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 licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he is not the listing agent of these homes.  

Saturday is St. Patrick’s Day and the luck of the Irish will soon be upon us all!

And speaking of luck, when it comes time to land the home of your dreams for the best price possible, a gem rarely just falls into your hands. It’s all about what you and your team bring to the table.

Sure, you may find the absolute steal of a lifetime lurking out there. But, making an offer is just the first step – there can be negotiations galore, a number of checkpoints throughout the buying process and even unexpected legal hurdles.

On the flipside and if your home isn’t bargain-priced from the get-go, you and your trusted real estate team will need to work with the seller to achieve an optimal buying price.

The bottom-line? Leave the luck to St. Patty’s Day and guarantee a smooth real estate purchase with a trusted team. When you are ready to roll on buying the home of your dreams, I’m ready to help you GET MORE out of your transaction.

As of March 12, there are 181 detached homes, 24 townhouses and 192 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 30 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week.

Here is this week’s selection of Just Reduced properties:

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 Aaron Seekford.

Free Home Buying Workshop to be Held in Rosslyn March 19 and 26

The first 3 to register and attend the class get a FREE Google Chromecast!

Attend the free Home Buyer Class hosted by Orange Line Living and learn all of our tips and get $1,500 towards your next home purchase.

How do I factor condo fees into my new home budget?

Learn More About Home Buying Essentials at Arlington’s Free Home Buying Workshop

You will get a comprehensive explanation of the home purchasing process — there’s more to know than you’d think.

The Orange Line Living Team and Keri Shull Team will be teaching all of the acronyms and definitions you will need, what happens at each stage of your transaction, real strategies on how to negotiate a lower purchase price, the different type of loans available and much more. There will be local specialists from multiple industries in attendance, so come with questions.

Benefits of Attending

  • $1,500 credit towards your new home or towards early lease termination
  • 12-month home buy-back guarantee
  • Wine and cheese provided
  • AND the first 3 to attend will receive a Google Chromecast!

Space is limited, register by clicking here.

The event is hosted by best-selling author and top nationally-ranked real estate agent Dan Lesniak, author of The HyperLocal HyperFast Real Estate Agent. Dan and his team have developed a special process that has allowed them to help over one thousand local families buy or sell their home.

Details

  • When: Monday, March 19 and Monday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m.
  • Where: Orange Line Living, 1600 Wilson Blvd, Suite 101, Arlington, VA 22209
  • Cost: Free
  • Parking: Validated Parking or Free Street Parking
  • Food: Wine and Cheese
  • Contact: [email protected] or call 571-969-7653

Space is limited so be sure to register at arlingtonhomebuyerclass.com.

Ask Eli: Impact Of Lower GreatSchools Rankings On Your Home Value

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

Question: Do you think the recent changes to the rankings of Arlington schools on GreatSchools.org will have an impact on home values?

Answer: Sometime in the last few months, GreatSchools.org quietly changed their school ranking criteria, which resulted in a drop in every high school and middle school in Arlington by 1-2 points (10 point scale).

The two biggest K-12 public school ranking websites in the US are Niche.com and GreatSchools.org with about 6M and 4M monthly visits, respectively (SchoolDigger is a distant third with about 500k).

In my experience, buyers in the DC Metro rely more heavily on GreatSchools because Niche lacks differentiation between schools (everybody is a winner). The change in Arlington County Public Schools rankings on GreatSchools is worth noting and I suspect that it will have a negative impact on the housing market.

GreatSchools’ Explanation

In the About section of GreatSchools, they explain the changes in their grading criteria with the following: “In the past, the overall GreatSchools Rating in most states was based on test scores.

In some states*, the GreatSchools Rating was also based on student progress (or “growth”) and college readiness data (SAT/ACT participation and/or performance and/or graduation rates).

Our school profiles now include important information in addition to test scores — factors that make a big difference in how children experience school, such as how much a school helps students improve academically, how well a school supports students from different socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups, and whether or not some groups of students are disproportionately affected by the school’s discipline and attendance policies.

Many of these important themes now have their own rating, and these themed ratings are incorporated into the school’s overall GreatSchools Summary Rating.”

Old vs New Rankings

Below is a table showing the before and after scores for all Arlington County middle and high schools, as well as a limited set of Fairfax County/Falls Church middle and high schools (the ones I had documented scores for before the change).

All “old” scores are as of Fall 2017. Note that my request to GreatSchools for the “old” scores for all Northern VA/DC Metro schools was denied. (more…)

March 19: A Conversation with Martina Navratilova at Mercatus Center

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Martina Navratilova — record-setting tennis player, communist defector, author, and activist — will join Tyler Cowen at George Mason University’s Arlington campus for a wide-ranging dialogue as part of the Mercatus Center’s Conversations with Tyler series. The conversation is free of charge and open to the public.

Click here to register

Born in Prague, Martina Navratilova began playing tennis at 7 years old and won her first singles title in Orlando, Florida, 10 years later.

As her tennis career ramped up outside the borders of Czechoslovakia, officials in her native country began pressuring her to “behave,” warning her that she would not be granted travel visas if she continued fraternizing with tennis players from other countries or becoming too “Americanized.”

Navratilova, a teenager at the time, began to feel a threat to her tennis aspirations and took the most courageous action of her career.  At the age of 18, she defected to the United States, leaving behind her family and native country to pursue her dreams.

Navratilova’s sacrifice paid off. Despite backlash from being one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay, she won the Wimbledon women’s singles title a record nine times.

In all, Navratilova has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (an all-time record) and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; in total, she has won 59 Grand Slam titles.  She continues to play at all the Grand Slams where she takes part in the legends doubles.

A dedicated activist, Navratilova believes that speaking out about political and social issues is a way to give back to the country that gave her so much. While she has involved herself with many charities and causes, she has been especially outspoken about issues that hit closest to home: communism and gay rights.

Navratilova’s activism and depth of thinking make her a prime candidate for the Conversations with Tyler series, which featured basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 2016.

In the series, George Mason economist Tyler Cowen talks to some of today’s most underrated thinkers about everything and anything. More recent guests include Malcolm Gladwell, Larry Summers, and Atul Gawande.

Click here to register for the conversation with Martina Navratilova

Legal Insider: Benefits of Resolving Employment Disputes Without Litigation

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.

While it is not always possible to avoid litigation in employment cases, resolving an employment dispute without litigation, if possible, is strongly recommended and should be considered by both employees and employers.

We have represented both employees and employers and the benefits of resolution usually far outweigh the lengthy litigation process. Some benefits to consider include:

1. Avoid Extended Litigation: We have had employment cases in extended litigation that take between three to six years in the court process.

When going into an employment case, an employee and employer should consider whether it makes sense to litigate these types of cases over such a potentially long period of time.

Usually, employees do not want to have such a long period of uncertainty to their career, and an employer does not want to spend $50,000 to $100,000 (or more) litigating an employment case. Employers can also have similar uncertainties about staffing while a case is pending.

2. Limiting Costs: Extended litigation can cost a lot of money for both employees and employers.

Employees usually pay for these fees out of pocket and employers either pay these fees out of pocket or through increased premiums in their use of insurance defense policies.

Some of our most satisfied clients are those who have decided to resolve their disputes early in the process and save themselves money. They may reach a compromise that is not perfect, but sometimes it is far better than the result of the litigation.

3. No Stress from Discovery: Because we have taken a number of depositions over the years of managers, witnesses and employees, we can tell you that going through the discovery process can take a stressful toll on both employers and employees.

The former employee often undergoes a high level of stress in telling his or her story to an opposing attorney who is looking to disprove their account through questioning.

For employers, it is no better because managers also get stressed about telling the truth while being loyal to the company. Managers also tend to be far less productive at work when they’re under this type of stress.

For both sides, discovery also means going back through emails (sometime work, sometimes personal emails) and other documents and producing them to the other side. (more…)

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:


4115 34th Street N.
5 bed/6 bath single-family home
Agent: Stanley Brock
Listed: $2,025,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.


130 S. Garfield Street
4 bed/3 bath single-family home
Agent: Tracy Williams
Listed: $1,050,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.


1302 N. Stafford Street
4 bed/3 bath, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Michelle Sagatov
Listed: $849,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m. (more…)

WWBG: Precarious Beer Project

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Weekend Wine and Beer Guide logo

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Cicerone Program Certified Beer Server.

New Brewery Profile
Name: Precarious Beer Project
Location: 521 Prince George St, Williamsburg, VA
Opened: December 2017

Opened in December 2017, Precarious Beer Project is the brewery attached to the Amber Ox Public House on Prince George Street in Williamsburg, VA.

Far from tapping into the colonial history of Williamsburg and nearby Yorktown, Amber Ox and Precarious Beer Project look to today and tomorrow for inspiration. From a modern pub that serves up gastropub fare to a brewery that seems to be uninterested in doing anything too boring or expected.

When Williamsburg’s 24 year old tradition of having a First Night celebration came to an end with the disbanding of the planning committee, Amber Ox and The Hound’s Tale spearheaded a new public event. Despite being only a month old, Amber Ox Public House and Precarious Beer Project sponsored a block party named PG-500 (the “500” refers to their block of Prince George Street).

Like First Night, their party would welcome everyone, but it was still a party. There was live music, barbecue and local beer — featuring recent releases from Precarious Beer Project.

Below are two Precarious beers. Dominion Wine & Beer is one of the few places outside Williamsburg to get limited kegs on tap from time to time.

Precarious Beer Project Cheapbeer (5.8%)

Even their plain old yellow beer has a fun name — CHEAPBEER.

They’re not yelling, they’re speaking in all caps. It may be a yellow cream ale, but it’s well made. There’s a clean white wine and cracker aroma.

The sip starts out with a crisp, winey white grape that finishes a bit sweet and malty. It goes down super smooth. This cream ale would be a great alternative to actually cheap American lagers on a hot summer day.

Precarious Beer Project Capoeira Capybara NEIPA (6.8% ABV)

Ooo. A New England IPA. This juicy IPA is a marriage of lower hemisphere ingredients: Patagonian malt and Australian hops. The result is a delicious and hazy beer with the expected smooth mouthfeel.

Just inhaling is part of the fun — melon rind, passion fruit, bubble gum and ruby red grapefruit.

The sip starts out a little sweet, like juicy fruit gum, then becomes grapefruit bitter. It does sweeten a bit more as it warms, but it never loses that tasty bitterness.

I’m not going to lie, I was disappointed when my crowler was empty.

Don’t miss the Friday tasting today, March 9 from 5-7 p.m. at Dominion Wine & Beer. They’ll be launching another new brewery to the area, Collective Arts Brewing from Canada.

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Just Listed banner

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 Spring real estate market is now in full force in Arlington.

Home owners put 121 properties on the market this week, and home buyers ratified contracts on 82 homes. Of those ratified, an amazing 39 of them sold within seven days dropping the average days on market to only 26.

The upper end market also showed continuing signs of rebounding. Of the 82 ratified contracts, some 13 were on homes priced at over $1 million.

Arlington has 411 homes actively for sale. At the current rate of absorption, that equals only 1.5 months of inventory.

Mortgage interest rates continued their steady climb this week, the 9th consecutive week of increases, according to Freddie Mac. The good news is that the increase this week was only three basis points. The 30-yr fixed rate is now ranging 4.55% to 4.65%.

Check out the Listing of the Week:  219 N. Garfield St., an iconic home in Lyon Park.

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

Healthy Paws: Boy Dog Bumps — The Mysterious Bulbus Glandis

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Healthy Paws

Editor’s Note: Healthy Paws is a column sponsored and written by the owners of Clarendon Animal Care, a full-service, general practice veterinary clinic and winner of a 2017 Arlington Chamber of Commerce Best Business Award. The clinic is located 3000 10th Street N., Suite B. and can be reached at 703-997-9776.

Have ever experienced this scenario?

You have a wonderful new male puppy and one day he rolls over for a belly rub and you notice these two round swollen bumps at the base of his penis. Your puppy seems super happy and not at all bothered by the bumps, but you become really worried that something is wrong. Are those his testicles? Does he have an infection? Are they tumors?

Your happy puppy — now bored and confused that you keep staring at his belly — bounds off and grabs one of his favorite chew toys, seemingly unfazed by this new problem.

You then pick up the phone to call your vet and when they start asking you to describe these mysterious new bumps, you go back to look at your puppy and the bumps are completely gone. “I can’t find them anymore,” you say, “but I swear they were there by his penis and REALLY big.” Luckily, your vet tells you not to worry, because these bumps are a normal part of your boy dog’s anatomy — called the bulbus glandis.

The bulbus glandis is generally not noticeable, but will often swell and become very apparent when male (neutered and intact) dogs become excited — like when they are happy to see you and roll over for a belly rub.

So why do dogs have a bulbus glandis? Contrary to the what the name implies, the bulbus glandis is not a gland at all, but actually functions during mating to complete the “coital tie,” which keeps the male and female dogs somewhat locked together until mating is complete.

Luckily, when the bulbus glandis swells it does not cause any discomfort to your pup and does not require any medical intervention. However, if you notice any unusual areas of swelling on your dog, it is never wrong to seek the advice of you veterinarian.

Small Biz Focus: Testing the Marketplace? Try Prototypes.

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Let’s face it. We live in a fickle marketplace.

Shoppers have a short attention span and consumers are easily bored and quickly want the next cool thing.

Entrepreneurs are notorious for being spurred on by a single idea, that literal lightbulb moment, that drives their passion and turns their focus to producing one item or service. Some invest all their savings and resources into the promise of a profitable future, and if you’re lucky, smart, well timed and well promoted, that one product or service could be the only one you’ll ever need.

But even for hugely successful items (like the dizzying fidget spinner?) there can be a quick peak and never return to popularity.

Few have the opportunity or resources to get input, organize focus groups or engage deep demographic analytics that will help grow their business or keep their ideas competitive.

But for startups and small businesses in Arlington, more options for creating a stable path are all part of the County support for creatives.

For Lorilee Stultz at Dennison Lane, participating in Made in Arlington was the first step to a new product idea. Using a hand stamping process and natural fabrics, Dennison Lane was already well versed in table linens and home accessories that blended tradition with craft.

So when a fan of Made in Arlington said, “wouldn’t it be great to have the Made in Arlington logo stamped onto baby onesies?” Lori didn’t hesitate to say, “let’s try it!” Welcome to the prototype stage. Picking samples of soft baby onesies and using the Made in Arlington stamp in colors for girls, boys and ‘we don’t know yet!’ The items are now getting ready for sales.

Where can creative Arlington entrepreneurs look to test the market?

  • Limited edition items in small shops
  • Pop up retail like Made in Arlington at Plaza Shop
  • Local boutiques
  • Farmers markets
  • Seasonal opportunities such as Art on the Plaza

Alongside the vast array of business development services available through BizLaunch, the path to success is often taken in baby steps.

Check here for ongoing listings and opportunities.

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 licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he is not the listing agent of these homes.  

Here in March (yowsers, it’s March already?), we’ve seen a noticeable uptick in home listings.

In fact, within the last week, there are now 10 percent more homes, townhouses and condos for sale in Arlington County.

And, as the temps heat up and Ole Man Winter finally goes away, we’ll see more homes hitting the market. More and more people like to explore homes when it’s not snowing or 20 degrees outside. Who in the world would have thought?

In addition to more listings, we’re also seeing more reduced-priced homes. The number of homes reduced this week compared to last week is nearly double. And, we can count on this trend continuing. The more homes that are on the market, the more competitive sellers need to be to get their home sold.

Regardless of what side of a transaction you may fall on, my team will help you GET MORE out of your transaction. Amid the competition, we can make it happen.

As of March 5, there are 165 detached homes, 25 townhouses and 204 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 33 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week.

Here is this week’s selection of Just Reduced properties:

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 Aaron Seekford.

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