rental investment in PW county

[Dang Tran]

I'm interested in hearing thoughts on areas in Prince William County, VA for fee simple townhouse rental investment property. I'm hearing some recommend areas along 95 such as woodbridge, dumfries (military renters) while others suggest western along 66 (manassas, gainesville). Which areas would have better quality tenants, low rental DOM? Thanks for your feedback.

[Brian Beck]

I grew up in Woodbridge and still have family living in the Lake Ridge area.   As far as tenants go, if you are looking for military you can get a lot of young military families closer to the 95/Rt 1 area, finding properties that cash flow will be difficult the further North in the county you go.  The housing stock that would have potential cash flow is going to be your pre-1980 townhomes and ranchers built around the Triangle/Quantico/Southern Dale City/Southern Woodbridge/Dumfries areas.   As you get closer to Potomac town Center and the Occoquan River (Ffx county line) the prices are going to get higher as it is generally slightly newer/better maintained, it's also priced in all the revitalization efforts taking place along Rt1 in the northern part of the county.  Regardless of where you buy, Prince William is similar to Fairfax/Arlington/Alexandria/Loudon in that it is pretty well-protected in a recession, prices will still drop but not nearly as significantly as other areas of the county as it's still very much a suburb of DC/Fedl Govt

I do a lot of work in the Western end of the county, Gainesville/Haymarket, these area have a ton of new homes (built in last 15 years or so) and are priced accordingly, clientele in this area tend to be more slightly higher price point.  Manassas is similar to southern parts of Woodbridge in age/type/condition of housing, there are definitely different levels of clientele throughout the different neighborhoods and it's reflected relatively accurately in pricing.  Also a fairly safe play in terms of long-term appreciation and a limited downward potential in a recession.

If you have any questions on specific neighborhoods in any of these areas please do feel free to drop me a message.  I'm more than happy to help.