family who qualified under the Fannie Mae guidelines. Just as with any short sale a military service member does have to provide a complete packet of documentation.

If you are Ft Belvoir service member faced with a short sale decision check with your lender to see what options they have to offer.  If you are looking for an agent who has experienced guiding service members through short sales, DoD HAP or VA Compromise Sales give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call at 703-346-2213.

 

 

 

If you're not sure what a VA Compromise sale is you can check out my previous post "Military Families Options if You Are Upside Down on Your Mortgage."  In brief it's a short sale for VA loans. 

Now the Veteran's Administration (VA) has added a $1500 Relocation Bonus for VA Compromise Sales at closing. The funds must be shown on the HUD-1 provided at closing.

This announcement comes on the heels of the Treasury Department saying some military families may be eligible for HAFA approved short sales without showing a drop in income. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also changed their guidelines to include PCS orders as a qualifying hardship making a short sales easier for military families.

With the DoD HAP Benefits running low more service members may be looking at a short sale or VA Compromise sale as an option. It's never an easy decision to undertake a sale of a home when you are upside down on the mortgage but not everyone wants to become a landlord or face a separation from your family. However you do have options.

If you are a Ft Belvoir, Pentagon or Quantico service member with a VA loan and need assistance selling your Woodbridge VA home give an agent experienced with VA Compromise sales, military short sales and DoD HAP sales give Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group a call at 703-346-2213