A buyer under contract on a resale in Willowsford's Greens village, the Aldie side of the community, prices out one number before closing: the monthly HOA due listed on the MLS sheet. Then the settlement statement arrives with a second charge, described as a Community Enhancement Fee, payable at the table, calculated as a percentage of the sale price they just agreed to.
That isn't a clerical error or fine print someone forgot to disclose. It's how Willowsford is built. The community runs two governing bodies where most HOAs run one: a standard homeowners association handling streets and common areas, and a legally separate nonprofit called the Willowsford Conservancy, which manages more than 2,000 acres of open space, including 40-plus miles of trails and over 200 acres of working farmland. The Conservancy funds part of its budget through a resale fee charged to the buyer, capped at 0.25 percent of the gross sale price. On a $2.5 million sale, that fee lands around $6,250. Willowsford's Grove village, another Aldie-side pocket, regularly lists estate homes near $4 million, where the same 0.25 percent works out to roughly $10,000. Same rate. Very different check, and it moves with the market rather than sitting still like a flat monthly due.
That single design choice is the reason two Aldie listings with similar-looking HOA numbers can carry meaningfully different costs of ownership. Aldie's planned communities don't share one HOA blueprint, and the differences only show up once you compare them side by side.
Three Communities, Three Different Fee Designs
Willowsford's structure is the most unusual in the area because it splits the bill in two. Homeowners pay a standard HOA assessment for streets, entrances, and community buildings like The Lodge at Willow Lake, and they pay a separate Conservancy assessment tied specifically to the farm, the trail network, and the preserved open space. That Conservancy due has climbed on its own, moving from roughly $48 a month to about $88 a month between 2025 and 2026. Add the resale fee on top, and a Willowsford purchase carries three cost lines most buyers only budget for one of.
Stone Ridge runs a single association, but its dues aren't flat across the community either. According to Stone Ridge's own published assessment schedule, single-family owners in sections like Savannah and Cedarwood pay a higher monthly fee because yard maintenance is bundled into their dues, while townhome owners pay an added amount to cover private-street upkeep that Loudoun County doesn't take on, since the county treats those roads as private. Condo owners pay one fee through their management company that folds into the broader association assessment. Three different totals inside one HOA, depending entirely on what type of home you buy and where it sits.
Kirkpatrick Farms is closer to what most buyers expect from an HOA quote: one number covering a pool, a clubhouse with an indoor gym, a playground, and the community's own swim team, all funded through a single assessment rather than a split structure. It's the simplest of the three to budget against, mainly because it doesn't scale with anything but its own annual budget.
| Community | Fee structure | What drives the total | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willowsford | HOA plus separate Conservancy assessment, plus a resale fee capped at 0.25% of sale price | Standard dues, farm and trail upkeep, and a percentage tied to your purchase price | Monthly bill twice over, plus a line item at closing |
| Stone Ridge | Single association, tiered by home type and section | Whether yard maintenance is bundled in, whether streets are private | Monthly bill, but the number changes by section |
| Kirkpatrick Farms | Single flat HOA | Pool, clubhouse, and shared amenities | Monthly bill only |
Why A Percentage Fee Behaves Differently When Prices Are Rising
Loudoun County's housing market hasn't been flat. The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors reported a median sold price of $813,000 in July 2026, up 7.4 percent year over year, with homes averaging 21 days on market. Prices in the county have room to move, and Aldie's higher-tier communities move with them.
A flat monthly due doesn't care what the market does. Kirkpatrick Farms' HOA bill is set by its annual operating budget, not by what homes around it are selling for. Stone Ridge's tiered structure is set by physical service level: what section you're in, whether the county maintains your street. Neither one grows because the market had a good year.
Willowsford's resale fee is different by design. Because it's calculated as a percentage of the sale price rather than a flat dollar figure, it rises automatically as home values rise. A buyer comparing a Willowsford listing against a Stone Ridge or Kirkpatrick Farms listing at a similar price point today isn't just comparing two homes. They're comparing a cost that stays put against a cost that scales with the market, at the exact moment the market has been moving up.
The fee printed on a listing sheet is a snapshot taken at one moment. In at least one Aldie community, the real number moves every time the market does.
What To Ask Before You Write An Offer
- Request the current assessment for both the HOA and any separate conservancy or foundation, not the figure printed on the listing.
- Ask directly whether the community charges a resale or transfer fee, who pays it, and whether it's a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the sale price.
- If it's percentage-based, run the math against your actual offer price, not an average pulled from an old listing.
- In tiered communities like Stone Ridge, confirm which section and home type you're buying into before assuming your dues match a similar-looking home a few streets over.
- Get all of it in writing through the resale certificate ordered before closing. A listing agent's recollection of the HOA number isn't the number that shows up on your settlement statement.
Quick Answers Before You Offer
Does every home in Aldie carry two separate fees? No. The dual HOA-plus-Conservancy structure is specific to Willowsford. Stone Ridge and Kirkpatrick Farms each bill through one association, though Stone Ridge's total still depends on your section and home type.
Can the Community Enhancement Fee be negotiated at closing? The cap is set by the Conservancy's Board of Trustees, not by the parties at the table, so it functions as a fixed program cost of buying into Willowsford rather than a line item open to negotiation.
How do I find the exact fee for a specific address before I make an offer? The resale certificate is the document that spells out every assessment tied to that address and section. That's the number to budget against, not the community-wide average you'll find quoted online.
Aldie's planned communities each ask something different of a buyer, and the difference doesn't always show up until the numbers are in front of you at the table. If you're comparing Willowsford against Stone Ridge or Kirkpatrick Farms, or trying to figure out what a specific address will actually cost you to carry, The Pearl Team can walk through the real assessment schedule for that address before you write an offer. You can start with our Aldie neighborhood guide or reach out through our buyer resources to schedule your free home strategy session.
