Today, I had the “honor” of experiencing commuting to the DC area for myself.  I have a couple clients who scheduled a home inspection in Arlington for 8am.  My only hope of making it on-time was to stop at a commuter lot and pick up a couple ’slugs’ (non-derogatory term for commuters).  Actually, I was really nice and picked up three for my trip North on I-95.  This is a user-user situation.  ‘Slugs’ use the driver to get up to the DC area and the driver uses them ‘slugs’ to legally drive in the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.  It’s a situation that works extremely well in our area and is really a win-win however you look at it.  As I looked out the passenger window and witnessed first-hand the gridlock of those who were not in the HOV lanes, I was simply in awe. I can’t help but wonder how one makes it to work on-time without using the HOV lanes.  I can only imagine that they must feel helpless sitting in the seemingly endless line of traffic that must produce a steady dose of daily stress.  

I read a recent article that said only drivers in Los Angeles endure rush hour delays more brutal than Washingtonians.  Well, congratulations to for the dubious achievement of having the second worst traffic location in the nation. 

Last week, I wrote a blog article on the pricing difference between the Fredericksburg Real Estate Market and the Northern Virginia area.  This is where the real decision is for those who work up North.  Do you buy a home South of DC where you can get a more affordable home? Or, do you incur the additional cost and purchase a home closer to the DC area to avoid the commute?  Everybody has their priorities and you have to think about what works best for yourself and your family.

Finally, I’d like to thank my husband who endures this commute every day so our family can reside in the Fredericksburg area.  I now completely understand why he leaves so early, but I can’t say that I will stop harassing him, (where would the be the fun in that be!!)

What do you get in the Northern Virginia area for your buck?  Basically, if you are in the $350,000 to $400,000, you can expect to find homes built in the 1950s and 1960s.  Some of the homes may have been renovated, but many are quite dated.  Well, getting a renovated home probably sounds great, but you will likely have to sacrifice on size.  Of the 9 listings that we intended to look at, only one of them provided the square footage in the listing.  It was 1276 sqft,  four (small) bedroom, 1.5 bath, rambler built in 1954 with an asking price of $352,000.

Now, let’s look at the Fredericksburg Real Estate market and the Stafford area.  In this area, within the same price range as above, you can expect to find a selection of 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath homes, with a basement and two car garage.  An fair estimate of square footage tends to be between 2200 - 3500 sqft range.  Additionally, many of these homes are regular re-sales.  That is an irregularity in today’s market. 

Now, those of you who are reading this and are in the mindset that I am slamming the Northern Virginia area, I want to be very clear that I am NOT.  I, myself, was simply reminded of the significant difference or ‘bang for your buck’ between the two areas.  Location, location, location remains a major driving factor in real estate pricing. 

As we field these questions, we find that most people in the Fredericksburg real estate market have little understanding of the “qualifiers” for the program… and often even if they have a basic knowledge of the qualifiers, they don’t fully understand the application of them.

In order to benefit from the HAP program, one of the qualifiers is that the home had to be purchased before July 1, 2006.  Well, many sellers are now asking who determined that date and if it is definitive.  According to the Army Corps of Engineers’ published guidelines, the answer is ‘yes’, but they recommend corresponding with your Congress Member to request a waiver since they established the program “cutoff” date.  You should include a memorandum as a cover letter to the HAP application which provides the details of your situation.  Eligibility waivers may or may not be accepted, but having a waiver request submitted could prove worthwhile if they are at some point granted.