Author: ARLnow.com Sponsor

Boring Title: The Refi Boom is Here!

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Title insurance is boring, but Allied Title & Escrow is here to decode the jargon and make it (somewhat) more interesting. This biweekly feature will explore the mundane (but very necessary!) world of title insurance while sharing interesting stories of two friends’ entrepreneurial careers.

In this week’s edition of Boring Title, we present to you Allied Mike’s first single.

The refi boom is here, so let us know if we can help you out! We have lowered our settlement fees $125, hired additional processors and are ready to help. So come on in, and dance in our closing room!

Have questions related to title insurance? Email Latane and Matt at [email protected]. Want to use Allied Title & Escrow when you buy a home? Tell your agent when you buy a house to write in Allied Title & Escrow as your settlement company!

Biz Talk: Arlington Partners with the Real Estate Community

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
Photo via David Hills

This article was written by Alex Taylor, Senior Business Development Manager for Arlington Economic Development.

Arlington Economic Development has many evolving strategies to attract business to the County, but one consistent piece is cultivating our partnership with the commercial real estate community.

In February, we hosted the first Broker Breakfast, a series of events that will occur over the coming months and will focus on synchronizing messaging to enhance our efforts to bring business to our commercial corridors.

Companies looking to expand into a new market often rely heavily on real estate experts to be the front door into the locations that best suit their needs. Whether it’s a new gym, rooftop employee lounges or just easy access to metro, there are dozens of factors that can drive a real estate decision within a building itself. And while buildings are important, the key drivers for most of these decisions boil down to one thing: attracting and retaining a quality workforce.

Workforce is currency that every tenant in the market is working to leverage. A highly-educated and reliable workforce is pivotal for business success and overall economic growth. Arlington is fortunate enough to sit at the center of the second largest tech talent pool in the U.S., and our universities are near the top of every ranking in the country for graduating technology and professional degrees.

The smartest and hardest working employees reside here, and the future workforce will be here as well. The Commonwealth’s $1.1 billion investment in the Tech Talent Pipeline is set to create nearly 31,000 tech degrees in the next two decades between Virginia Tech in Alexandria and George Mason in Arlington.

The County’s public infrastructure, built environment and overall quality of life are huge draws for companies and their employees. Arlington is the model for urban-suburban development, a product of smart planning during the 1960’s and 70’s as Metro began expanding into the suburbs, a decision that has paid dividends ever since.

There are many factors that lead to a high quality of life, but the ones at the top of the list typically involve easy walkability, quality transit, access to amenities, high quality of life and a strong public education system — all things that Arlington has in abundance, and all important factors for workers when choosing where to live and work.

Quality environment, product and workforce are true drivers of real estate decisions on the commercial side. Fortunately, Arlington, along with the rest of the region, is very well positioned in these areas as well. Amazon, Nestlé, Lidl and dozens of other small and medium-sized businesses have had success in our market due to these features.

While many companies have struck gold here in Arlington, not all companies in the U.S. know these stories and statistics. It is our job to help relay these themes, but we are a small staff with limited resources. We must maximize and leverage our partners in the real estate industry at every opportunity.

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by Arlington Realty, Inc. Maximize your real estate investment with the team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6000 today!

Please note: While Arlington Realty, Inc. provides this information for the community, it may not be the listing company of these homes.

Germs — and the spread of them — are certainly top-of-mind during these interesting times.

In addition to being cognizant of your surroundings and taking preventative measures out in public during this flu (and now COVID-19) season, there are some steps everyone should be taking at home.

Among them are these three quick tips:

  1. Take your shoes off at the door and encourage your guests to do so, too. Germs can travel on the soles of your shoes and, depending on the virus, can live on your shoes for up to 48 hours. Hey, at the very least, your floors will be cleaner.
  2.  Sanitize surfaces frequently. If you are carrying items in and out of your home — setting them on your counters, dressers and more — you’ll want to do some cleaning once those surfaces are clear again.
  3. Be aware of your guests. While your family may be perfectly healthy, you may have a guest that’s not. And, in a matter of minutes, they may touch your remote, thermostat, doorknobs, refrigerator door and more. A periodic cleanse of these areas certainly can’t hurt either.

Stay calm and smart out there, friends.

And now on to this week’s Just Reduced figures.

As of March 9, there are 119 detached homes, 14 townhouses and 79 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 11 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week:

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Arlington Realty, Inc.

You’re Invited: Schar School Graduate Programs Open Houses

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

The Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University is offering two open houses this spring — one for PhD studies, and one for master’s degree programs.

These open houses are held on the Arlington Campus, located a few blocks from both the Clarendon and Virginia Square Metro Stations. During the open houses, you’ll have the opportunity to speak with program faculty and student and career services staff, as well as current students, alumni, and members of the Graduate Admissions Office.

Light hors d’oeuvres will be served. We hope you can join us!

PHD OPEN HOUSE

Wednesday, March 18
7-8:30 p.m.
Arlington, VA Campus

MASTER’S OPEN HOUSE

Thursday, March 26
6:30-8 p.m.
Arlington, VA Campus

George Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 2 best school in the U.S. for security studies programs relating to intelligence, counterterrorism and emergency management. With dedicated career services advisors, 16,000+ passionate alumni around the globe, and a faculty of leaders and experts in their fields, you will benefit from a world-class education.

DOCTORAL PROGRAMS

Part-time and full-time options available

MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAMS

Part-time and full-time options available

To learn more about our programs, fill out our inquiry form to indicate your interest to the Admissions team or register for one of our upcoming open houses.

Ask Eli: Impact of Coronavirus on the Real Estate Market

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: How will the threat of Coronavirus impact the real estate market in 2020?

Answer: I wasn’t planning to write this, it seems a little click-baity (now my “Trump’s Impact on Real Estate” column has some competition!), but I got the question four different times in under 24 hours last week so here I am writing about it.

Too Early To Know

Nobody knows how Coronavirus is going to impact the real estate market over the next month or the next ten months because we don’t know what the real impact of the virus will be on public health and markets. According to President Trump, it could disappear one day “like a miracle” and according to others, we could face a devastating pandemic.

Yesterday’s stock market closed down nearly 8% and this morning, the Futures were up almost 4%. Uncertainty slows the real estate market down and the only certainty right now is how uncertain the markets and public are about COVID-19. It’s hard to see how this type of uncertainty doesn’t create a drag on real estate across the country, the question is how long it will last.

Beyond the uncertainty, you have the very real impact of a sharp decline in investment/retirement accounts that many people use for down payments. With many accounts down double digits over the last two weeks, some buyers may reconsider their decision to sell stocks right now.

On the other hand, interest rates are historically low, hitting all-time lows last week and the real estate market across the greater D.C. Metro has been on fire since January so it’ll take a major shift in demand to slow things down as we head into peak buying season.

What I’ve Heard

So far, what I’m hearing from clients, colleagues and other industry partners (lenders, title, etc) is that buyers are hoping the Coronavirus slows the market down so they can have a better opportunity to buy, but there seems to be very few people actually pulling out of the market or reducing offers because of it.

Currently, buyers still seem more motivated by historically low rates and lack of buying opportunities than they are concerned that the likely impact of the virus. It seems that long-term confidence in local real estate is still a stronger influence on people’s decisions.

I think this mindset could change quickly, having broad negative effects on the local real estate market, if markets continue to tank, systematic failures in the market appear (e.g. Mortgage-backed Securities in 07-08), or people begin experiencing more direct effects of the virus like work/school closures or people they know testing positive.

This is an important change to watch for if you’re considering putting your home on the market in the coming weeks.

Don’t Overvalue Speculation

It’s important to distinguish between fact and speculation and not overvalue speculation. If you spend 30 minutes online today, you’ll be able to find an assortment of well-supported reasons why the markets is on the brink of another recession as well as well-supported reasons why everything will be just fine, with growth ahead.

Your decision should be rooted in things you can rely on like how long you can live happily in a home (nothing creates value like longer ownership periods) and what your best alternatives are to buying (renting, staying put) or selling (do you have a better utilization of your equity?).

Of course, you want to consider the national, regional and local economy as well as neighborhood trends, development pipelines and other factors that will influence appreciation/depreciation potential, but be careful not to overvalue speculation. 

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with RLAH Real Estate, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. #10C Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 390-9460.

Legal Insider: Self-Reporting Security Clearance Issues

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, an employment and labor law firm located in Northern Virginia that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.

Government contractors, federal employees and military personnel holding security clearances have a duty to self-report security issues that happen between investigations.

Not reporting timely security concerns can lead to a loss of one’s security clearance in itself. Unfortunately, there are often uncertain about self-reporting and when and how it applies to a clearance holder.

The Duty to Self Report

The duty to self-report was best defined by an administrative judge from the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) in a 2001 case: “[I]t is the responsibility of security clearance holders to report events which negatively affect the status of the security clearance holder or the facility. [A]ny information… [which] reflects adversely on the integrity or character of a security clearance holder should be reported to security personnel to avoid compromising situations that make the security clearance holder vulnerable to coercion, exploitation, or duress.”

Examples of What Might be Reported

A reportable security concern is an incident that falls under one of the Adjudicative Guidelines contained in Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4). In most cases legal counsel should be consulted to determine how to self-report an issue. The following are just a few of the more common examples of security issues that could trigger a duty to self-report:

  • An individual uses illegal drugs (including the use of marijuana even in states or countries where legal locally). This can be a very complicated security concern given the intersection of criminal law and clearance law where legal advice will definitely be needed.
  • An individual is arrested. The timing and substance of reporting this incident will be important so legal advice will be needed.
  • An individual petitions for bankruptcy. Because filing for bankruptcy bears on financial considerations under SEAD 4, the individual should likely report the filing as soon as possible to his or her security officer.
  • An individual marries a foreign citizen. Because marrying a foreign citizen can raise foreign influence issues under SEAD 4, it most likely will trigger a duty to self-report.

When Should a Security Concern be Reported?

When an individual who holds a security clearance determines that a security concern requires self-reporting, it is important to do so as soon as timely as possible. The typical procedure for doing so is to notify one’s security officer of the security concern. The security officer may simply take note of the situation, report it or take other action.

The individual almost always feels embarrassed to self-report a security concern. However, not reporting an incident can lead to the loss of an individual’s security clearance. If an individual has questions about what should be reported, he or she should seek legal advice from an attorney experienced in security clearance law as soon as possible. There are risks to self-reporting, so it is important to seek legal counsel prior to doing so where possible.

Contact Us

If you are in need of legal representation or advice on the reporting of security clearance issues or any other security clearance matters, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

Rethink Energy: Vote Today!

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored column is written by the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy team (AIRE). This county program helps you make smart energy decisions that save you money and leaves a lighter footprint on the environment.

The Virginia primary is over, but we aren’t here to talk politics.

Below is a poll that will help us help you. We can all take solace in knowing that these votes won’t define our country’s fate.

Let us know the top 4 event types you think the Rethink Energy program should focus on this year.

Listing of the Day: 3411 N. Woodrow Street

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/10

Address: 3411 N. Woodrow Street 
Neighborhood: Country Club Hills 
Listed: Auction 
Open: Weekends 1-3 p.m.

Auction Date: March 24 at 1 p.m. Previews: Weekends 1-3 p.m.

Beautiful new construction in the heart of Country Club Hills.

This 6,700+sq. ft. custom home has been designed to incorporate the rich architectural details prevalent on homes throughout the surrounding neighborhood. The home features traditional high ceilings on all levels, hardwood floors, dormers, transoms and arches. There are 6 bedrooms, 6 full baths, 2 half baths and each of the bedrooms has an en-suite bathroom.

The owner’s suite features a huge walk-in closet with dressing table and a lavish bathroom. There is a gourmet eat-in kitchen, a main level guest suite with private bath, state of the art high speed wiring, two car garage and one car garage. View the virtual tour on www.tranzon.com/FX7330.

Listed by:
Jeff Stein
Tranzon Fox
888-621-2110
[email protected] 
www.tranzon.com/FX7330

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

1335 14th Street N.
3 BD/4 BA, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Kv Realty
Listed: $1,998,888
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

1819 N. Highland Street
3 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Prestige Realty, Llc
Listed: $1,450,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

424 N. George Mason Drive
4 BD/3 BA, 2 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Compass
Listed: $1,049,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

2319 N. Glebe Road
4 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Re/Max Distinctive Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $869,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

2628 N. Potomac Street
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Optime Realty
Listed: $750,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

1245 N. Pierce Street #1
2 BD/2 BA condo
Agent: Samson Properties
Listed: $625,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

1200 Crystal Drive #514
2 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Optime Realty
Listed: $499,900
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Andors Real Estate Group.

Okay, so I know I’ve been talking about mortgage rates for the past couple weeks, but now they just hit ALL TIME record lows! The average for a 30-year fixed just hit 3.29%, and it’s very possible you can get lower than that, perhaps below 3%!

But enough about mortgage rates! Usually this low-rate environment would spur an uptick in purchases, and while that is true around the country, it is not true in Arlington as there is almost nothing to buy. We have a very unique and dynamic market here in Arlington!

There are currently 171 homes for sale in Arlington, 100 are detached homes, 11 are townhouses/semi-detached and 60 are condos.

Sellers listed some 68 properties for sale this week. Buyers ratified 46 contracts, 29 of which were homes that had been on the market one week or less.

Inventory has crept back up to about one month’s worth of inventory, up a bit from our low of ¾ month in February. This is something I’ll be watching closely as the spring market shifts into an even higher gear to see if this is a trend upward or just a brief slowdown in absorption of available properties. Ratifications on new listings are still quite strong — almost 50% of new inventory is being absorbed week over week.

Global market turmoil is on the minds of buyers and sellers alike, and we’re all curious how things will shake out. The rapid spreading of coronavirus cases and extreme fluctuations in stock markets have many wondering if we’re on the brink of a recession. While I can’t answer that definitively, what we’re still seeing here in Arlington is full speed ahead.

Remember, markets go up over long enough periods of time, but in the short term, they can either jump up sharply or decline similarly. The price of your home only matters on the day you sell it and should always be looked at as a long-term investment.

To help differentiate our current situation to that of the Great Recession a bit, we’re in much better shape than we were in 2007 and 2008. Mortgage lending is still much more restrictive and I’m seeing mostly very well qualified purchasers in the marketplace. I don’t see those who are stretched too thin and buying something they can’t afford.

Buying power is way up from pre-Great Recession. This is a result of already-low interest rates so buyers are also getting more home for their money. This presumably allows them to stay put for longer as they have more room to grow into it, which can have positive effects down the road — again, a home is supposed to be a long-term play.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend! I’d love to hear from you in the comments below — let me know how I’m doing and if there is anything you would like to see covered in Just Listed.

Click here to search currently available Arlington real estate. Call the Andors Real Estate Group today at (703) 203-1117 to talk more about buying or selling Arlington real estate. Below are eight homes that are new this week that I think you might like to check out.

Listing of the Day: 414 Park Avenue

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/10

Address: 414 Park Avenue
Neighborhood: Falls Church City 
Listed: $1,150,000 
Open: March 7 & 8 from 2-4 p.m.

Falls Church City premiere townhome development — just blocks to W&OD trail, shops, restaurants, grocery, farmers market, community center, city park, library, dry cleaners, doctors, etc.!

Your car can stay parked in the two-car garage or on the two-car paver parking pad. 3,398 SF, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and two extra rooms currently used as guest bedrooms. This home has exceptional all-brick construction, beautiful Georgetown-style patio, extraordinary custom wood trim, sound-mitigating poured concrete between units, newly updated bathrooms, newer Pella windows, 2 natural gas fireplaces, architectural shingles, new hot water heater and furnace, dual zoned HVAC, heated owners bathroom floors, beautiful Karastan carpet and much more!

The quality of the Park Place Townhomes is unmatched.

Listed by:
Theresa Sullivan Twiford
Pearson Smith Realty
307-413-2872
[email protected]

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