Feature

Your Beermonger: Loving Beer on Valentine’s Day

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.

Valentine’s Day is often associated with indulgences in food, wine and chocolates or other desserts.

If you’re looking to change things up a little this year, there are some beer options that can make your evening just a little more special. If I may humbly offer a few suggestions:

Before Or With Dinner

If you’re starting with finger foods or a cheese/charcuterie plate (wherever might you acquire one of those, I wonder?), a clean, snappy Pils or other lighter Lager can simultaneously accentuate flavors while staying out of their way. My old standby Veltins Pilsener does this well, as do Hardywood’s Pils, Port City’s Downright Pilsner and the new Bruery Ruekeller: Helles.

Helles is a great way to go for something with a tick more flavor that you can also take to the table. Consider The Bruery’s version along with Rocket Frog’s Hellenor.

With Dinner

English-style Ales offer a great mix of sweet notes from both their malts and yeasts, along with easy-going lower ABVs and balanced mouth feels thanks to judicious hop usage that rarely crossed over into bitter or overpowering. We’re lucky to have a couple good local options available in the Denizens Lowest Lord ESB and the recently arrived Fast Mail from Danville’s Ballad Brewing, a lovely interpretation of an English Mild clocking in at 4.2% ABV.

For the more adventurous, a nice Belgian or Belgian-style beer always works. Denizens comes through again here with Third Party Tripel, but it’s hard to stay away from Trappist classics like Westmalle Tripel, Rochefort 8 and Orval. It’s a bit esoteric, but De Proef’s Saison Imperiale is a unique, maltier take on the style that is complex and gorgeous on its own but would play well with earthier entrees.

After Dinner

Staying with the Belgians, Rodenbach’s Felmish Sours play beautifully off of chocolates and fruits. The Rodenbach Classic runs more tart than sour, with hints of cherry, while Alexander actually sees the addition of sour cherry juice. In my opinion, you can never go wrong with Rodenbach.

If you’re veering toward a truly indulgent end to the meal, consider a lush Imperial Stout: Toasted Almond from Back Bay’s Farmhouse Brewing Company in Virginia Beach is a cocktail-inspired, Bourbon barrel-aged monster made with lactose (pair with/on ice cream?), whole coffee beans and yes, toasted almonds.

It’s not cheap and hard to find — apparently only two cases came up to NoVA; guess who got one? — but if you’re going all-out, go all out, right? Also consider: Sierra Nevada’s Barrel-Aged Narwhal (recently released in 16oz cans and apparently as a year-round beer), Port City Porter, or Hardywood’s seasonal Baltic Sunrise, a lovely Baltic Porter on coffee.

As always, follow us on Untappd or check our site for real-time updates on what’s on the Draft Station. Until next time!

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:

3939 N. Wakefield Street
5 BD/4 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: McEnearney Associates, Inc
Listed: $1,829,000
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

315 N. Garfield Street
5 BD/3 BA, 2 half bath single-family home
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $1,495,000
Open: Saturday 1-4 p.m.

 

5214 26th Road N.
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Penfed Realty
Listed: $1,000,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

6721 Little Falls Road
4 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Ttr Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed: $885,000
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

2037 N. Cameron Street
3 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath villa/townhouse
Agent: Keller Williams Realty/Lee Beaver & Associates
Listed: $790,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

1804 S. Nelson Street
2 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Century 21 Redwood Realty
Listed: $680,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

1045 N. Utah Street #2-109
1 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Ttr Sotheby’s International Realty
Listed: $435,000
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 Andors Real Estate Group.

In case you were wondering, Arlington’s market is not really seasonal.

The conventional wisdom that “spring is the best time to sell” doesn’t take into account the whole picture. The “spring market” here started in January — January 3 to be exact, but any day is a good day to sell in Arlington.

Waiting until the snow melts (Snow? What snow?!), flowers bloom and the temperature stays above freezing to list your home is a thing of the past. In Arlington, buyers are looking every day of the year just hoping to find somewhere to call home.

While it’s true that more buyers and sellers transact real estate in the warmer months, that’s because there is more inventory then. For sellers, that means you have more competition for your buyer.

You can’t time most markets and the housing market is no exception. What you can do is always properly prepare your house, and price your home to sell, not sit. Days on market are your friend when the count is low, specifically three weeks or less. Once it creeps past a few weeks, buyers begin to see your home as stale inventory and think they can get a discount. This happens — even here in Arlington!

Our market still operates with an overlay of general caution and a fear of overpaying; caution is not totally thrown to the wind. Buyers know what a home is worth; while they may be willing to overpay slightly, even that has its limits.

The best thing you can do is follow the guidance of a trusted, proven Arlington real estate agent to prepare your property before going live on the multiple listing service. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so address the easy stuff like peeling/old paint, too-worn hardwood floors and have the garden spruced up as well. Yes — power wash that walkway, pare down the extra contents inside and ensure your property is as clean as can be.

Mitigate signs of past issues like an old leak so that buyers don’t assume the worst, and if something is broken, have it fixed or replaced. Pretend you are a picky buyer, and address the things that you know would bug them, even if you’ve been willing to live with those. It all but ensures a buyer will be willing to pay top dollar for your home if they feel they can just move right in.

This week in Arlington, some 62 homeowners listed their properties for sale. 59 buyers ratified contracts, and 32 of those were on homes listed within the past seven days. Right now, there are 150 available properties for sale.

Some interesting notes:

Of the 32 homes that went under contract their first week on the market, 29 were priced below $1 million.

Of the 150 available homes, the median price is $1.22m and the average is $1.44m.

The Andors Real Estate Group’s new website will be up and running next week. In the interim, 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.

Boring Title: Purchasing a Home Can be a Rocky Process

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.

Purchasing a home can sometimes be ROCKY… especially in a seller’s market where multiple offers and waived contingencies are normal.

Make sure to use Allied Title & Escrow to ensure a SMOOTH closing process! Check out our newest video starring Mikey Balboa… I mean Mike Madigan!

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!

Small Biz Focus: Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs March 2020

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

By Tara Palacios

Women are opening businesses at a fast rate.

They are opening businesses exactly five times faster than the national average. In BizLaunch, 60% of new clients are women and we directly see the positive impact of women entrepreneurs on our business ecosystem.

According to the the 2019 State of Women-Owned Business Report commissioned by American Express, “Between 2014 and 2019, the number of women-owned businesses climbed 21% to a total of nearly 13 million (12,943,400). Employment grew by 8% to 9.4 million. Revenue rose 21% to $1.9 trillion.”

The number of “sidepreneurs,” has also increased. [I.e., people who are employed but seeking to launch a business on the side or as a side hustle]. Women are engaging in building sustainability and wealth and using entrepreneurship as a platform to quickly achieve those goals.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March, BizLaunch offers two amazing conference opportunities for women who are in business or thinking of going into business:

AWE Summit 2020 — March 12, Marymount University

Join us for the 2nd annual AWE SUMMIT a can’t miss gathering of the most awesome business owners in the D.C. region:

  • Educational and inspiring presentations
  • Informative panels of experts
  • Conversations and connections
  • All-new vendor expo!
  • Morning coffee and a delicious lunch provided
  • 30-Second Pitch competition with $2500 in startup funds

weThrive

Experience a full day of learning tailored to your entrepreneurial journey. Whether you are in the early stages of your business, ready to scale up, or attempting to manage rapid growth, we have a track designed to educate and inspire you. You will self-select from the following life stage tracks:

  • CREATIVITY to Start
  • CONFIDENCE to Scale
  • COURAGE to Soar

Networking Reception: Celebrating Courageous Women

Wednesday, March 18, 6-8 p.m., Arlington Economic Development

The Entrepreneurial Journey Conference

Thursday, March 19, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Silver Spring Civic Center

We hope you can join us!

Arlington Pet of the Week: Confetti

By ARLnow.com
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Arlington’s newest Pet of the Week is Confetti, a 2 year old rescue cat who loves to sleep in the bathroom sink.

Here’s what Confetti’s owner told ARLnow about how the feline feels about life here in Arlington:

I was born outside in a barn without good food or water. Luckily, a nice Arlington cat rescuer named Lily helped me out. She took me to a foster home with other cats who had trouble. There was one, grey cat that scared me. Soon after, Lily took me and some of the other cats to a pet a shop to meet potential families to help us find our forever homes. The grey cat came along and I was scared. One little girl looked at me and saw that I was shaking. She put her hand inside the cage and pet me. It made me purr. She felt my motor and I knew that she loved me. The family took me home that very day.

When I got to my forever home, I was really scared but after a few days I was more comfortable. My belly hurt because of the bad barn water and the vet said I had giardia. My new family gave me medicine and healthy food and nursed me back to health. The name I was given is Confetti because I have lots of little spots. My new family calls me lots of new names too, like: Marbles, French Fry, Fuzz Face, FetFet and Caramel Toes. I love all my names! My favorite toy is the one that my little girl owner makes for me out of pipe cleaners. I like to play fetch up and down the stairs with her. Sometimes I like to sleep in the cool bathroom sink because it feels really good. I also like to drink glasses of water that my family leaves out, but they don’t like that so much.

I know that I am loved and cared for and I feel so lucky that there are people out there like Lily to help cats like me that need a second chance. I am only two but I feel like I’ve been with my forever family… forever!

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

 

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.

Happy Valentine’s Week, lovebirds.

And, if you somehow forgot that V-Day is in only two days, you are incredibly welcome for the reminder!

Whether you totally dig this affection-filled holiday or hate it beyond belief, now is an incredible time to be dedicating a little bit of that love and attention toward real estate.

Okay, so the home of your dreams may not give you a bouquet of roses or a box of heart-shaped candy. But it can prove to be an incredible investment and a major game changer in your quality of life.

If and when you’re tired of writing that landlord of yours a check each month, the team at Arlington Realty Inc. is prepared to help you achieve your home-owning dreams.

Just as in the world of love, there’s much more to it than a simple swipe right. You’ll want a team that truly gets it, has your best interests at heart and the experience to back it up.

And now on to this week’s numbers…

As of February 10, there are 112 detached homes, 15 townhouses and 60 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 6 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: Resale Value of New Construction

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: We bought a new home in Arlington five years ago and are considering selling, but we’re concerned about the resale value of new homes given the amount of newer homes being built in the market. Do you have any data on how new homes do when they resell for the first time?

Answer: The new/newer construction market is the only Arlington sub-market that is anywhere close to properly supplied, with almost 4.5 months of inventory available (number of homes for sale divided by average sales per month = months of inventory).

Most housing economists say that a market is at balance for buyers and sellers when there is six months of inventory. For comparison, sub-markets like one-and-two-bedroom condos, <$1M detached homes, and townhouses each have between one and three weeks of supply.

New Homes Are Appreciating…

There’s a logical case to be made that when a new home (built within the last decade) gets resold, it will struggle to compete with other brand-new homes given how similar these homes have been over the last ten years, combined with the amount of supply in the market. Fortunately for owners of recently built homes who may sell in the near future, that logic does not prevail and new homes are being sold for more the second time around. 

…But Just A Little

There aren’t a ton of data points yet (most people buying expensive new construction will be there for a long time), but just enough that I think we can start to get a good idea of how new homes (that aren’t new anymore) from the past decade perform when they’re resold into a market with many similar new homes.

To study this, I identified homes built since 2012 that have since resold, excluding homes that sold within one year of their original purchase or any homes with major improvements since the original purchase or clearly left in disrepair.

Here’s a summary of my findings:

  • 53 homes met the criteria, nearly all in North Arlington
  • Average appreciation on resale was 6.7%
  • Average annualized appreciation was 2.1%
  • Only seven homes sold for less than they were bought
  • Sixteen homes sold for at least 10% above what they were bought
  • On average, it took 64 days for these homes to go under contract, about 30% longer than the entire detached home market during that same period

Cause For Concern?

For those who own a new(er) home, you may be underwhelmed by these numbers relative to what the rest of the market is doing — compared to other detached homes in the Arlington market, new homes are appreciating at a noticeably slower rate.

Part of that is due to the fact that there’s a much higher supply of similar new/newer homes for sale so that will naturally keep prices more stable. Another reason is that it takes longer for the upper end of the market to appreciate, so the growth we’ve seen <$1.25M hasn’t impacted the $1.5M+ market as much.

So is a new home a bad investment because it appreciates less than other homes? Not at all.

First, one of the reasons buyers pay a premium for new/newer homes is because your maintenance and repair costs should be significantly lower for the first 10-15 years. Investment value isn’t only about what you buy and sell for, it’s also about how much you spend between the two transactions keeping the house operating (often more valuable than appreciation).

Second, for most families, a new/newer home offers square footage and a floor plan they can’t find anywhere else so the non-financial/quantifiable benefits are significant. Opportunities to customize to taste also factor into the non-financial/quantifiable return that owners may receive.

The new construction market operates differently from the rest of the housing market. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. And a quick plug for two custom homes on ¼ acre lots I’m selling in Bellevue Forest, being built by James McMullin, Arlingtonian and third-generation Arlington developer/builder. Demolition and excavation will start in the next month!

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

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

Arlington Ranked No. 3 Best Place for Women in Technology

By ARLnow.com

Startup Monday header

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.

Arlington is the third-best place for women who work in tech, according to a new study.

The website SmartAsset ranked local jurisdictions by looking at a number of factors — including income relative to housing costs, the gender pay gap, percentage of tech jobs filled by women, and the four-year rate of tech employment growth.

Arlington placed No. 3, while D.C. ranked No. 2 and Baltimore ranked No. 1, according to SmartAsset’s methodology. Per the website:

Arlington, Virginia has consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the U.S., partially due to its affordable housing costs as compared to income. In this study, we found that average earnings after housing costs for women working in tech were $65,210 in 2018, the sixth-highest amount for this metric across all 59 cities. Additionally, women constitute 34% of the tech workforce in Arlington, which is the sixth-largest percentage in the study for this metric.

In all, 59 of the largest U.S. cities were ranked.

Arlington ranked highly compared to San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, mostly due to lower relative tech employment among women and a larger gender pay gap there. San Jose’s gender pay gap of 83% compared to Arlington’s 89%, while 34.5% of tech jobs in Arlington were filled by women, compared to only 21.5% in San Jose.

Sarah Eastman, a co-founder of Boolean Girl Tech in Arlington, said the county’s recognition is “well-deserved.” The company has earned national recognition for its classroom kits and camps aimed at getting young women interested in coding as part of an effort to combat the gender disparity in the tech industry.

“At Boolean Girl, we see it firsthand in our Ambassador Network, a robust community of local women in STEM who volunteer at our summer camps and Clubhouse, providing role modeling and mentorship for our girls as they learn coding, engineering and other STEM skills,” said Eastman. “These women are emblematic of the impressive talent-level in Arlington, as well as the community’s focus on giving back to the next generation, helping girls learn about STEM in a collaborative and welcoming environment.”

There are a number of resources for women in technology in Arlington and the region. Arlington Economic Development has held a number of events focused on helping female entrepreneurs, for instance, while the groups Women Who Tech and Women in Technology are active in the region and hold occasional events.

Legal Insider: Virginia to Ban Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination

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.

The Commonwealth of Virginia is a few days away from enacting legislation that bans discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

On February 6, 2020, the Virginia Values Act passed HB 1663 in the Virginia House by a vote of 59 to 35 and SB 868 in the Virginia Senate by a vote of 30 to 9. The new legislation adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s civil rights protections in the Virginia Human Rights Act.

The Virginia House published a summary of the new legislation, establishing several new civil claims as unlawful discrimination. The original summary of HB 1633 provides a good summation of this landmark legislation:

[The new law] creates explicit causes of action for unlawful discrimination in public accommodations and employment in the Virginia Human Rights Act. Currently, under the Act there is no cause of action for discrimination in public accommodations, and the only causes of action for discrimination in employment are for (i) unlawful discharge on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including lactation, by employers employing more than five but fewer than 15 persons and (ii) unlawful discharge on the basis of age by employers employing more than five but fewer than 20 persons.

The bill allows the causes of action to be pursued privately by the aggrieved person or, in certain circumstances, by the Attorney General. The bill prohibits discrimination in public and private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill also codifies for state and local government employment the current prohibitions on discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, or status as a veteran.

Additionally, the bill (a) prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as a veteran; (b) prohibits discrimination in credit on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, disability, and status as a veteran; and (c) adds discrimination on the basis of an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, marital status, or status as a veteran as an unlawful housing practice…

The legislation has to win passage one more time as a procedural matter. However, the Governor, who sought the legislation, expects to sign the bill into law shortly. For the first time, the new law applies all of Virginia’s anti-discrimination laws to public accommodations, such as retail stores and restaurants. It is a month of major change for civil rights in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

If you are in need of employment law representation or advice, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

Rethink Energy: New Arlington Solar Calculator!

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

The Arlington County Board approved a partnership with Dominion Energy Virginia to purchase power from a new solar farm in southern Virginia.

The facility is expected to generate more than 80 percent of the electricity used annually for all County buildings, streetlights, traffic signals, water pumping and wastewater treatment.

Exactly how much solar does it take to do this? The solar farm will be about 475 acres!

Try this new calculator to compare how big Arlington’s portion of the solar farm will be compared to your civic association. Douglas Park is the closest civic association in size to the solar farm.

The agreement will not require any capital funding or upfront costs from the County. The project will have no impact on customer rates.

Interested in solar for your home or business?  Email us at [email protected] and we’ll let you know when the next solar co-op launches.

A very special thank you to Michele and Mathias Hansen at the Arlington-Based Geocodio for helping to make this microsite possible!

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