Author: ARLnow.com Sponsor

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.

Before we jump into today’s Just Reduced overview, Monday was Veterans Day.

Our area — including not just Arlington County but our nation’s capital — is steeped in military tradition, spanning picturesque monuments, centuries of history and thousands upon thousands of military families that call these beautiful confines home.

To wonderful veterans and their families: The sincerest thank you to you all… every single day.

On the note of thank yous and kindness, today is World Kindness Day. So, let’s keep the love for our military and each other going strong. In an increasingly wacky world, let’s think about the positive impact we can have on each other, especially locally here in our own community.

On the kindness front and when you’re ready to embark on your real estate journey, the Arlington Realty, Inc. team will always greet you with professionalism, keen local knowledge and a smile. When you’re ready to roll, we are, too.

And now on to this week’s numbers.

As of November 11, there are 150 detached homes, 19 townhouses and 94 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 19 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.

The Perfect Pita Thanks Customers for 25 Years of Business

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

The Perfect Pita is celebrating 25 years during November with customer offers that range from discounts on gift cards ($25 gift cards for only $20) and t-shirt giveaways to buy-one-get-one-for-25-cents specials. And for one day, on November 25, they’re going retro and selling select items at 1994 prices!

“We are so grateful to our customers in Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland,” said Erica Kan Olds, General Manager and daughter of The Perfect Pita founder, Atilla Kan. “It only seems fitting that our anniversary celebration be about them.”

When Erica’s father immigrated to the U.S. from Ankara, Turkey in the late 1960s, The Perfect Pita was just a dream. He worked two jobs for several years — Turkish Embassy staffer by day and Hot Shoppes waiter by night — until he saved enough to open his first restaurant in 1975 with his wife Carol.  They called it “Atilla’s Home of the Gyro,” and it quickly gained a loyal following of locals and nearby Pentagon employees.

Erica remembers her father bringing freshly baked flatbread home each evening after work. “One night,” said Erica, “the bread was accidentally puffy, so my dad cut it and stuffed it. From that moment on, my dad just started stuffing everything into those pita pockets!”

That was the beginning of The Perfect Pita restaurants and the wholesale pita and hummus business the family runs in Springfield, Virginia. Today, there are 14 locations of The Perfect Pita, and the wholesale business sells their homemade pita bread and hummus to local Safeways, WholeFoods and mom & pop stores. Erica also runs a successful catering business from the Springfield location.

Stop in this month and help celebrate!

For a full calendar of The Perfect Pita’s anniversary promotions, go to theperfectpita.com and follow The Perfect Pita on Facebook or Twitter.

Ask Eli: How Agents and Agent Teams are Structured

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: I’m in the process of searching for a real estate agent and having trouble understanding the different organizational structures. Can you explain how it works?

Answer: Most real estate agents operate as independent contractors within their brokerage (office), thus have autonomy to operate their business/service model as they choose. With over 12,000 Realtors in the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors alone, the organizational structures and business models vary widely to suit an agent’s style of business and/or target clientele.

I think it’s almost as important for home buyers and sellers to learn about their prospective agent’s operating model as it is to make sure they know your market. An agent’s operating model will impact your experience and you need to make sure it aligns with your expectations.

I’ll break down some of the organizational structures that are most common today so you have an idea of what to look for.

Brokerage

At the top of the organizational structure is the brokerage, which is best described as the office your agent works for. The brokerage is the legal entity involved in the transaction and when you sign a Buyer Representation or Listing Agreement, it’s actually with the brokerage, with your agent as the assigned representative of the brokerage.

Currently in D.C., most brokerages are made up of multiple agents, often dozens to hundreds, and function like a shared office. An agent cannot operate independently outside of a brokerage, but an individual agent can have their own broker’s license and operate an independent brokerage.

Most agents operate as independent contractors within their brokerage, but there are some models, Redfin being the most popular, where agents are employees.

Agent Models

In most cases agents operate individually or within a team, structured in some common ways:

1. Individual Agent, No Support: Many agents work independently without any sort of support staff. The advantage for clients is that you always know who you’ll be working with and who is handling every detail of your transaction. The main disadvantage is that there is a single point of failure if that person is unavailable.

2. Individual Agent With Administrative Support: Some independent agents hire one or more people to support administrative tasks like scheduling and marketing. Some brokerages also offer this type of administrative support to their agents. This should be an advantage over #1 because the agent has more time for high-value tasks, but it also requires the administrative support to be on top of things and strong communication between agent and admin.

3. Team Partnership: Two or more experienced agents with strong individual businesses may partner to share some administrative support costs and build a stronger brand together. For the client, it has many of the same qualities as #2, but there’s usually an added benefit of knowing that there’s at least one other experienced agent available as back-up in case your agent in unavailable.

4. Team Lead With Coordinators: An individual agent or partnership with a large book of business that uses specialized buyer and seller coordinators to support client activities. An advantage to clients is that the transaction is generally led/directed by an experienced agent and that there is no single point of failure, you’re working with a support team. A disadvantage is that some or many high-value pieces of the transaction are handled by coordinators, not the lead (experienced) agent.

5. Team “CEO” With Junior Agents: An experienced agent who acts more as a CEO, overseeing the operations of a large team of agents, and personally handling very few transactions, if any. Clients should benefit from systems and processes the “CEO” agent used to become successful, imparted on the junior agents. A disadvantage is that these teams often have dozens or more agents and the experience of those agents varies widely and don’t necessarily reflect the talent of the “CEO” agent.

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ProMD Health Brings Anti-Aging Solutions to Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

After eight years of successfully serving patients in Baltimore and Annapolis, ProMD Health has opened an office in Arlington.

The Ballston location continues the same proven personalized medicine approach to help patients look younger and feel younger by offering the same complete suite of facial rejuvenation, hormone optimization therapy and lifestyle services as the Baltimore and Annapolis locations.

Under the direction of Janette Roderick Sauter, a board-certified physician assistant, ProMD Health provides a wealth of successful choices for clients who become part of the treatment team. Sauter emphasizes teaching patients how each product or treatment works and creates a partnership that puts the patient in control of the process. Sauter, an Arlington resident, trained under founder Dr. George Gavrila, MD, and Amy Fleming, PA-C before leading the Arlington office.

“It is very important to me that patients leave my office with all of their questions and concerns having been addressed and answered,” Sauter said.

Patients look and feel younger thanks to the variety of non-surgical treatments provided by ProMD Health. Services include Cosmetic Injections, Microneedling, PDO thread lift, Y Lift, Sculptra butt lift, Kybella and medical grade skin care products, among others.

To schedule an appointment, see this page.

Those interested in owning your own ProMD Health, see this page on the ProMD Health website.

ProMD Health is at 1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 120. The phone number is 202-609-8887.  Follow them on Twitter @ProMDHealth.

Your Beermonger: And a Happy Stoutmas to You

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway). Sign up for Nick’s email newsletter and also receive exclusive discounts and offers.

It’s a season not unlike the harvest: you can have a feeling for when it’s going to start, but never really know for sure until you’re in it.

The revelry is just as real though, and, quite literally, intoxicating. I’m speaking today of Stoutmas, the nebulous holiday season that my wife and I invented some years back and has kicked off in earnest this week.

You may or may not be surprised to learn that ours isn’t the most religious of houses, but Stoutmas (or #Stoutmas if you’re on social media, because if anything else can get a day, surely we can get a whole season for Stouts) has become one of our few observed high holidays (along with Halloween, Dia del los Muertos, our “leave us alone” Christmas Day wherein we’ve already done our family stuff the day before and stay in being lazy, new Bojack episodes — though I guess we’re gonna have to find something to replace that one…).

It started a few years ago and has become a beloved tradition not just for us, but now for many of our clients at Arrowine.

Stoutmas began during my first stint at Arrowine, as we were heading into the fall rush and holiday season. Occasionally, breweries give buyers like me samples of upcoming releases to try, and periodically, I find my fridge bursting a bit at the seams with beers I haven’t quite gotten to yet for one reason or another.

With an impressive collection of Stouts and Porters built up, and sharing a love of dark beers of all strengths and styles, my wife and I decided to start opening and splitting at least one of them per night. We got to try many things new, either to her or to both of us, and freed up precious refrigerator space for stuff like, you know, food.

Soon enough we realized that as November rolled into December, there were more than enough Stouts coming out that we really could do a different one every night leading into the Christmas holiday. Hence, Stoutmas.

This year’s Stoutmas is kicking off with the release of Hardywood’s Gingerbread Stout, First of Its Name and Hearald of the Vaunted Variant Releases. But, by the time you find this column online, I’ll also have rich, bold, dark Stouts in stock from Union, Oliver, Wicked Weed, Stillwater, Southern Tier, Smartmouth and Schalfly with many more to come. Wicked Weed’s entry is seemingly made for Stoutmas: a 4-pack with one bottle each of four of their fan-favorite Imperial Stouts (Milk & Cookies, French Toast, S’mores and German Chocolate Cake).

Stoutmas is best celebrated with friends and/or family; those Imperials can add up quickly. You can hold off until December 1 and do the advent calendar thing, but I like to think Stoutmas lives in our heart and livers all year round.

There’s truly no wrong way to celebrate the season. So go forth, and indulge that curiosity about that Imperial Stout you’ve always wanted to try, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll find that the real Stoutmas was the friends we made along the way.

Next time: The “interesting” column I promised last time — I hope.

Upcoming tasting events at Arrowine:

Friday, November 8, 5-7 p.m. — Jesse Ploeg of Potter’s Craft Cider
Friday, November 22, 5-7 p.m. — Clayton Daniels of Abita Brewing Company
Saturday, November 23, 1-4 p.m. — Joe Kasper of 3 Stars Brewing Company

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:

4611 36th Street N.
6 BD/5 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Washington Fine Properties
Listed: $2,699,00
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

1236 Oakcrest Road
4 BD/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Re/Max Allegiance
Listed: $1,149,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

1418 N. Rhodes Street #B102
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $919,900
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

1034 N. Randolph Street
2 BD/2 BA condo
Agent: Century 21 Redwood Realty
Listed: $839,00
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m.

 

3604 8th Street S.
3 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $ 699,00
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

939 S. Scott Street #1
2 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Re/Max Distinctive Real Estate, Inc
Listed: $514,500
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

2821 Wakfield Street S. #7-8
2 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $407,500
Open: Sunday 1-4 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 Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

The best way to describe Arlington’s fall real estate market is consistent. It’s not particularly exciting, nor is it ever boring. It just keeps plugging along at a steady pace.

This week mirrors last week with 43 new listings and 44 sales. Of those homes that sold, some 17 were gone within seven days, pushing our average days on market (DOM) down to just 20. At that rate of absorption, and with only 244 homes actively available for sale, we have only 1.4 months of inventory.

The average DOM for those 244 homes still actively for sale is 80. So what makes the difference between 20 DOM for those homes that sold this week compared to 80 DOM for those that haven’t sold yet? Well, it’s more than just location, location, location. It boils down to two things: price and condition.

Pricing a home properly can overcome location and other handicaps. Pricing is the most important factor that sellers can control, followed closely by condition. Buyers today are maxing out their purchasing power just to buy the home. They have no cash left for upgrades. So they want homes that are in pristine condition needing nothing else but love from the new owners.

Arlington’s problem with low inventory is the national story as well. The inventory level nationally has dropped 2.7% from last year’s third quarter, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.

The report also shows that our DMV area is ranked 14th among 176 major metro areas in the U.S. for the most expensive homes. Of course San Francisco/San Jose/San Diego rank at the top. But those three areas also saw their home prices drop in the third quarter compared to last year by about 3.5% average. If it’s true that trends start in California, then we all need to pay attention in the months ahead.

Click to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.

The Rise of Coworking in Ballston

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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Coworking on the Rise

In a nutshell, coworking is the practice of shared workspaces and amenities where multiple unrelated companies work in the same space using the operator’s administrative and amenity functions. In today’s modern and ever-changing office world, coworking is the fastest growing alternative to the traditional office space.

The coworking industry has become a global phenomenon! Between 2008-2010, more operators joined the market, but in recent years, the industry has veritably exploded. According to Emergent Research, over 1,000 new coworking spaces opened in the second half of 2018 — nearly half of which are located in the U.S.

TechSpace, one of the first operators in the coworking space industry, was established in 1997 and opened in the Ballston area in June 2018.

Who Uses Coworking Spaces? 

People often wonder what kinds of companies are best served by coworking spaces. The answer is many industries are actually well-suited. Since opening in June 2018 at our Ballston location at 4075 Wilson Boulevard, we’ve experienced a rapid influx of businesses that have ties to the federal government, but also see a lot of growing tech companies.

Despite the different sectors in which they operate, all businesses have become reliant on a superior technology infrastructure like the one TechSpace provides.

Why Move into TechSpace?

Flexibility — The terms provided by a flexible workspace provider gives members the ability to scale up (or downsize) quickly, as their needs change. This means a company can grow into a private office, or multiple private offices, as well as scale within the same building, all without having to move or change addresses. Coworking spaces also help with low upfront capital costs and reduced fixed expenditures — giving your company more cash on hand.

Amenities — As the competition for top talent heats up, companies must adapt their workplaces in response to changing demands and expectations of employees. Flexible workspaces offer a wide range of hospitality-focused services and amenities — from a welcoming reception area and dedicated community manager to a variety of networking events — creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere and positive workday experience for all employees.

Community — Coworking spaces also give members access to a supportive community of other like-minded business professionals to work around. This means companies and their employees have endless opportunities to network and socialize with other members — both throughout the workday and during community programs and events.

Move into TechSpace by December 31 and get up to $500

For a limited time, TechSpace is reimbursing new members up to $500 when you sign by December 31. So, how does the one-time incentive work? It’s simple!

  • Earn $500 total (maximum) for 4+ seats
  • $250 total for 1-3 seats (this includes FlexSpace)

Book a tour with our community manager, Jennifer today!

Move-in credit of $250 or $500 will be given to new members closing on their office(s) by December 31. Credit will be applied by ‘one-time promotional discount’ 90 days (3 months) after move-in date.

Boring Title: 4 Things You Need To Know This Week In Real Estate

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.

This week, Allied Title & Escrow’s CEO, Latane Meade, talks about 4 things you should know about real estate in our area… #3 is VERY EXCITING!

If you have any real estate questions that you would like to ask, comment below!

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!

Master Your Future In Cybersecurity

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

The ever-evolving “security threat landscape” and changes in user behavior and IT infrastructure require IT professionals to keep their knowledge up to date and stay on top of the latest trends and developments.

Earning a 100% online Master of Information Technology with a specialization in cybersecurity from Virginia Tech can help individuals meet these heightened demands in a number of ways.

Ranked the #1 online master’s degree for cybersecurity by Cyberdegrees.org, and one of the top 3 online graduate IT programs nationwide by U.S. News and World Report, Virginia Tech’s VT-MIT program takes a unique approach to specialized education.

Core courses in areas such as information systems design, elec­tronic commerce, software engineering and computer programming help students master technical expertise in a business context. After completing these core courses, degree students can choose to specialize in cybersecurity.

Areas of focus range from cybersecurity management — for those interested in running their own in-house cybersecurity practice — to cybersecurity policy, which explores the legal and ethical concerns triggered by data breaches. This breadth of content allows students to tailor their education around their career ambitions.

Part of Virginia Tech’s core strength is its world-class cyber­security research, supported by $15 million in research grants and contracts. Students can access six cybersecurity research centers, including the Ballston-based Hume Center for National Security and Technology.

The VT-MIT program’s 100% online format allows students to pursue higher education at their own pace — a flexibility that allows for a longer timeline. Further enriching the student environment is the program’s openness to students with diverse backgrounds and interests, including business line leaders looking to improve their technology capabilities while leveraging their domain expertise.

Combating today’s cyber threats has never been more difficult, nor more critical to business continuity. A Master of Information Technology degree with a specialization in cybersecurity from Virginia Tech can help leaders better understand the systemic nature of these threats, and teach them strategies for dealing with an increasingly complex security landscape.

Learn more about Virginia Tech’s 100% online Master of Information Technology with cybersecurity specializations here.

Biz Talk: Call for Applications — Arlington’s Fast Four Award

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
Arlington company, Eminent IT, wins a 2018 Fast Four Award

This article was written by Sindy Yeh, Senior Business Ambassador for Arlington Economic Development.

For the fifth year in a row, Arlington is celebrating its fastest growing companies.

The Fast Four Award honors Arlington companies that are growing quickly in a variety of revenue categories. Whether a technology-based or retail business, the Fast Four Award aims to recognize thriving companies across industry sectors. The award is also an opportunity for local companies to showcase their growth while demonstrating Arlington’s business-friendly environment.

To be eligible, companies must be privately held, be based in Arlington, and show continuous revenue growth between 2016 and 2018. To apply, companies must submit an online application and provide income statements to show proof of growth and revenue. The company with the fastest growth rate in each revenue category will be honored as one of Arlington’s fastest growing businesses.

The 2018 award winners were Arlington companies, AM LLC, LiveSafe, Eminent IT, and Mind, Body, Health.

The 2019 Arlington Fast Four winners will be formally announced on December 5 at the Arlington Premiere event to be held at Ballston Quarter. Arlington Premiere is an exclusive event where Arlington’s newest business owners have the opportunity to meet key community and government leaders while learning about the many resources available to them within the County.

We encourage fast-growing companies to apply for the 2019 Fast Four Awards.

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