Build Them & They Will Shop!

Exciting times for Front Royal shoppers - the new Target store opened last week, along with its in-house Starbucks and Pizza Hut Express outlets. Also now open is Famous Footwear. Over the next week, Staples (Aug 4) and Petco (Aug 6) will open their doors. And very shortly, we will see TGI Fridays, Fashion Bug, GNC, Radio Shack, and Game Stop, among others, all in the Crooked Run Shopping Center.

On the other side of route 522, the huge Lowes store is taking shape. Beyond that, the future Wal-Mart is about to spring up from its leveled site, and the rest of the Riverton Commons infrastructure is taking shape amid a flurry of activity. I drove around there earlier today to take a couple of photos, and was running the gauntlet of many large vehicles, concrete trucks, earth movers, and swarms of construction workers, surveyors, and engineers.

On a sadder note, isn't it a shame to see what has happened to the home in the last picture below? A handsome brick colonial of over 3,000 sq.ft. on a nicely landscaped 5 acres, this home once looked out over gently rolling land and a 2-lane route 522 wandering north towards Winchester, with the mountains as a background. Now it looks down on all this development, with a bird's eye view of Lowes and a busy intersection which at one point is 8 lanes wide. I guess that's the price of progress.

What is a Sanitary District?

I often get puzzled looks from buyers when I explain that a home in Warren County is in a Sanitary District. What is that?

First, it is nothing to do with sanitation, in fact I have no idea where the term came from. It is basically a subdivision where, at the owners' request, the Circuit Court has conferred Sanitary District status. The "HOA Fee" is built into the real estate tax bill, and paid with the real estate taxes, then passed on to the HOA by the County.

As a result:

- there is a better rate of collection for the HOA, as owners are less likely to default on real estate taxes than HOA fees (and the County can impose a real estate lien on unpaid Sanitary District fees)

- the net cost to the owner is lower, as the payment is classed as real estate taxes and therefore normally deductible for tax (but don't take my word for it, check with your tax advisor!)

- as the payment is built into real estate taxes, it is normally part of the owner's escrow payment when he pays his mortgage

The fee is set each year by the County as part of the budgeting process, at the same time as the rate for real estate taxes. The amount varies from one Sanitary District to another, and depends on the HOA's own budget, which has to be submitted to the County.

There are currently eight Sanitary Districts in Warren County. The larger and better known ones are High Knob, Shenandoah Farms, Blue Mountain, Shenandoah Shores and Skyland Estates. The other three are Riverside, Cedarville Heights, and South River Estates.

For more detailed information, go to the following links:
   - more background, legalities, etc - Warren County Sanitary Districts
   - current Sanitary District fees - Current Sanitary District Fees