Thinking of Buying a Reston Townhome ... Here's Some Items To Consider
The median age of townhomes purchased in Reston during 2015 was 24 years old with an average closed price of about $450,000. Over the past 15 years most of Reston's growth came in the form of Hi-Rise, Mid-Rise and Garden style buildings under condominium ownership. The condominium trend is expected to continue over the next 15 years as an ever increasing number of homes are constructed along the Dulles Toll Road to surround Reston's three new stations on Metro's Silver Line expansion.
Like most of the new communities built in Northern Virginia in the back half of the 20th Century, Reston is not a town, but rather simply an area of Fairfax County identified by three Zip Codes (20190, 20191 and 20194). Townhomes located in the Reston area are under the purview of three Property Owner Associations (POAs) ... The Reston Association (RA), the Deepwood Home Owner Association and the Reston Town Center (RTC) Association. Of the three POAs, RA includes the lion's share of Reston's townhomes, followed by Deepwood and then the RTC Association.
Townhome neighborhoods, located within the Reston Association (RA), are called Clusters. Each Cluster is a legal entity know as a Home Owner Association (HOA) with common property and financial obligations for it's maintenance as well as providing services to individual townhomes located within. Townhome Clusters located on self contained streets are normally responsible for road maintenance an plowing. In effect, their streets are driveways with Cluster controlled parking. Townhome owners pay HOA dues to their Cluster (for local services) and RA for community services. There are over 100 such Cluster HOA's located within Reston. Information on the Reston Association can be found at www.reston.org
Deepwood, is an independent HOA in Reston which hosts about 350 townhomes. Unlike most other Reston townhome neighborhoods, Deepwood is not included in the Reston Association (RA) and does not rely on RA for community facilities like swimming pools and paths. When Robert E. Simon founded Reston (R.E.S.ton) he was unable to purchase the property now know as Deepwood. Consequently, Deepwood was not included in the master HOA of Reston at it's inception. Deepwood Townhome owners pay HOA dues to the Deepwood Association. Information on the Deepwood HOA can be found at www.DeepwoodHOA.org
Townhome neighborhoods located within the Reston Town Center (POA) are in one of two neighborhood associations ... The WestMarket HOA and the Edgewater HOA. The Reston Town Center POA came into being when it was carved out from the Reston Association (RA) in the early 1980's. Consequently, Westmarket and Edgewater (since they're not part of the Reston Association) provide their own community facilities (pools, paths etc.). Townhome owners within Westmarket and Edgewater pay HOA dues to their individual HOA associations. Their HOA associations tithe funds to the Reston Town Center Association. Information on these associations can be found at www.RestonTC.org and www.Westmarket.net .
As you might expect there are a few confusing exceptions.
There are a few townhome style structures in Reston which are under condominium ownership. If you purchase one of these condominium structures, you'll be responsible for payment of condominium dues as well as HOA/POA dues.
Additionally, there are some new townhomes or planned to be constructed in Reston's portion of the Dulles Corridor. These homes may or may not have asked to be included in the Reston Association HOA.
So ... If you're shopping for a townhome in Reston, it's helpful to have a knowledgeable Buyer's Agent to help you navigate the myriad of available homes and their related associations.