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Ask Eli: Hidden pitfalls in rental agreements and leases — protecting your interests as a renter or landlord

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel. Enjoy!

Question: Do I have to use my Property Manager if I sell my house?

Answer: This is more of a PSA post than anything else. If you’re a landlord or tenant, it’s crucial to pay attention to the fine print in agreements, especially regarding a future property sale. It’s common for Property Managers or Agents to include language that gives them the right to list your property if you choose to sell it or gives them a right to a commission in the event it sells during the rental period, to the tenant or somebody else.

Property Managers With Exclusive Right to Sell

Watch out for language granting property managers or agents exclusive rights to list your property if you decide to sell. This exclusivity restricts your options and flexibility, limiting your ability to explore alternative selling methods or use the agent of your choosing.

Required Commission Payments

Be aware of language stipulating a commission to property managers or agents if you sell your property to the tenant or another buyer during the rental period. Landlords might be obligated to pay a commission, even if they find an alternative buyer or wish to handle the sale independently. This financial burden can significantly impact both parties.

What If an Exclusivity or Commission Clause Exists?

Like most things in a contract, these clauses are negotiable. If you see something that you believe binds you to certain actions or payments in the event of a sale, ask about it and work to ensure you have the most flexibility if a sale does take place. You may not plan to sell when you sign the paperwork, but life happens and priorities change.

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

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

Play where the pros play!

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Join the Washington Commanders and DC Fray for the Burgundy & Gold Bowl Flag Football Tournament at FedExField on Saturday, May 20 from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.

Additionally, we’ll have NFL Combine drills and lawn games. After you tear it up on the field, enjoy food trucks, a DJ and drinks in the Touchdown Club.

Each registration includes a ticket to a 2023 Commanders home game!

Sign-up as a team or free agent by Friday!

Statutes of Liberty: A eulogy for Jane Leclerc

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This sponsored column is by Law Office of James Montana PLLC. All questions about it should be directed to James Montana, Esq., Doran Shemin, Esq., and Laura Lorenzo, Esq., practicing attorneys at The Law Office of James Montana PLLC, an immigration-focused law firm located in Falls Church, Virginia. The legal information given here is general in nature. If you want legal advice, contact us for an appointment.

[A note: There is plenty of immigration news this week, but we’ll get to it next time. Today, we want to remember a friend of our immigration practice, and a friend of all dogs, Jane Leclerc. We hope that you enjoy our eulogy for Jane.]

Jane Leclerc — her last name rhymed with care — died on March 17, 2023, in Arlington, at 7:37 in the evening. Her death was not felt by the public. Her passing was marked, some weeks later, by a gathering of friends.

Such people are not memorialized adequately. The secondary purpose of this eulogy is, in a small way, to remedy that; the primary purpose, of course, is to remember Jane.

Jane was born on January 7, 1949 in New London, Connecticut. After graduating from St. Bernard High School in nearby Montville, and then from Southern Connecticut State University, she came to Washington to volunteer at the Carter White House, where she worked in the Correspondence Unit. (One imagines an unending flood of typewritten letters complaining about gas prices — nothing has changed, in the intervening forty-five years, except of course for the typewriters.)

At some point — and here, the dates are entirely unclear — she married, then quickly separated from her husband; the writer never asked for any details, and she never imparted any.

After leaving the Carter White House, she took up a position in the correspondence section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. (One imagines an unending flood of typewritten letters complaining about bad hamburgers and queasy-making lettuce; nothing has changed, vide supra.) She worked there for twenty years. Of her triumphs and tragedies within those walls, the writer again knows little, other than that her former coworkers describe her as patient and indefatigable.

Jane had less ambition to crush and conquer than most people who move to Washington, so she retired from the federal service at 55, when she was still young. She devoted the remainder of her life to the service of people and vulnerable animals. She helped one gentleman, unschooled in the ways of bureaucracy, to obtain his SSI benefits; she helped an entire family of Congolese refugees to wend their way through the immigration system and settle in the United States; she paid the tuition bills for a young Macedonian chemist and then helped her — the chemist, that is — to move to Germany, where she could exercise her profession. These acts of kindness led the chemist to name her daughter Jana, in honor of what Jane Leclerc had done.

Those are the acts of supererogatory charity known to the writer; surely, in the nature of things, there were many others.

Jane also had a frankly shocking love of animals. She had an interest, then a hobby, then a mania for elderly Italian Greyhounds. She adopted them late in life, sometimes two at a time, and nursed them until they died. The writer once visited her at home; he asked her, uncomprehendingly, “Why are there three dogs on the floor, and why do they have no teeth?” A partially satisfactory explanation followed.

Italian Greyhounds of a certain age meet with the same indignities that we do, if we are lucky enough to get there — incontinence, cataracts, and inconvenient digestions. She walked them constantly, paid for their eye surgeries, and fed them raw chicken.

(more…)

Sloppy Mama’s BBQ — your home for all things BBQ in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
1/4

Mandy and Joe Neuman founded Sloppy Mama’s BBQ in the summer of 2014.

The couple catered their own wedding several years before, a proper pig picking, in the style of the pig pickings from years spent in Southern Virginia. From the catered wedding, family and friends starting asking for pig roasts of their own. They bought a food truck and set out with one goal in mind… making people happy. Fast forward 9 years and Arlington has become the perfect home!

Bring a crew by and enjoy a big ol’ platter of delicious smoked meats served family style to share or swing by for a delicious sandwich and some sides.

Having a group at the house or need some office catering? Check out our catering menu and offerings!

Enjoy daily lunch specials Wednesday-Friday, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. with daily dine in lunch specials that includes a rotating sandwich, side and drink for $10 or join us for Power Hours every day from 2-4 p.m. for half price apps and $1 PBRs.

Sloppy Mama’s BBQ is proud to live and serve the Arlington Community. Join us for community night almost every Wednesday night where a portion of the sales are donated back to the community they serve.

We look forward to seeing your smiling faces soon, give a follow @sloppymamas or head to www.sloppymamas.com and sign up for our newsletter.

Sloppy Mama’s BBQ is your home for all things BBQ in Arlington.

Biz Talk: AED hosts GovCon Resource Exhibition

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This article was written by Arlington Economic Development.

The Washington, D.C. metro region is the epicenter of government contracting activity in the U.S. and as home to the Pentagon, Arlington offers unmatched proximity to the federal government.

The federal government is the largest consumer of goods and services in the entire world, spending roughly $650 billion annually. Combined with state and local procurement, approximately $1 trillion is spent annually.

Part of the region’s federal contracting ecosystem is a wide array of resources available to new and growing government contractors. In order to help these small businesses take advantage of government procurement opportunities, Arlington Economic Development (AED) and BizLaunch have organized an exhibition featuring a variety of these resource providers.

This GovCon Resource Exhibition will help contractors make valuable connections for future opportunities and showcase the resources available for government contractors. Capture a piece of the $650 billion spent in federal procurement.

When: Monday, June 5, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport
2799 Richmond Hwy., Arlington, VA 22202

Register to attend and check out some of the partners who will be in attendance.

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. 

As of May 8, there are 146 detached homes, 15 townhouses and 139 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 16 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week, including:

811 N. Fillmore Street

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.

DC Polo: Funbrella on Sunday, May 14

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Take a break from the bustle of the city with umbrellas and “beach” chairs for you and your friends on the grassy knoll!

This year DC Polo Society will be featuring three events:

☀️Funbrella on Sunday, May 14

☀️Red, White + Brews on Sunday, July 16

☀️Bubbles + Bubbly on Sunday, September 3

Snag tix today!

Ask Eli: Selling your house? Five questions to ask an agent that ChatGPT doesn’t know

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. Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel. Enjoy!

Question: Do you have any advice on questions I should ask a Realtor I’m interviewing to sell my home?

Answer: Before you ask, yes, I used ChatGPT for this column, BUT I used it to come up with 50 questions AI thinks you should ask a Realtor so that I can offer you human brain questions that will hopefully be more useful.

Or… is that what AI would say if I told it to pretend like it was a human trying to convince readers an article wasn’t written by AI.

Without further ado, here are five questions (from my own non-AI brain) that will help you make the right decision about who is handling the sale of your home:

How Do Your Determine Price?

It’s impossible not to ask the agent you’re interviewing how much they think your house will sell for, and that’s totally fine, but don’t get wrapped up in an on-the-spot valuation of your home during the first appointment. Instead, it’s more important to understand the process your agent uses to determines pricing and decide if it’s an approach you’re bought into. 

Who Will I Work With?

Agents and agent teams come in all shapes and sizes (link to past article on the topic), some are solo agents and some have a series of coordinators that handle each stage of your sale. In some cases, you may have little interaction with the agent you interview. It’s important to understand who will be involved in each step of the sale from determining/coordinating listing prep, to preparing the marketing, to negotiating contracts, and overseeing the contract-to-close.

Who Will Host the Open House(s)?

Open Houses are a great opportunity to interact with interested buyers, highlight strengths of the property, and collect valuable feedback. Open Houses are also a great source of new business for agents. Make sure that the interests of your Open House host(s) are aligned with your interest in selling your home.

How Often Do Deals Fall Through and What Happens If Things Go South?

Real estate deals go sideways in expected and unexpected ways so risk prevention (early identification and diffusion of problems) and management (handling of problems that arise) are critical attributes of a great agent. When things go south, a great agent has the resources to manage the most difficult deal-killers by tapping into brokerage leadership, legal resources, contractors, and having the experience, creativity, and leadership to put it all together.

Should I Consider Selling Off/Pre-Market?

It’s a great question and the answer is not the same for every home/homeowner. The right answer requires a deeper understanding of your goals, the market, and some good ol’ fashion critical thinking. There’s also a lot of different information out there about off/pre-market sales (some good, some misleading) so I think it’s a good topic to cover with your potential Realtor.

If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to discuss buying, selling, renting, or investing, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Eli Residential channel.

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

Mindful Solutions, LLC: helping clients find practical strategies for living well

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

As an Arlington small-business owner, I’ve been running a private clinical psychology practice for over a decade. I love that I’ve been able to live in the same close community where I work.

At Mindful Solutions, LLC we offer individual therapy for children six and older as well as adolescents and adults. Our integrative approach to therapy draws on evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In addition, we perform psychological and educational testing.

If you think you or your child may have ADHD or a learning disability, we offer comprehensive assessments to uncover the causes of challenges at work and school. Psychological testing offers everyone answers to important questions about why we function the way we do.

Offering both therapy and testing is an important part of our practice because I prioritize helping people understand themselves better and uncovering the underlying reasons why they feel stuck in moving past their struggles. We often live in survival mode, but I want to provide clients with strategies to help them thrive, living meaningful lives and finding healthy relationships.

Therapy is much more useful when we know what our goals are, and what experiences from our past have made us who we are now. We can then find our path forward, feeling more confident and resilient.

Best,
Dr. Carla M. Shuman

The Nose That Knows: Three Table Super Tasting

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This column is written by the team at Arrowine & Cheese (4508 Cherry Hill Road). Sign up for the email newsletter and receive exclusive discounts and offers. Order from Arrowine’s expanding online store for curbside pickup or in-store shopping. Have a question? Email thenose@arrowine.com.

Are you looking for something fun to do on Sunday? Isn’t it time we met?

Join us at Arrowine (4508 Cherry Hill Road in Arlington) this Sunday, May 7 from 1–4 p.m. so you don’t miss a Special Three Table Super Tasting with wines from the Lux Wines portfolio!

At this Arrowine Sunday Super Tasting event, you’ll be able to taste prestigious Italian and American wines, including Barolo, Brunello, and even Amarone della Valpolicella, hand-picked from the portfolio of the Gallo Family’s Lux Wines group.

The tasting list for this special event includes Jermann from Friuli, Pieropan from Veneto, Tornatore from Sicily, Argiano from Tuscany (including their famous Brunello di Montalcino and Solengo Super Tuscan), Renato Ratti from Piedmont (including their famous Barolo “Marcenasco”), Jayson by Pahlmayer from California, Allegini from Valpolicella (including their famous Amarone), Brancaia from Tuscany (including the highly-rated “Itatraia” Super Tuscan), and more.

There is no charge for this tasting event and tasting discounts are “on”! Every wine you taste will be ON SALE during the event, at least 10% off the regular price. We’ll have wine available for purchase, and if you want more than we have available, discounts will apply to tasting wines you order during the event, too!

This event is by reservation ONLY. Attendance is limited to ensure a great experience. All attendees must be 21 and possess a valid picture ID. 

This event will be popular. Please e-mail us at [email protected] and let us know you plan to attend. Please include the following information:

  • Name
  • Email and phone contact information
  • Number of people in your group
  • When you expect to arrive:
  • (a) 1-2 p.m., (b) 2-3 p.m., or (c) 3-4 p.m.

We will confirm all reservations by e-mail. If attending, we will add you to our e-mail list that announces special events and sales.

We look forward to seeing you!

Doug Rosen

Photo by Big Dodzy on Unsplash

Listing of the Day: 1622 N. Rhodes Street

By ARLnow.com
1/9

Address: 1622 N. Rhodes Street
Neighborhood: Rosslyn
Type: 3 BR+den, 2 (+1 half) BA townhouse — 2,590 sq. ft.
Listed: $1,449,000

Open House: Saturday, May 6 from 1-3 p.m. and Sunday, May 7 from 12-2 p.m.

Noteworthy: A 3 BR+den, 2.5 BA townhome with designer finishes in a prime location.

A beautifully appointed home offering unmatched finishes that burst with soul and inspiration in a prime Rosslyn/Courthouse location, with 3BR+den, an owner’s suite that encompasses the entire third level, large private balcony, and a two-car garage.

What makes this home exceptional? The owners spared no expense investing $250,000 into the property including Architect Series full wood Pella windows, beautiful reclaimed wood carpentry (floors, cabinetry, doors), designer finishes from Sonoma Forge, Schoolhouse Electric, Restoration Hardware, and the ShadeStore, newer furnaces (2020), and numerous other updates provided in detail in the MLS documents section (available to your agent) and printed at the property.

You’ll fall in love with special touches like hand-planed Southern Yellow Pine flooring reclaimed from church pews, a custom built black walnut armoire, and primary bedroom window shades made of a custom built mosaic of cross sections of sap-saturated beams of pine suspended in glass. Other highlights include Viking appliances, two-zone HVAC, cork floors in the lower level den (great for a home gym), and ample storage. The east-facing orientation allows sun to pour through the many oversized windows and offers open views on upper floors. Additional guest parking spaces are available in the community.

What makes this location exceptional? Walkscore = 93! Blocks to Rosslyn and Courthouse Metro stations. Endless dining, retail, and fitness options within a few blocks include Barley Mac, Sfoglina, Open Road, Salt, Tupelo Honey, Orange Theory, Core Power Yoga, Bash Boxing, and more. Stroll to Georgetown via the Key Bridge, jog to the Washington Monument or along the canal via the Mt Vernon Trail, and walk to Whole Foods!

Rhodes Park is directly across the street and multiple others, including popular Rocky Run Park, are a short walk. Easy access to multiple trails, all major Northern Virginia roadways, National Airport, National Landing (Amazon), Pentagon, Tysons, and more! Rosslyn is an employment hub boasting Nestle/Gerber HQ, Deloitte, Grant Thornton, and more major employers.

Listed by:
Eli Tucker — Eli Residential Group of RLAH @properties
[email protected]
(703) 539-2529

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