Quality of Life, Often Missed Home Buying Consideration.

When we begin looking for a home, we often get wrapped up in the important details like style, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and square footage. But we don't always consider the quality of life issues that may impact our ability to enjoy the home. Here are some other things you should keep in mind: 

Community Report

.

Transportation is an important consideration that's often overlooked. Consider traffic jams and gas prices, and access public transportation options and commute times.

.

Public safety has loomed larger as a factor in our quality of life. Proximity to police, fire and emergency medical services has become more important.

.

Off-street parking is a factor in many areas. Is there a garage? How many cars will it hold? Is there parking available when you have guests or entertain?

.

Recreational facilities such as playgrounds, parks, and pools are important to many people. Are they nearby? Is there a fee for these amenities?

.

Be realistic. There are no perfect homes. Decide what's most important to you, and make sure you find a home that has the essential features that you require. Be prepared to compromise on some of the items on your wish list.

.

Buying a home is much more permanent than renting. Purchase a home that you are prepared to keep for a while. Select a home that will be reasonable to maintain, 

in terms of both utilities and repairs.

If you're interested in learning more about these programs or other options for down payment assistance, please give me a call today. Together we can figure out a way to make your dream of homeownership a reality.

For More Information:

Kim Kroner Realtor - Associate Broker

Top Producer - NVAR Multi Million Dollar Sales Club

Member - Long & Foster Chairman's Club

Long & Foster Christie's International

kim@kimkroner.com

(703) 946-2526

(800) 9611328

www.kimkroner.com

309 Maple Ave W. Vienna, VA 22180

Download My Home Buyer Guide:
Download Flyer

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA  
Fair Housing Office
The State Fair Housing Office in Richmond will answer question regarding Virginia law. Enforcement for the Northern Virginia area is carried out through the Washington DC office of HUD (202-275-0848).
Virginia Fair Housing Office
John P. Cancelleri, Fair Housing Administrator
Carol A. Mitchess, Fair Housing Conciliator/Trainer
804-367-8530
Rights of Virginians with Disabilities
Northern Virginia Office
703-536-7802, 2/17/98
Protected Classes
1. Federal
All federal protected classes apply in the Commonwealth of Virginia -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Handicap.
2. Commonwealth of Virginia
Elderliness: The one state mandated protected class in Virginia protects all persons who have reached the age of 55 from being denied housing, either rental or sale. This does not exempt buyers and renters from having to financially qualify, meet credit standards and have acceptable tenant history. It does make it difficult for owners and landlords to refuse to rent to tenants over 55 whose income is not subject to judgment, such as Social Security and Federal pensions.
Age: Persons over the age of 40 are a state protected class.
For information on areas not listed in this guide, call 804-367-8530.
Group Homes
In Virginia, groups of 8 or fewer mentally ill, mentally retarded, or developmentally disabled persons, with 1 or more resident counselors or staff persons are legally considered to be a single family and do not need to go through any permit process to acquire occupancy in a single family residence.
For more information on group homes in Northern Virginia contact:
Pam Stine - Assistant Director of Residential Development
Fairfax/Falls Church Community Services Board
Human Services Center, Suite 800
12001 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 220350-1105
703-324-7005
Local Jurisdictions

• CITY OF ALEXANDRIA
• ARLINGTON COUNTY
• FAIRFAX CITY
• FAIRFAX COUNTY
• CITY OF FALLS CHURCH
• PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
• TOWN OF OCCOQUAN

---

CITY OF ALEXANDRIA

Fair Housing Office

Questions and complaints with regard to sales, rentals, and the application of the Americans With Disabilities Act may be directed to either:

Robert M. Steindler, Administrator
Alexandria Office of Human Rights
110 N. Royal Street, Suite 201
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-838-6390 fax 703-838-4976

or: Goodman Okpara
Landlord/Tenant Relations Office
703-838-4545

Protected Classes:
1. Federal

• All federal protected classes apply in the City of Alexandria -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Disability.

2. Commonwealth of Virginia

• Elderliness (over 55) -- see Commonwealth of Virginia, page 26.

3. City of Alexandria

• Marital Status: Unmarried persons may not be denied sale or rental housing on the basis of their status; married, divorced, widowed, single.
• Ancestry: This language broadens the application of the Federal class of National Origin to persons who might be denied on the basis of the origin of their relatives.
• Age: Not Defined
• Sexual Orientation: The preference or practice of an individual as to male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality, or being regarded or identified as having such a preference.

Occupancy
Occupancy becomes an issue when landlords wish to restrict the number of persons who will be living in their rental property. The law differs for related and unrelated occupants.

It is generally not practical to restrict the number of related occupants allowed in a single family home. Unrelated occupants may be limited to 4.

When calculating the number of allowable occupants for apartments, the City uses BOCA code as a standard. Please refer to BOCA on page 10.

Subsidized Income Tenants
The City of Alexandria has no requirement that landlords and owners accept tenants with subsidized income. Landlords may not however make blanket refusals to accept applications from tenants with subsidized incomes. (This does not apply to VRLTA and multi-unit complexes only).

ARLINGTON COUNTY

Fair Housing Office
Questions and complaints with regard to sales, rentals, and the application of the Americans With Disabilities Act may be directed to:

Arlington County Human Rights Commission
#1 Courthouse Plaza
2100 Clarendon Blvd. #106
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703-358-3929

Protected Classes:
1. Federal

• All federal protected classes apply in Arlington County -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Handicap.

2. Commonwealth of Virginia

• Elderliness (over 55) -- see Commonwealth of Virginia, page 26.

3. Arlington County

• Marital Status: Unmarried persons may not be denied sale or rental housing on the basis of their status; married, divorced, widowed, single.
• Sexual Orientation: The preference or practice of an individual as to male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality, or being regarded or identified as having such a preference.

Occupancy

Occupancy becomes an issue when landlords wish to restrict the number of persons who will be living in their rental property. Arlington County relies on HUD standards. See page 10.

Subsidized Income Tenants
Arlington County has no laws requiring that landlords and owners accept tenants with subsidized income. Landlords may not however make blanket refusals to accept applications from tenants with subsidized incomes.

Definition of a Family
The Arlington County ordinance defines a family as a "group living together as a unit, including an individual". Two important things to note. First, individuals are included as a family. Second, group tenants do not generally function 'as a unit' but live separate lives under one roof. Persons sharing cooking, cleaning or child care duties might well be considered a family.

FAIRFAX CITY

Fair Housing Office
Fairfax City follows the guidelines of, but is not serviced by, the Equal Opportunity Commission of Fairfax County whose jurisdiction does not extend to Fairfax City. The occupancy standard for single family homes in Fairfax City is 3. There is no one in city government specifically responsible for fair housing complaints.

Community Relations -- 703-385-7855

FAIRFAX COUNTY

Fair Housing Office
Questions and complaints with regard to sales, rentals, and the application of the Americans With Disabilities Act may be directed to:

Fairfax County Human Rights Commission
12000 Government Center Parkway
Suite 318
Fairfax, Virginia 22035-0093
Fred Allen, Executive Director
Michael T. Cash, Deputy Director
Al Santiago (ADA questions)
703-324-2953

Protected Classes:
1. Federal

• All federal protected classes apply in Fairfax County -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Handicap.

2. Commonwealth of Virginia

• Elderliness (over 55) -- see Commonwealth of Virginia.

3. Fairfax County

• Marital Status: No one may be denied sale or rental housing on the basis of their marital status.
• Age: Age shall mean any individual who is at least 40 years of age. This category is usually invoked in employment discrimination cases.

Occupancy

• Occupancy becomes an issue when landlords wish to restrict the number of persons who will be living in their rental property.
• Occupants related by blood: Fairfax County allows no restrictions on the number of family members who may occupy a single family homes, including townhomes.
• Unrelated occupants: Fairfax county code limits the number of unrelated persons inhabiting a single family dwelling, townhome or two-bedroom or larger apartments to 4. Smaller apartments operate under the 2 persons per bedroom guideline. Local jurisdictions have the right to set their own occupancy standards as long as they do not reduce Federal guidelines. Herndon, Vienna, and Fairfax City enforce occupancy rules within their own jurisdictions. Fairfax City has an occupancy standard of 3.
• Group Homes: See Virginia State Laws, page 25.
• Rental Standards: Owners and landlords do have the right to rent their property only to persons who have acceptable income, credit and tenant histories. In no case should unrelated groups have to meet higher standards than families, either in the area of rent amount, credit & tenant history, and security deposits. It may be reasonable for owners to require that unrelated groups have to meet income requirements with only the incomes of the two lowest earners. This approach should never be applied to married couples nor used as an excuse to deny housing to a protected class.
• Miscellaneous Rental Issues: Owners and landlords may not refuse housing on the basis of alcoholism (a Federally protected class under Handicap), disability (see Reasonable Modification on page 9), smokers, number of automobiles owned, or spices used in cooking (National Origin). Landlords may ban smoking on the premises and require that tenants obey all of the condominium or association rules and regulations (if such rules and regulations were given to the tenant at the time of Application). Landlords may refuse housing to current illegal users of controlled substances and convicted felons. Whether or not to allow pets is entirely up to the owner, but service and companion animals are not pets and must be allowed!

Subsidized Income Tenants (Section 8 and others)

Housing subsidies come from many groups, both public and private. Embassies will give housing subsidies to employees from their own country. Churches may have a subsidy program for members or non-members in need. For information on Federal Section 8 tenants.

Fairfax County does not have any laws which require landlords to accept Section 8 tenants. Landlords may not however make blanket refusals to accept applications from tenants with subsidized incomes.  

CITY OF FALLS CHURCH

Fair Housing Office
Questions and complaints with regard to sales, rentals, and the application of the Americans With Disabilities Act may be directed to:

Department of Housing & Human Services
300 Park Avenue
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-241-5124
Dotti Moorman, Irma Garcia

Protected Classes
1. Federal

• All federal protected classes apply in the City of Falls Church -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Handicap.

2. Commonwealth of Virginia

• Elderliness (over 55) -- see Commonwealth of Virginia, page 26.

3. Falls Church City

• Children: Re-emphasizes the Federal Familial Status class.
• Marital Status: Unmarried persons may not be denied sale or rental housing on the basis of their status; married, divorced, widowed, single.
• Age: Undefined in the Statute

Occupancy
Occupancy becomes an issue when landlords wish to restrict the number of persons who will be living in their rental property. The law differs for related and unrelated occupants.

Related Persons: It is not practical to restrict occupancy in single family homes for related persons. Code limits unrelated persons maximum occupancy to 4.

Subsidized Income Tenants
Falls Church City has no laws requiring that landlords and owners accept tenants with subsidized income. Landlords may not however make blanket refusals to accept applications from tenants with subsidized incomes.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

Fair Housing Office
Questions and complaints with regard to sales, rentals, and housing for the handicapped may be directed to:

Prince William Human Rights Commission
15941 Cardinal Drive, Suite 125
Woodbridge, VA 22191
703-792-4680
Evelyn Ellington, Executive Director

Protected Classes
1. Federal

• All federal protected classes apply in Prince William County -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Handicap

2. Commonwealth of Virginia

• Elderliness (over 55) -- see Commonwealth of Virginia, page 25.

3. Prince William County

• Marital Status: Unmarried persons may not be denied sale or rental housing on the basis of their status; married, divorced, widowed, single.
• Section 8 Housing -- 703-792-7530 -- Housing Department

Occupancy
Prince William zoning permits a maximum occupancy of 2 adults per bedroom for a total of 6 unrelated persons for all single-family dwellings, including townhomes and apartments. Questions may be directed to:

Prince William Zoning
1 County Complex Ct.
Prince William, VA 22192
703-792-6830

TOWN OF OCCOQUAN

Fair Housing Office
Questions and complaints with regard to sales, rentals, and the application of the Americans With Disabilities Act may be directed to the Commonwealth of Virginia Fair Housing Office at 804-367-8530.

Protected Classes
1. Federal

• All federal protected classes apply in Fairfax County -- Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status, Handicap.

2. Commonwealth of Virginia

• Elderliness (over 55) -- see Commonwealth of Virginia, page 25.

3. Town of Occoquan

• Sexual Orientation may be protected by end of 1997. For information, Call:

Human Rights Commission
1-703-491-1918
Monday - Friday, 9 AM to 3:30 PM