Feature

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.”

It may be cold outside but Arlington’s spring market is warming up!

The past week’s snow didn’t slow anyone down: buyers ratified 40 contracts and seller’s listed 31 homes. Of the 40 ratified contracts, 15 sold within a week of hitting the market.

Mortgage rates are in a hold pattern right now at around 4.5% for a 30-yr fixed rate with no points. This is still lower than rates we’ve seen in the last 9 months and has spurred an increase in loan applications.

The Washington Post reports this as the highest loan application volume since April of 2010! While loan applications don’t necessarily equal ratified contracts, they are an important indicator. What we do know is that ratified contracts in Arlington increased by 38% since just last week.

The federal government shutdown has impacted access to the usual economic data for lenders and this uncertainty has led to no significant changes to rates. The result of this pause is some surprisingly good news for both buyers and sellers as we are seeing an increase in market activity.

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

Small Biz Focus: Looking Beyond Amazon… The New Way Forward

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

By Victor Hoskins, Director at AED. 

It has been two months since Amazon announced its plan to bring its major new headquarters to Arlington.

In that time we have been busily planning and answering Arlingtonians’ many questions about the project. However, here at Arlington Economic Development, we are already looking ahead.

What’s next for Arlington’s economic landscape?

The Amazon effect, as it is being called, has been a game-changer for Arlington’s business community. Not only does Amazon’s decision really cement Arlington as a technology leader on the East Coast, the revenue generated from this company in the coming years will go a long way toward restoring stability to Arlington’s office environment, which has suffered from years of high vacancies.

Amazon will gradually reduce the eight million square feet that currently stands vacant in Arlington. Each one percent of vacant office space that we fill yields $3.4 million annually in new local tax revenues– revenues that help to provide resources and amenities valued by our community.

In a time when we all have faced difficult decisions regarding the County budget, this needed revenue comes at the perfect time.

But by no means is this a time to sit on our laurels. It just changes the conversation a little. In addition to putting a dent in Arlington’s office vacancy rate, what Amazon has truly done is put us on the map as a desired location to do business. That is where the real work begins.

The AED team is always working to find the next innovative company that is considering making Arlington its home. We are focusing on diversifying our economic base. We have come a long way in the last four years, but there is still work to be done to ensure Arlington’s place as a leader in the innovation economy.

The Amazon deal did something else that will also help to propel us into the future. That deal set truly unprecedented levels of partnership between jurisdictions and the Commonwealth of Virginia to ensure success, and that partnership around the region is something we only see growing. It is truly a regional economy now, and we need to think that way moving forward.

I look forward to working closely with my colleagues at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as well as the counties throughout Northern Virginia. In addition, D.C. and Maryland Counties across the river are colleagues I have come to value not just as coworkers, but also as friends.

We have all discovered that by working together, the entire region benefits, and I believe that is the true Way Forward formula that will bring economic success to Arlington.

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 may not be the listing agent of these homes.

Each year, we see an understandable downtick in the number of listings and “Just Reduced” activity surrounding Christmas and New Year’s.

Well, we’re now through the holiday lull, folks. Within the last week, we’ve seen a 10 percent uptick in active listings.

So, let’s find you the home of your dreams, why don’t we?

It’s an interesting time of year for a home search. There can be weather to combat (as we’ve certainly experienced lately!), we’re in the middle of the school year and there generally aren’t as many options as the spring or summertime. But there is still some stellar inventory available, some of which may be right up your alley… and at a stellar price.

When you’re ready to explore your options and get the most bang for your buck, our team is ready to help you GET MORE out of your transaction.

As of January 14, there are 100 detached homes, 15 townhouses and 101 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 9 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 Aaron Seekford.

Ask Eli: Arlington 2018 Real Estate Review — Part 2 of 4

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: How did the Arlington real estate market perform in 2018 and what do you expect in 2019?

Answer: Last week I discussed how the detached single-family home market fared in 2018 and this week we’ll take a look at the 2018 performance of Arlington’s condo market. Next week we’ll review the townhouse market and finish up with a detailed look into the sales data following Amazon’s HQ2 announcement.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

2018 was a tale of two markets for Arlington condos. In July, I wrote about how well the condo market was doing for the first time in years, boasting ~10% growth from 2017. However, the net sold price in the second half of the year dropped by ~8.5% resulting in cumulative appreciation of a respectable 3.7% for the entire year.

Most of the growth can be attributed to two-bedroom condos (6%), with very little growth in the one-bedroom market (1%) and losses in the three-bedroom market (-2.5%). While this may not seem like much, Arlington had zero growth in the overall condo market since 2014.

Expect prices to continue to rise in 2019 as inventory continues to drop. Q4 2018 was the 11th straight quarter of year-over-year decline in condo inventory and by far the largest drop thanks to Amazon.

The total number of sales increased slightly in 2018 to 1,276 and the total cost of all of the condo sales topped $555M. The least expensive unit sold in 2018 was a 1 BR/1 BA 610 sq.ft. condo in Southwest Arlington for $115,000… that’s a great deal!

The most expensive unit sold in 2018 was a 3 BR/3.5 BA, 3,045 sq. ft. condo at Turnberry Tower in Rosslyn for $3,050,000. If you missed out on the Turnberry sale, not to worry, there’s a 3 BR/4.5 BA with nearly 4,500 sq. ft. on the top floor currently available for $5.2M.

2018 Arlington Condo Market Highlights

  • Median net sold price increased 5% to $380,000.
  • The average studio (no legal bedroom) sold for $230,000, the average one-bedroom sold for $340,000, the average two-bedroom sold for $504,000 and the average three-bedroom sold for $810,000.
  • 2018 was the 5th year in a row that buyers lost leverage in negotiations, with buyers able to negotiate an average of just 2.3% off the original asking price in 2018 compared to 2.8% last year. 29% of buyers paid at or above the asking price.
  • The average condo sold for a net $442/sq. ft. The most expensive zip codes by square foot are 22209 ($557/sq. ft.) and 22201 ($528/sq. ft.) which represents the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. The least expensive zip code by a wide margin is 22204 at just $276/sq. ft. 22204 encompasses Columbia Pike and the bordering neighborhoods (hint hint… investors).
  • The pace of the market continued to increase with average days to contract dropping 12%, proceeding a 16% drop in 2017.
  • The average condo sold was built in 1981.
  • The average one-bedroom was 772 sq. ft., the average two-bedroom was 1,126 sq. ft., and the average three-bedroom was 1,751 sq. ft.

(more…)

Legal Review: Why Divorces Involving High Net Worth Couples are Much More Complicated

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

By Family Law Attorney Galit Moskowitz of Moskowitz Law Group, LLC

Divorce is never easy, but when it involves a great amount of wealth, it becomes so much more complicated due to the amount of property that must be divided.

While each divorce is governed by the state it is filed in, there are some complexities anyone with a high net worth, and in the middle of a divorce, will face. In divorce, property is divided in a 50/50 split, or by equitable distribution.

Community states use the straight-down-the-middle formula while equitable distribution states will divide property up fairly, or justly. This does not always mean that it will be split equally, though.

In community states, dividing property evenly in a high net worth divorce is fairly simple, although it does have its own complications. In equitable distribution states, it is a bit more complex. For example, a judge may award one spouse $5 million and the other $10 million, as both amounts provide plenty for a spouse to live off.

“There are many factors judges across the country will take into consideration,” says Galit Moskowitz of Moskowitz Law Group, LLC. “But the one factor that any judge will weigh is the contribution of each spouse to their earnings. If one made the bulk of the income and was highly involved in a business that made most of that income and the other was not, the judge will likely award those with greater involvement more.”

However, complications will still be at play. One similarity all high net worth divorces have is that their assets are complex. It is not merely houses and cars that make up the assets. It is often stocks and shares in companies. When this is the case, those shares are sometimes divided equally.

In other instances, both spouses will co-manage the shares, which can often put investors and corporate directors of the companies at greater ease.

Another commonality in all divorces, no matter where they occur in the country, is that prenuptial agreements supersede any state property division laws. While a judge will still have to determine that a prenuptial agreement is fair and enforceable, whatever the couple outlined when they signed it is how their property will be divided in the end.

Legal Insider: Top Reasons for Clearance Denial in 2018

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.

We represent security clearance holders and applicants so every few years, we look back on the trends of what security concerns most often lead to the loss (or potential loss) of a security clearance. This year we thought we would do the same. Overall, not much has changed.

2018 Grounds for Loss of Security Clearance

There are 13 security concerns that can lead to the loss of a security clearance, which is listed in Security Executive Agent Directive 4 (SEAD 4). These concerns range from foreign influence to financial issues and numerous other issues in between. A review of publicly available security clearance cases was conducted by Marko Hakamaa of ClearanceJobs.com, which provided the breakdown of issues that resulted in initial security clearance denials.

Financial Issues Remain the Number 1 Concern

From the report, it is fairly clear that the number 1 issue of concern for security clearance holders remains Financial Considerations under Guideline F. While this Guideline can cover many areas related to financial responsibility, we see that it most often comes up in the context of a credit report which shows major unresolved debts or when an individual’s tax payments or filings are not timely.

Often for major debts the government is concerned that this could leave an individual subject to potential coercion. For issues related to taxes, the issue is the non-compliance of the individual with tax laws.

General Misconduct Comes in Second

The second most significant security concern from this report shows that Guideline E, Personal Conduct is the next most common clearance issue. Guideline E is a general security concern which can practically cover any type of bad conduct. Most typically, however, it often comes up in the context of illegal drug use, an arrest, a record of bad employment or lying on security clearance forms.

Foreign Influence is Ranked Third

The third most common basis for losing a security clearance was foreign influence, under Guideline B. This issue most commonly comes up when an individual with a security clearance (or who is seeking one) has relatives or property in another country.

The major concern of the government is that an individual may have relatives in another country that work for that government or who could be used as pawns to gather information from the clearance holder or applicant. The United States also treats clearance holders and seekers whose relatives are from allied countries (e.g., the United Kingdom, France, etc.) much better than those from less cooperative countries, like China or Russia.

The rest of the 2018 breakdown of security concerns is included in this report. We represent individuals with these types of security clearance appeals and there are often mitigating factors which can result in a favorable adjudication of these types of security clearance issues. The key is to involve counsel experienced in this area of law as soon as possible.

Conclusion

If you are in need of security clearance advice or representation, 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.

Ballston’s Algernon Solutions Provides Niche Services to Behavioral Healthcare Providers

By Jamie Rogers

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

The founder of a small, Ballston-based healthcare startup says breaking things is his company’s key goal.

Algernon Solutions is a consulting firm working with behavioral healthcare providers to improve the use of their patient databases, thus enabling physicians and their support staff to provide a better standard of care.

In order to that, things have to be broken, said Jeff Cubeta, the company’s founder.

“We just go screw things up, break things and build them better,” he said. “There are lots of people in pain out there; there are people who are suffering despite all the best efforts and we can’t really reverse the tide.”

Cubeta and his chief engineer, Michael Schappacher, are both behavioral health practitioners, so creating a company focused on that field is fitting. They believe that means they understand their clientele and speak their same language, making problem solving easier.

He and Schappacher are the company’s two employees, Cubeta said, but in a sense there’s a third “employee,” named Algernon.

Algernon is not a who but a what; the firm refers to its Clinical Intelligence Platform (CIP) as Algernon.

“Algernon was our attempt to fix the most pressing problems we saw in our daily practice,” Cubeta said. “None of those problems stemmed from the actual treatment [of patients] but from the information and the workflows around it.”

Algernon can be thought of as a giant sponge, absorbing information from data sources such as Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems.

“We don’t build EHRs, we make them better,” said Cubeta, adding that there are already plenty of health records and data systems out there: some bad, some good.

The data is collected and routed to the appropriate sources, which isn’t necessarily the healthcare provider, but the people who support the healthcare providers’ practice, freeing up time for humans to actually focus on patients and not a computer screen.

Providing solutions to individual healthcare providers and hospitals is a large field, but providing solutions specifically to behavioral healthcare providers is a much smaller field, Cubeta said.

“We don’t have any direct competitors,” he said, adding that it took a “fair bit of looking,” to find a company offering similar services.

Algernon Solutions relocated from Fairfax County to Arlington because of its proximity and luxury office spaces.

“It’s the first time I’ve had an office with windows,” Cubeta said of the firm’s Wilson Boulevard location in the TechSpace co-working offices. “We’re fresh out of the box.” The company celebrated its first anniversary on Dec. 6.

There are quite a few reasons tech startups choose Arlington, including the variety of office space options, said Christina Winn, director of business investment for Arlington Economic Development.

Cubeta said Arlington’s proximity to its Washington, D.C.-based clients is another perk.

There are also a number of research agencies in Ballston, and the county more broadly, Winn said.

Many clients and potential clients incorrectly assume the name “Algernon Solutions” is taken from a fictional book about a pharmaceutical company researching treatments for the mentally disabled, Cubeta said. “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniels Keyes, is controversial but acclaimed, and required reading in many public secondary schools.

“They kept saying, ‘the flowers’ and we were like, ‘what’s the flowers?'” Cubeta said. “They said, ‘you should go read it because everyone in the world is going to think you named this company after the book.’ It turns out they were right.”

The company’s namesake is actually Algernon Moncrieff, Cubeta’s mentor.

Cubeta and Schappacher say the goal is to one day have pharmaceutical companies as clients. For now, Cubeta said, the focus is on behavioral healthcare providers.

Photo of Algernon founder Jeff Cubeta and logo both via Algernon

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:

5127 33rd Street N.
5 BR/4 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Howard Brock Realty Company, Inc.
Listed: $1,949,900
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

2127 N. Scott Street
3 BR/3 BA, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Casey Margenau Fine Homes and Estates Inc.
Listed: $1,397,500
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

400 N. Florida Street
4 BR/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Optime Realty
Listed:$875,000
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

 

1020 N. Highland Street #704
2 BR/2 BA condo
Agent: Ttr Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed: $699,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3609 12th Street S.
2 BR/2 BA, 2 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Re/Max Allegiance
Listed: $590,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m.

 

2001 15th Street N. #101
1 BR/1 BA condo
Agent: Golston Real Estate Inc.
Listed: $450,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m.

 

3019 S. Buchanan Street, C2
1 BR/1 BA condo
Agent: Pearson Smith Realty, LLC
Listed: $280,000
Open: Saturday 2-4 p.m.

WWBG: Living Up To The Hype

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). This week’s Guide is written by David Birks, General Manager and buyer of Downton Crown Wine and Beer.

It was only a year ago that esteemed homebrewers Scott Janish and Mike Tonsmeire signed a lease on a building in Columbia, Md. That space now holds the production brewery and tap room for one of the hottest breweries in our area, Sapwood Cellars.

Mike is the author of “American Sour Beers”, a widely respected book on mixed fermentation beers. He also was an original recipe writer and flavor developer for Modern Times Beer in San Diego, Ca.

Scott gained fame through a blog primarily focused on the science of how hops are used in the brewing process. He has carried out various cutting edge experiments on the components of hops, and how they can be best utilized within the brewing process.

Together they have immersed themselves into a philosophy of making world-class beers through the understanding of processes, techniques and ingredients. Rarely is this seen in the brewing industry, and almost never in a brewery in its infancy.

Open now for less than 6 months, the general consensus seems to be (and we agree) that their beer is of the highest quality. They are definitely living up to, if not exceeding their pre-opening hype.

I would call these guys beer scientists. It’s one thing to throw a ton of various hops into a hazy IPA, jack up the ABV to mask flaws, put out a super hoppy hazy beer and watch it fly out the door. We find that way too often. But what sets the best of the best apart from the rest? I believe (although I am no brewer) that it all comes from a complex understanding of process and ingredients, paired with the knowledge of how those two key aspects work together.

This understanding is what can create truly wonderful beer. That work was on display when Sapwood released a Double IPA named ‘Snip Snap’. A wonderful beer, clocking in at 7.9% ABV, hopped generously with Citra and Galaxy hops.

We had our first taste during the Montgomery County, Md introduction event of Sapwood at our sister store Downtown Crown Wine and Beer in Gaithersburg, Md. That weekend ‘Snip Snap’ became the beer of choice amongst our customers and with those visiting the brewery.

Word spread in a viral fashion on all of the local beer forums, and in the coming days, the hype and demand for Sapwood just seemed to grow and grow!

One exciting thing to look forward to is all of the beer they currently have aging in a variety of barrels. With Mike’s knowledge of mixed fermentation (wild yeast, bacteria and microflora), the future looks bright for those that enjoy complex, barrel-aged wild ales. They are also aging a variety of non-wild ales in various spirt and wine barrels.

If you are interested in trying the work of Sapwood Cellars, head over the bridge to their brewery in Columbia, Md. Kegs rarely leave the brewery, but this weekend they’re introducing ‘Concentric Rings’ (a brand new 8.1% all Citra hopped Double IPA) and ‘Threat Level Pistachio’ (a variant of their 7.4% ABV Stout with the addition of dry roasted pistachios).

A second batch of ‘Snip Snap’ is on the horizon for those that missed out the first time around.

Cheers to Sapwood, a great addition to the local brewing scene within the DMV! Learn more about Sapwood Cellars and the guys behind the brewery here:

Sapwood is located off of Route 108 in Columbia, Maryland. Right up Route 29 or I-95. Easy Drive from Arlington, D.C. or the rest of Virginia.

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.”

What a difference a week makes. After our slow start last week, Arlington’s market has sprung into life with 33 new listings and 29 ratified contracts.

And top that off with great news for buyers. Mortgage rates dropped 10 basis points to 4.5% for a 30-yr fixed rate with no points which encouraged 20% more buyers to apply for mortgages. These rates are the lowest in nine months. Economists reading the tea leaves anticipate these rates staying steady for quite a while.

Data released by the multiple listing service Bright/MLS indicate the entire DC Metro area experienced an increase in median home sale prices in 2018 over 2017, EXCEPT Arlington. Prices were up 5.9% elsewhere, but were down 2.6% for Arlington. Don’t panic. Your home’s value most likely did not go down. The “median” is the middle point of all the data. Arlington had many more condo sales than detached home sales in 2018, which skewed the median.

The federal government shutdown has not yet had an impact on buyers in our area, but it could if it continues another few weeks as it will be difficult for lenders to verify federal workers income. This could cause delays in lender approval of loan applications.

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

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