Feature

Ask Eli: Impact of Coronavirus on the Real Estate Market, Part 3

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: What has been the impact of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 on the real estate market?

Answer: I hope you are all staying healthy and sane(ish). My wife and I are trying to wrap our heads around school being canceled through the end of the academic year… yay!

Over the last two weeks, my Coronavirus columns (one and two) have included mostly anecdotal evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on the real estate market, but now we’ve been in this for long enough that I can start using market data to measure the true effects. It will be at least a few more weeks before we can measure the effect on prices, but we can look at things like supply, showing activity and contract activity now.

What I’m Seeing/Hearing

This past weekend, most Open Houses were canceled and over the last week showing activity has dropped off dramatically. However, there are still plenty of active, motivated buyers making offers. What I’m seeing/hearing right now in the D.C. Metro market is that competition is down, prices haven’t taken much of a hit (yet), and new listings are still coming onto the market.

Mortgage rates had their most volatile week ever last week as investors basically stopped buying mortgages on the secondary market, but the Fed stepped in and has promised to stabilize the market until our economy (hopefully) returns to normal. Here are two (one and two) good reads on what happened last week to mortgages.

Impact On The D.C. Area Economy

While not real estate specific, I want to share the excellent work of Jeannette Chapman, Director of the Stephen S. Fuller Institute at our very own George Mason University, which takes an in-depth look at how Coronavirus is likely going to impact the D.C. area economy, based on current projections. Notably, they determine that the D.C. area will not be as insulated from this recession as the 2008 financial crisis. Be smart, be careful with your money folks.

While I’m slightly off the topic of real estate, I wanted to share a great website for tracking global and domestic COVID-19 data in real time, with helpful visuals. This website was shared with me by Arlington resident/Mom Elissa David, who owns the Unbroken Body to help Moms heal their bodies after pregnancy. She has temporarily turned her website into a resource for all of us parents who have suddenly become home school teachers!

Now let’s jump into some relevant real estate market data.

Market Data

SUPPLY

The number of new listings this past week in Arlington jumped 27% over the same week last year and 6% over two weeks ago. The D.C. Metro experienced less dramatic increases in new listings, but increases nonetheless.

Anecdotally, it seems many homeowners who were planning to sell in the next 4-8 weeks are accelerating their timeline, fearing the uncertainty of the future economy. A boost in inventory from motivated sellers while demand continues to fall (see below) could lead to a drop in prices in the near future.

Nationwide, the number of listings pulled off the market spiked over the past week.

Nationwide Data

SHOWINGS

The average number of showings per listing in Arlington (first chart) have dropped each of the last four weeks from 10.44 showings four weeks ago to 2.91 showings this past week.

Showings in Washington, D.C. have dropped by 41.4% compared to this time last year. The tool I have to generate this data only offers statewide info, so I chose to use Washington, D.C. (yes, I know it’s not a state) instead of Virginia because the Washington, D.C. market is much more reflective of Northern Virginia than the Virginia market. Showings are down 32.9% across North America.

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Ballston Company Releases Video Conference Guide for Social Distancing

By Vernon Miles

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. Monday Properties is proudly featuring a rare leasing opportunity at 1101 Wilson Blvd: 5 contiguous floors with exceptional views, building signage opportunity and brand new amenities. Enjoy all the perks of easy access and ample parking; a variety of food trucks at your front door; and enviable walkable amenities. Join YEXT and other leading tech companies at this vibrant location.

Ballston-based web development startup OpenWater Software has put together a guide for other businesses to replace physical meetings and conferences with virtual ones.

OpenWater CTO Kunal Johar said in the guide that while in-person meetings are invaluable and irreplaceable, a good online meeting can salvage some of what is lost.

“The rising impact of health concerns around the coronavirus is forcing organizations to reconsider, cancel or postpone their annual gatherings,” the company said in a press release. “Because a majority of OpenWater’s customers rely on annual meetings, conferences and summits, they created a downloadable guide and instructional video that shows step-by-step how to transition your physical event into a virtual event using Zoom, or similar meeting tools like GoToMeeting. OpenWater is not affiliated or being paid by either company.”

Johar suggested having one meeting URL per physical room that you would have had at a conference. A spreadsheet can keep track of which host will be running which room with permissions to manage that room on Zoom. These URLs can be published on a company’s site through a link.

In the guide, Johar said to make sure in settings you allow people to join before the host and to auto-mute everyone as they log in and disable sounds.

“As opposed to increasing risks to physical health or completely canceling an event or meeting, virtual conferences ensure that attendees can still benefit and view recordings from any session while keeping their sponsors happy by allowing them to have dedicated virtual sessions or incorporating them in the beginning or middle of a session,” the company said in the press release. “By following this guide, event managers can transition their event to be virtual in one day with ease and without prior tech experience.”

Johar also suggested, in communications with attendees, to include links to how attendees can access refunds from travel and booking companies.

Image via OpenWater

Legal Insider: OPM Disability Retirement Issues for Federal Employees

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 Kimberly Berry

Our law firm handles many different types of federal retirement issues in our representation of federal employees.

One of the more common types of retirement cases that we often handle involves the representation of federal employees in the disability retirement process before various federal agencies and the Office of Personnel Management.

Federal employees filing for disability retirement are typically covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System or the Civil Service Retirement System.

Federal employees should consider the following questions before they pursue OPM disability retirement:

How serious are the federal employee’s medical issues and are they linked to the federal employee’s position description duties?

When making a disability retirement decision, keep in mind that OPM evaluates your continued ability to work with your medical condition in the context of the duties described in your position description. If the medical disability is not deemed serious enough, or not fully supported by medical documentation and evidence, and is not sufficiently linked to your inability to “usefully and efficiently” carry out your job duties, then OPM may deny the disability retirement application.

How long is the medical disability realistically expected to last?

OPM requires that a medical disability be expected to last at least one year in duration. When considering whether to file for disability retirement, it is important for you to consider the expected duration of your medical disability. Disabilities with known shorter duration could be problematic for you in the application process.

Can a federal employee survive on a reduced annuity?

If you are considering filing for OPM disability retirement, understand that this type of retirement usually provides you with a lower monthly retirement annuity in comparison to full retirement. As a result, we recommend that you obtain benefit estimates from your human resources representative and consult with a financial advisor about the impact of a potential reduced annuity prior to filing for disability retirement.

Are there modifications to a federal employee’s current position that can be made to allow the federal employee to continue to work?

Oftentimes a federal agency will work with you to provide you with a reasonable accommodation (i.e., change in duties, hours, telework or other adjustments) that can make your current position and medical condition workable. This can often be the best solution, even if it is only a short-term solution.

As a part of the disability retirement process, the federal agency is required to certify that it is unable to accommodate your disabling medical condition in your present position. The agency must also certify that it has considered you “for any vacant position in the same agency, at the same grade or pay level, and within the same commuting area, for which [you] qualified for reassignment.”

Do your medical professionals believe that you should not continue in your current position?

This is an important consideration when filing for disability retirement. In most cases, physicians will be open with their patients about whether it is a good idea to keep working in their current federal employment position.

There are at least two reasons to discuss a possible filing for OPM disability retirement with your treating medical provider(s). First, your health should be of primary importance and a consideration when determining whether continuing in a job hinders or impedes your recovery. Second, physicians and their medical opinions are necessary and, in fact, crucial in the disability retirement application process with OPM.

OPM will require a physician’s statement about your medical issues, and the physician’s statement can either make or break the outcome of your disability retirement application.

When considering OPM disability retirement, it is important to obtain the advice and representation of legal counsel. You can contact our law firm through www.retirementlaw.com, www.berrylegal.com, or by telephone at (703) 668-0070, to schedule a consultation to discuss your individual federal employment retirement matter. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

Rethink Energy: Program Update

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.

We hope that everyone is hunkering down safely and practicing appropriate social distancing as detailed on the County COVID-19 webpage.

Given the rapidly unfolding events, the Rethink Energy team wanted to provide an update on our programs and events:

March 25 Community Celebration and Community Kickoff to 2050

The event has been cancelled until COVID-19 has run its course. If you previously RSVP’d for the event we will notify you once we set a new date. Thank you to the more than 100 Arlingtonians that RSVP’d for the event. If others are interested in the rescheduled event — please RSVP here.

Solar and Electric Vehicle Co-Op

The Co-op plans to launch again given strong community interest and participation. A virtual information session will be held in April. We will announce the info session and kickoff here on ARLnow in our April 4th post.

Green Home Certification Program

Despite COVID-19, we know that many are already looking to the future. Are you thinking of renovating your home? Please take a look at our free Green Home Choice Certification program page to learn more.

Stay safe, take care of each other, and let’s take it one day at a time. We’re all in this together!

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:

3616 N. Upland Street
7 BD/7 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $2,499,00
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

1732 N. Veitch Street
6 BD/5 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Keller Williams Realty Falls Church
Listed: $1,599,00
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

872 N. Frederick Street
4 BD/4 BA single-family home
Agent: Keller Williams Capital Properties
Listed: $1,199,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m.

 

4207 7th Road S.
4 BD/2 BA, 2 half bath single-family home
Agent: Compass
Listed: $875,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

5245 5th Street N.
4 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $735,00
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

1927 N. Edison Street
3 BD/1 BA single-family home
Agent: Century 21 New Millennium
Listed: $650,000
Open: Virtual Tour/Sunday 12-2 p.m.

 

4863 28th Street S.
2 BD/2 BA condo
Agent: Re/Max Allegiance
Listed: $524,900
Open: Virtual Tour/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.

The impacts of this pandemic are apparent in many ways — walking through Home Depot and an Arlington grocery store yesterday, the feelings of fear, uncertainty and distrust were palpable.

With that said, it’s been great to see so many people enjoying their time off from work — I have seen more bikers, walkers and runners than ever before! Silver lining of this pandemic? Spring is here!

The impacts to the real estate market are starting to emerge, but first signs are not what I expected. We’re seeing lots of special instructions for house listings including limiting the number of people accompanying on a home tour, requests of everyone to wash hands as soon as they arrive and limited showing hours. Some brokerages are canceling open houses until further notice, but others are going on as planned.

This is of course uncharted territory and things are changing daily. With that said, one thing remains very true about housing in general, and that is that people need housing.

Many things are grinding to a halt-school is out, the stock market is tanking, restaurants are closing-but many things don’t stop. Many leases will still be coming to an end this spring and families will need to keep a roof over their head. Mortgage interest rates are phenomenal, and buyers would love to lock in a low monthly payment on a great Arlington residence for the next 30 years.

Fundamental drivers of the housing market — major life events such as job changes (or, around here, military orders), births and deaths, marriage or divorce, and growing kids will necessitate buying and selling real estate.

At some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future, COVID-19 will be in the past and we’ll resume life as normal.

There are currently 202 homes for sale in Arlington. 115 are detached homes, 19 are townhouses/semi-detached, and 68 are condos. Median list price of available properties is $999,450, while the average is $1,193,867.

Sellers listed some 84 properties for sale this week. Buyers ratified 52 contracts, 33 of which were homes that had been on the market one week or less.

PICK OF THE WEEK — The Andors Real Estate Group is proud to have Just Listed a charming 1940’s all-brick Colonial in historic Bon Air! This south-facing 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home sits on a flat 6,000 sq. ft. lot and is packed with character — $735,000.

You can find me hosting this property open on Sunday, March 22 from 1-4 p.m. I may remind you to wash your hands.

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.

Statutes of Liberty: By Popular Demand, The Attorney General Can Change Immigration Law in an Instant

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This sponsored column is by James Montana, Esq. and Doran Shemin, Esq., practicing attorneys at Steelyard LLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Arlington, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact James for an appointment.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.

In order to understand how extraordinarily weird the world of immigration law is, consider the base case: an ordinary federal court. When a federal judge issues a decision, the losing party can appeal to the relevant Circuit Court of Appeals. The losing party at the Circuit Court of Appeals can petition for review at the Supreme Court.

Notice who isn’t mentioned in the layers of review. The Attorney General of the United States is the top law enforcement official in this country, but he doesn’t decide federal cases, nor does anyone think that he ought to. The powers of prosecution and adjudication are not, and ought not to be, united in a single office.

Now, consider a typical immigration case. When an immigration judge issues a decision, the losing party can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The losing party at the Board of Immigration Appeals can appeal to the relevant Circuit Court of Appeals, and thence to the Supreme Court.

Sounds similar, right? But there’s one key difference. The Attorney General of the United States has the power to reverse the decisions of immigration judges and to overturn decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals, all by himself.

In theory, immigration judges (and the judges of the Board of Immigration Appeals) are merely legates of the Attorney General, exercising judgment and discretion on his behalf, and so the AG has the undoubted right to correct his own subordinate officers. He can even pluck a case out of the docket without either of the parties asking him to do so. (Not even the Supreme Court can do that!)

In practice, the Attorney General has used the power to self-certify sparingly. For example, the Washington Post reports that the Clinton Administration only used the certification power three times during his administration, and it was used four times during the Obama Administration.

By our count, sixteen cases were certified to the Attorneys General during George W. Bush’s administration, with nine of those stemming from the Attorney General’s power to self-certify. Since 2017, the Trump Administration’s Attorneys General have already certified thirteen cases, all of which were done at the request of the Attorneys General themselves.

Retired immigration judge J. Traci Hong, who previously presided over cases the Arlington Immigration Court, told the Washington Post that, “The power goes back decades, but in other administrations, it was used very rarely — kind of a nuclear option… Certifying a case is a way for the attorney general to stamp his or her own views on immigration law — and it’s the quickest way to do it.”

Thus far, the Trump Administration’s Attorneys General have used this power more often than other Attorneys General in recent memory. These decisions swiftly, and many times drastically, change the law that applies to all the immigration courts and Department of Homeland Security offices in the country, leading immigration attorneys and their clients to sometimes change course in an instant.

These changes are frequently significant. Here are three from the Trump Administration which have rocked the world of immigration practice:

  1. In Matter of M-S-, the Attorney General held that an entire class of non-citizens were not eligible for bond, and therefore must be detained while their immigration cases are pending.
  2. In Matter of A-B-, the Attorney General held that requests for asylum by victims of domestic violence should, generally, be denied.
  3. In Matter of L-E-A-, the Attorney General held that “the family” is not a particular social group for purposes of asylum analysis, and so threats to an asylum-seeker’s family generally are not cognizable for asylum purposes.

We want to thank Amirite for his thoughtful question, and we want to say, as always, that we welcome any comments and will do our best to respond.

Arlington Pet of the Week: Cooper

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Meet this week’s Pet of the Week, Cooper, a 5 month old puppy recently rescued from Moldova.

Here is what Cooper’s owner had to say about his young life so far:

Though only 5 months old, Cooper is already an international world traveler with the passport stamps to prove it! The youngest of a litter of 7 puppies, Cooper and his siblings were born on the streets of Chisinau, Moldova in the middle of winter. Cooper and his siblings were strays, living outdoors in the middle of an extremely cold Eastern European winter. As luck would have it, Cooper and his siblings would be found by an animal lover right outside the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau, who took in all the pups into her home! There they were cleaned, fed, trained, and most importantly loved for the first time ever in their lives. Once Cooper and his siblings were old enough to be vaccinated, they were flown to the United States and all adopted into forever homes on the East Coast.

My boyfriend and I were lucky enough to foster Cooper, but after just a few days with him we knew that he was ours! Even though Cooper is the runt of his litter, he has the biggest heart and the most playful personality. He is super adventurous, and completely fearless. He will explore every nook and cranny of whatever room he is in, and is never afraid to get his nose into things to discover new things! He is loving, and enjoys nothing more than to curl up with us on the couch or his new adopted sister, our 5 year old rescue Black lab, Tally! Cooper’s favorite room is the kitchen- during meal times you can always be sure to find him waiting patiently next to the counter for something to fall. We have yet to find a treat or toy that Cooper dislikes, simply because he loves them all.

Cooper is a one of a kind puppy, and we couldn’t be happier for him to be a part of our home!

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of eight consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

Arts Focus: Arts Activities Halt to Stem Spread of COVID-19

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is written and sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Arlington Arts takes pride in providing support and services for the many Arlington-based artists and ensembles that enrich our community.

However, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic requires that we take measures for the safety of our community and staff. As such, Arlington Arts has closed all of our County-run arts facilities to the public until April 6. Productions and rehearsals in joint use theatre’s (such as Gunston Arts Center Theatre’s One and Two, and Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre) are cancelled through Monday, April 13.

Here is a list of facility closures and cancellations among Arlington Arts grantees that are known at the time of publication:

THEATRE ON THE RUN / 3700
Cancellations:

Arts Enterprise Institute Workshops

GUNSTON ARTS CENTER — THEATRE ONE
Cancellations:

GUNSTON ARTS CENTER — THEATRE TWO
Cancellations:

Avant Bard Theatre — Ada and the Engine and Suddenly Last Summer (all performances)

  • LEE ARTS CENTER — the studios and gallery are closed thru April 6
  • SIGNATURE THEATRE — canceling ALL performances and public events thru March 30
  • FESTIVAL ARGENTINO — Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre
    — Originally scheduled for May 16, it has been postponed until Fall, 2020 (date TBA)

In addition, Arlington Arts offers a range of services in support of presentations by Arlington-based arts organizations. For the safety of both the Artists and Staff, the following services and activities are suspended through April 6:

Arlington Arts will be here for the community as things return to normal. Meanwhile, we urge you to be safe.

The County has a new COVID-19 Related Cancellations page, where we are listing all Cultural Affairs cancellations.

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.

Needless to say, these are certainly interesting times.

On behalf of the Arlington Realty, Inc. team, we’re continuing to keep our community, state and nation at the top of our thoughts.

We encourage our neighbors to be safe out there and adhere to the latest recommendations as made by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as local authorities.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, we will continue to keep our pulse on the local real estate market, just as we have throughout our decades in Arlington County.

We know that these are stressful times with many, many questions and concerns. And, just as we’ve ridden the highs together, we’ll certainly be there when the times are tougher.

When you’re ready to chat about one of your most valuable current or future assets, we are too. And, in the meantime, here are this week’s Just Reduced figures:

As of March 16, there are 136 detached homes, 22 townhouses and 83 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 16 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.

Ask Eli: Impact of Coronavirus on the Real Estate Market, Part 2

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: What has been the impact of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 on the real estate market?

Answer: What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday I started off semi-apologetic for writing what felt like a click-bait article at the time and this week it feels like writing about anything else would be absurd.

Last week I wrote that the impact of COVID-19 on real estate thus far was business as usual with a few big “What Ifs.” Those What Ifs came to fruition within 24-72 hours of Tuesday’s column — major changes to our daily routines (school closures, work closures) and significant changes in the global/domestic economy.

It is no longer business as usual in real estate, but the show still goes on for most buyers and some sellers… for now.

This week and in the following weeks I will do my best to communicate the impact of the Coronavirus on the local real estate market through my experiences, experiences shared by my colleagues/industry partners (inspectors, lenders, etc), and market data.

What I’m Seeing/Hearing

Combining the reactions of my clients and clients of the 15-20 agents I’ve spoken with over the last few days to gauge shifts in supply (sellers) and demand (buyers), it seems that many/most buyers are staying the course with their purchase but the jitters seem to be setting in more over the last couple of days, especially for those who also need to sell a home. Sellers are much more nervous, understandably so, and many are questioning their need/plans to sell their home.

Most agents experienced noticeable drops in Open House and showing traffic over the weekend, although I spoke with a few agents who hosted 20+ groups during an Open House. My guess is that there are fewer people visiting homes who aren’t serious/ready buyers and that usually makes up a large percentage of total foot traffic.

Many of the agents I spoke with who submitted an offer this weekend still found themselves competing against multiple offers with strong terms, but the number of competing offers seemed less than what they would have expected a few weeks ago.

I experienced this on a house in South Arlington that 2-3 weeks ago would have probably gotten 5-10 offers, but my client was up against just one or two, albeit strong, offers (they won!).

I think one of the best measures of buyer demand/activity is home inspection bookings. I spoke with Ken Humphreys, the Area Manager of Virginia and Maryland for BPG Inspections, one of the largest inspection companies in the country, and he shared some valuable insights on his activity, as well as regional and national activity.

Almost all of Ken’s business is in Northern Virginia and during a hot market (like the last 8 weeks) he’s often booked out for 5-7 days. His schedule is full this week Monday-Wednesday but wide-open starting Thursday, which never happens.

In Virginia and Maryland, their bookings are down 15% from where they were last week and they were projecting a 10% increase in bookings this week over last, given the time of year. Bookings are down about 20% nationally.

Transactions Still Going

There was some concern that transactions would be halted due to courts, appraisers, and loan underwriters shutting down due to Coronavirus but so far everybody is operational, with some adjustments to adhere to social distancing practices.

Arlington County courts, like many others, have restricted walk-in business but essential services are still available which includes e-recording of deeds (allows property ownership to officially transfer). Lenders and appraisers are still operational, but people should prepare for longer turn-around times.

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