Feature

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.

We see properties with reduced prices by $10,000, $25,000 and even $100,000 quite a bit.

This week, we’ve unearthed a real treat: a $500,000 reduction! Yowsers! And see below for the full scoop on this home.

Amid this big-time reduction, it’s important to remember that these “Just Reduced” prices may only be the beginning. Once you enter the negotiation stages of a prospective transaction, these initial reductions can only be a fraction of what you end up saving off a listing price in the long run.

And, when it comes time to enter those negotiation stages, you’re going to want a seasoned team on your side — a team that truly knows the area, the value of the home of your dreams and how to advocate on your behalf.

When you’re ready to GET MORE out of your transaction, our team is already to roll!

As of August 12, there are 128 detached homes, 15 townhouses and 94 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 17 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: Is iBuying the Next Trend in Real Estate?

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 do you think about the iBuying trend in real estate? Have you seen an impact in Arlington?

Answer: iBuying offers homeowners a way to sell their home quickly without going to market, using a price generated by an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) like Zillow’s Zestimates. The big players are Opendoor, Offerpad, and Zillow but recently some well-known brokerages have joined the party including Redfin and Keller Williams.

At this time, none of the main players are offering iBuying in Arlington or the D.C. Metro area. Currently, the largest iBuying market in the country is Phoenix with about 6% of transactions going through an iBuyer (half of those are with Opendoor).

How It Works

The process of iBuying is similar for each company and looks something like this:

  1. Homeowner submits a request for an offer and provides some basic information about their home (bedrooms, square footage, etc.)
  2. iBuyer makes an initial offer on the home based on their AVM pricing algorithm
  3. If the owner likes the price, the iBuyer conducts a property inspection to determine condition and cost of repairs
  4. iBuyer makes a final offer given the property condition
  5. Owner can accept and close usually within 10-14 days

Advantages

  • Sell quickly
  • Sell as-is
  • No showings
  • No repairs or improvements
  • No contingencies that cause contract to void
  • No cost to get an offer

Disadvantages

  • Sale price likely below market value
  • “Service fees” usually range from 7-10% of the sale price, well above most commissions when using an agent
  • Still pay your normal closing costs (taxes, title fees, etc.)
  • iBuyers not operating in most metro areas

When Does An iBuyer Make Sense?

There are all sorts of reasons a homeowner may value speed and convenience over price so iBuying exists for that market, but it should remain only a small percentage of the overall real estate transaction market. iBuying won’t always be the best option for somebody looking for speed and convenience, but with no cost and little effort to get an offer, it makes sense to at least see what an iBuyer is willing to pay.

If you’re in a market where iBuying exists (or when it eventually comes to Arlington), why wouldn’t you request an instant offer from an iBuyer and compare it to what your real estate agent thinks you can get on market? I know a broker in Texas who got more for his house from an iBuyer than he could get on the market because the AVM pricing algorithm over-valued his house.

Will iBuying Last?

I’m not sure how iBuyers will survive an economic downturn when they’re sitting on a huge amount of inventory that’s worth less than they paid for it. It’s a great business model in a hot market, but potentially devastating when the market turns.

Another flaw I see in the current model is that homeowners (like the broker in Texas I mentioned earlier) can take advantage of the process. An owner who does their homework, meeting with agents and getting iBuyer offers, will most likely only choose the iBuyer if they’re over-paying. That’s great for owners who can take advantage of it, but I’m not sure how that can be a sustainable business model.

An additional drawback is that iBuyers generally charge a fee of 7-10% of the purchase price, which is mostly attributed to the risks associated with buying based on an algorithm and a basic property inspection. If iBuyers can figure out how to reduce risk enough to cut this fee in half and sustain themselves through downturns, things will get interesting for the real estate industry.

There have always been brokers and investors who specialize in “buy now” or instant offer programs, but what makes iBuying unique is the implementation of technology to determine pricing and to make the process more convenient, as well as the scale of operations.

I think the longer-term solution is something that blends the convenience and scale of a well-funded tech company with the market knowledge of a local agent.

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 Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

Legal Insider: States Start Non-Compete Agreement Reform

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.

Several states (not Virginia yet), have made moves to restrict the using unreasonable non-compete agreements with employees. Our practice has shown us that Virginia non-compete agreement reform is needed.

We have represented employers and employees in our practice and have found that many non-compete agreements in Virginia are extremely over broad and unreasonable.

What are Non-Compete Agreements?

A non-compete agreement is simply a contract between an employee and an employer in which the employee agrees not to enter into competition with the employer during or after employment.

Reasonable non-compete agreements are helpful and often necessary for employers to hire individuals without risking that they will then lose their customers if an employee leaves and tries to take clients with them. However, these types of agreements have started to get completely unreasonable.

Currently, non-compete agreements have not been restricted by Virginia law but regulated through the courts. Employees in Virginia who sign non-compete agreements can be held to them only if they pass this three-part test:

  • Is the restriction reasonable in the sense that it is no greater than is necessary to protect the employer in some legitimate business interest?
  • From the standpoint of the employee, is the restraint reasonable in the sense that it is not unduly harsh and oppressive in curtailing his legitimate efforts to earn a livelihood?
  • Is the restraint reasonable from the standpoint of a sound public policy?

Paramount Termite Control v. Rector, 380 S.E.2d 922 (Va. 1989).

However, the problem with the status quo is that employers have the upper hand, for the most part, with these types of agreements and enforcement. Take for example an employee making $50,000 a year, who signed an unreasonable non-compete agreement but is threatened by a large law firm and faced with massive legal expenses in challenging it.

In short, it is time for Virginia to provide safeguards for employees in this area.

(more…)

Startup That Teaches Businesses to Sell on Amazon Moves Closer to HQ2

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. 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.

Most people using Amazon won’t browse past the first page of listings for any given search or category. That’s where newly-Arlington-based startup Amify comes in.

Amify doesn’t sell products. Rather, the company works with other brands to help them drive sales and maximize their revenue on Amazon.

“Much like a brand might outsource PR to a PR firm, brands can outsource their Amazon presence to Amify,” Amify CEO and founder Ethan McAfee said in an email. “We can usually do it a lot better and a lot cheaper than a brand can do it internally. A few brands we work with include Fender Guitars and Pacers Running.”

Now with Amazon setting up its new HQ2 in Arlington, Amify has uprooted from its Alexandria headquarters and relocated closer to the company it is intrinsically tied to.

McAfee said Crystal City has historically been viewed as a “boring concrete jungle filled with government agencies and contractors,” but that Amazon’s move will help to change that.

“We moved there to be ahead of the curve,” McAfee said. “In a few short years, the number of fun and modern restaurants and bars will increase and make National Landing” — the name for the combined Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard neighborhoods along the Blue and Yellow lines — “a much more attractive place to have an office.”

McAfee said the two Metro lines, airport, VRE and highway access also make Crystal City an attractive spot for Amify. It doesn’t hurt that McAfee said the largest pool of talent for people with Amazon knowledge will be centered around the new headquarters. Like a remora fish swimming alongside a shark, it’s a symbiotic relationship that can hopefully keep Amify well-fed on business in Amazon’s waters.

“Wherever Amazon goes, it’s going to generate some sort of regional brain trust or community that somehow relates to its business,” said McAfee. “We want to be a part of that brain trust. We want to be around smart people who work or who have worked for Amazon, and are passionate about selling online and advancing the experience of sellers on the platform. It’s an excellent environment to be in if you’re a business like ours.”

Things have been going well recently. McAfee said Amazon’s reported decision to retire a large number of its first-party seller relationships — ditching some small brands that sell their own products to Amazon via purchase order, in favor of third-party marketplace sellers that stock and sell goods via Amazon’s platform — has left some of those brands reeling and trying to reclaim their Amazon presence.

But like the remora fish, McAfee said sometimes Amify can very much be at the whims of the larger beast.

“Much like Walmart, Amazon is a very large retailer and can throw around its weight,” McAfee said. “It certainly makes sellers’ lives more difficult, but at the same time, no other platform is going to provide sellers with the same exposure or access to consumers as Amazon.”

“Given control of the largest online marketplace in the world, it’s conceivable one might tip the scales in their favor,” McAfee continued. “This is not to give Amazon a pass, it’s just to say that this is something we’ve anticipated and therefore can respond to in the context of how it impacts our customers.”

Despite that uncertainty, McAfee said relocating closer to HQ2 should help put the company on more stable ground.

“Being closer to Amazon will be an opportunity for us to grow our company by solidifying our place as Amazon’s top brand partner and attract new talent by being one of the first companies on the ground of this growing tech hub,” he said.

Photos via Amify/Facebook

Rethink Energy: AIRE at the Fair

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 County Fair is only a few days away. Get excited!

Stop by and see us at the Rethink Energy booth. We’ll be there to answer your energy questions about saving energy at home, solar power, weatherization and more.

When you stop into the Thomas Jefferson gymnasium, take note; LED lights shine brightly from above. These LED lights save about $40,000 annually and have a payback of less than 4 years.

The use of LED lights isn’t the only way that the Fair is working to be more sustainable. Kudos to the Fair for all the small actions that continue to make a big difference. Here is what you can expect at the Fair to leave a lighter footprint on the environment:

The Arlington County Fair is working toward the goal of becoming a zero waste event!

  • Providing a water fill up station to encourage guests to use reusable water bottles.
  • Banning all single-use plastic straws and replacing them with compostable options or strawless cups.
  • Banning Styrofoam food service items such as cups and clamshell containers distributed at the fair.
  • Banning small condiment packets for mustard, ketchup and soy sauce, as well as small plastic Solo cups for sauces. Vendors will use bulk distribution in paper cups for these items.
  • Recycling all recyclable materials in a single-stream recycling system, including paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastic materials.
  • Expanding our composting efforts to be available throughout the fair. This removes food waste, paper products and other biodegradable items out of the event waste stream, reducing greenhouse gas emissions resulting from waste generated at the fair.
  • Collecting food vendor grease that is taken to a plant for rendering. 40% of the processed grease is used to create bio fuel.
  • Collecting and distributing manure generated by livestock at the fair for use in neighborhood gardens.
  • Working with Arlington’s Car-Free Diet to promote transportation options to the fair, including biking and walking routes, nearby bike-share locations, bus and Metro options.
  • Providing valet parking for bicycles free of charge for guests who bike to the event.
  • Providing shuttle service for fair attendees from nearby parking facilities and Metro stops.
  • Using reusable signage throughout the fair to minimize printed signage waste.

We look forward to seeing you at the Fair. Please stop by with your energy questions!

New Homes in Arlington: August 9

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Welcome to New Homes, a biweekly column highlighting the new construction real estate market, written by Conor Sullivan and Dave Moya of Three Stones Residential at Keller Williams Realty. We are here to share our experience and expertise in lot acquisition, financing and construction of custom homes. 

Driving through the neighborhoods of Arlington may look a bit different than it did than just last year, with new construction homes popping up on older lots.

In the last 6 months, 33 new homes have sold, with a majority of those closings occurring in just the last 4 months.

In Arlington, there’s currently a 5 month supply of these new homes on the market, placing the city in a Seller’s market. In Seller’s markets, we typically see lower inventory of homes, increased buyer competition, higher sale prices, and fewer days on the market.

For current Active properties in Arlington, data shows:

  • 22 New Construction homes with an active listing
  • $2.1M Avg. Price, +14% from recently closed properties
  • 69 Avg. Days On Market, +37% from recently closed properties

New construction home demand continues to increase as inventory dwindles. It will be important to continue to study trends and see how the market fairs over the next six months as we enter an election year.

For more detailed information about the current state of the market and new construction homes, please contact Three Stones Residential directly at (571) 429-7670 or visit tsrhomes.com.

Here are some new homes now on the market in Arlington:

Want to learn more about financing a New Home build? McLean Mortgage (NMLS ID: 99665) can handle all of your construction financing needs. You can build your new home with as little as 5% down. Contact construction loan expert Troy Toureau (NMLS ID: 5618) at 301-440-4261 or AnyHomeLoans.com to learn 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:

1117 S. Monroe Street
5 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Re/Max Allegiance
Listed: $1,098,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m.

 

1724 Columbia Pike
4 BD/3 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $939,000
Open: Saturday 1-3 p.m.

 

5013 34th Street N.
3 BD/2 BA single-family home
Agent: Arlington Realty, Inc
Listed: $819,000
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

1220 N. Filmore Street Ph08
2 BD/2 BA condo
Agent: Optime Realty
Listed: $745,000
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

1300 Army Navy Drive #1009
2 BD/2 BA condo
Agent: Century 21 Redwood Realty
Listed: $659,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

2114 S. Quincy Street #2
3 BD/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: William G. Buck & Assoc., Inc
Listed: $489,900
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

2904 13th Street S. #402
1 BD/1 BA condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $295,000
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 Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

The pace of home sales in Arlington finally dipped a bit this week with only 43 ratified contracts compared to last week’s 57 sales.

Sellers listed 48 homes this week, and 13 of those sold within seven days. It’s still an unusually strong summer market which bodes well for a vibrant fall market starting right after Labor Day.

There are only 225 homes actively for sale in Arlington. At the current absorption rate, that’s 1.2 months of inventory which is an improvement for buyers. Other good news for buyers is the big drop in interest rates this week. On Monday, rates dropped as low as 3.5% for a 30-yr fixed rate, but then began edging up to about 3.65% on Thursday.

If you have a ratified contract and haven’t locked in your rate yet, stop reading this and call your lender NOW. This is the lowest rate since November 2016.

What drives our housing market isn’t just interest rates. Our overall economy creates housing demand which drives our market. Job security and wage growth is more important than interest rates and inventory. We need to be looking for the subtle little signs of change in our economy such as growth with our trading partners.

Currently, big businesses are concerned about a general global economic slowdown and that uncertainty influences their decisions on reinvestment, growth and hiring. But buoying our slowing economy is strong consumer confidence. So pay attention to news reports about economic events, like the Dow dropping 700 points in one day, and China devaluing its currency, the yuan, especially against the dollar. These are clues.

Good news for South Arlington home owners: Your home has increased in value since July last year. For single family owners, the average price went up by 9.4% to  $868,837. For condo owners, the average sales price went up 6.4% to $402,736 from July 2018.

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

Arlington Pet of the Week: Bear

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Arlington’s newest pet of the week is Bear, a 2.5 year old pitbull mix who loves his full time job.

Here is what Bear’s owner has to say about his life in Arlington:

Bear is a 2 & 1/2 year old Pitbull mix that was adopted from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. Originally from Galax Virginia he was transferred up north to to a non kill shelter where his owner subsequently fell in love with and adopted him. Like his father, Bear is a food motivated gentleman who will do anything for a treat. In his spare time he enjoys watching squirrels out the window and taking long naps.

Coming from the animal shelter Bear has worked his way up to corporate ladder with a cushy town house in Old Town. While he resides in Old Town Bear works a 40 hour week at the Ballston BID. His official title is Director of Happiness Operations. His main duties in the office entail greeting everyone at the door, employee stress relief via belly rubs and tricks, and ensuring no food goes to waste. Though Bear is the newest employee his in enthusiasm for the job and the Ballston neighborhood lead to quick promotion within the company.

Bear is big on community outreach, you can often find him going for walks around the neighborhood — make sure you say hi!

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.

Small Biz Focus: Hello To Fall & Amazing Opportunities

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

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

By Tara Palacios

Where did the summer go? It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming summer, and now retailers are offering school supplies and tax breaks to the kids.

August has arrived! Hopefully, you had the opportunity to revisit your business strategy and take some time to exhale because this fall, my prediction is there will be no rest for weary entrepreneurs.

BizLaunch has experienced some positive changes this summer. Thanks to the Arlington County Board we have added an additional position to serve more small businesses in Arlington. We are pleased to announce we will be having a new BizLaunch Small Business Manager beginning this September.

Stay tuned! The manager will be responsible for creative programming with Amazon as well as coordinating events and outreach initiatives.

We are also pleased to announce a wide roster of innovative programming to meet the needs of our fast-paced entrepreneurs. We have invited several expert speakers who will address topics on marketing, networking and strategic planning.

Our extremely popular Brunch and Business series is back for the fall, and on October 23, will address how to recover from disasters that impact your business such as flooding or other acts of nature which could negatively impact your business. This is in direct response to the summer floods which impacted many of our favorite local businesses.

This fall, we will continue our steadfast collaboration with Arlington Public Library by offering the wealth of free (yes, FREE… did I say FREE?!) business resources to the small business community. Entrepreneurs can also benefit from meeting one-on-one with the Libraryʼs Business and Nonprofit Librarian, Alexandra Schultz. Alexandra and I will be offering walk-in business clinics this fall where we can meet one-on-one to help with resources and strategies for our local businesses. We are extremely proud of the Libraryʼs resources.

Last but not least donʼt forget to set up your complimentary mentorship appointment today with SCORE or BizLaunch. We can help you explore new ideas or improve upon an existing strategy. Mentorship and counseling is also absolutely FREE.

We tend to book up quickly during the fall season so if you are interested in coming in we recommend you call our office (703) 228-0808) asap or click here to schedule a meeting today.

We hope to see you at BizLaunch soon!

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.

If you ask us, Arlington County is the best place to call home in America, period. But hey, we may be a bit biased.

So, it’s always nice to see other accolades, awards and honors rolling in that agree with us.

In addition to naming Arlington the best city to call home in America, Niche.com has named four Arlington County neighborhoods among the top ten best places to buy a house in Virginia. These neighborhoods are Waycroft/Woodlawn (No. 1), Highland Park/Overlee Knolls (4), Bluemont (7) and Yorktown (9).

The places were ranked on a number of factors including home values, the quality of local schools and housing costs.

When you’re ready to explore owning a home of your own in these renowned neighborhoods — among Arlington’s other awesome offerings — we’re ready to help you GET MORE out of your transaction.

As of August 5, there are 124 detached homes, 15 townhouses and 103 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 17 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.

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