ARLbiz

On a recent Friday, part-time landlord Steve Rose had 20 possible tenants anxious to see his newly available apartment. But instead of spending the day showing the property and taking information on the visitors, he turned to a new Arlington business to do it for him.

Leaseably, Rose said, “had everybody scheduled, gave me a summary of all the applicants, did the background checks on them all and made it well worth the money.”

For Rose, a self-employed businessman with three investment properties, Leaseably listing services saved him time, effort and possible aggravation in finding a new tenant.

Finding tenants is just one of the services Leaseably offers. Leaseably is an Internet-based virtual assistant — with a staff of property management experts and Realtors behind it — that handles the copious details of property management for landlords, from dealing with calls requesting home repairs to finding the qualified and licensed repairmen to make them.

“A lot of people don’t want to sell their homes in Arlington, they want to rent them for a profit–with a property management company that offers quality and transparent services,” said Miriam Bolanos, who founded the company with her sister Brenda.

Traditional property managers can charge anywhere from 8 percent to 15 percent of the monthly rent charged to a tenant. That’s a deep cut into a property owner’s pockets.

“That model has to change,” co-founder Brenda Bolanos said. “Leaseably helps landlords rent and manage their rental properties with ease and confidence at a reasonable price without any hidden fees.”

Property owners such as Rose have found Leaseably to be agreeably inexpensive. He pays $70 a month to Leaseably for rental property concierge services to answer the calls from his tenants, to send reminders to collect the rent on time, to coordinate repairs, to keep track of expenses and to handle the various transactions that naturally accompany a monthly money-making endeavor.

“In my experience, a property management company takes up to 10 percent,” he said. “Why would I pay 10 percent? I would do it myself, but for $70 a month, I’ll let Leaseably do it.”

Leaseably has several sensible management plans to accommodate the property owner’s own involvement, but all of it with timely, efficient and courteous service to the tenant and the landlord.

Rose’s bottom line on the bottom line, echoed by others: “It’s been great.”

The preceding was a sponsored business profile. For information about Leaseably, visit the website here or call 1- (844) 571-EASE. The email address is [email protected].

Previous Image 1/8 Next Image

When we profiled Ed Snope’s Atlas Home Inspection company last year, we spoke with busy, all-business Realtors who count on Snope’s all-important reports to be thorough, accurate and on time in order to process Arlington real estate transactions.

Not only did he exceed his reputation for experience and knowledge of how a house is put together, the Realtors also praised his ability to communicate clearly exactly what the buyers and sellers were dealing with.

So we asked Snope to share with us some of his 30 years of experience in home and landscape construction and his four years as the sole proprietor of the bustling Atlas Home Inspection. We wondered what were 10 common findings in Arlington dwellings that he could share with us, explain why they are concerns and offer advice for improvement.

His answers may surprise you.

Outside

1. Mushroom-capped carriage bolts are popular as fasteners in deck construction as they are long enough to penetrate 4×4 footers and easy to use. However, holding up thousands of pounds of people and furniture on a deck is not what they should be used for. “Carriage bolts were developed to secure metal plates to wood beams,” he says. “The heads do not accept a washer. Lag bolts with washers, timber bolts and specialty fasteners and prefabricated metal connectors are available.”

2. Those flexible drainpipes taking water away from your house have ripples to increase flexibility. “But each one of those corrugations can hold enough water to breed tiger mosquitos,” Snope says. “And they tend to curl up at the end–creating a negative slope and holding water.” Smooth-walled pipe is not much more expensive but may require “a bit more labor to install.”

3. Mulch is often contaminated before it reaches the home. It can hide poor grading underneath, leading to water problems with the dwelling. “Mulch volcanoes” at the base of trees can damage plants if the mulch is excessive, and if you haven’t been hauling away the old stuff when topping off, you probably have too much. “It can cause bark rot and other moisture-related diseases,” he says.

4. That English ivy took a while to climb the side of the house, and it sure makes those Maywood bungalows look pleasingly vintage. But. “This is an invasive species,” warns Snope. “It offers little ecological value and is difficult to eradicate. It strangles native plants and trees, retains moisture (not good), harbors pests and mosquitoes and requires diligent maintenance.” It also damages siding and trim. Better choices are periwinkle or pachysandra.

5. When your neighborhood in invariably described as “leafy,” as most Arlington communities are, gutter covers sound like a reasonable solution to keeping leaves and sticks from clogging exterior drainage. Think again. “They are not maintenance-free and they typically increase roof runoff, especially on medium- to steep-pitched roofs,” Snope says. That increases the moisture around the house, leaving basements vulnerable. And debris still builds up under those gutter guards. Keep an eye on them, or upgrade to a far more expensive brand $25 a foot — that works slightly better.

Inside

6. If the dryer is in the basement what is dryer lint doing collecting on light switches two floors up? “Leaky ducts release lint into the home, often pulled into the HVAC system. Dryer lint can build up inside the clothes dryer, in the exhaust duct, in the exhaust vent or inside the building,” says Snope. “Flexible foil duct is easily compressed and tends to trap lint.” And this is bad why? “Lint buildup increases drying time, uses extra electricity, can damage equipment, and can become a fire hazard.”

(more…)

This was never the plan.

To be the owner of a cutting-edge, full-service, self-designed, 7,000-square-foot pet care facility in Bailey’s Crossroads with some 50 employees was not what Ryan Fochler envisioned when he started out simply walking other people’s dogs as a part-time job.

But now the dog walking job has grown to become Dog Paws ‘n Cat Claws Pet Care, offering a full range of pet care services 365 days a year and accumulating reams of kudos from satisfied pet owners, many who have been returning for a dozen years or more.

“It’s pretty cool to have great customers for as long as I have,” said Fochler, who took over the business in 2004 (it was established in 1999).

To make sure his clients and their pets get the best treatment, Fochler stays current on best practices in pet behavior and management through regular consults with his wife, Katie Holloran, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

He has found that this knowledge helps many dogs that have had trouble in other daycare settings. He designed the Dog Paws Bailey’s Crossroads facility to ensure that all dogs could be successful through more efficient and supportive processes and logistics.

And while that important service has made a significant impression, the bulk of the business is dedicated to those already domesticated dogs that just need walking, grooming, boarding, day-care and in-home pet sitting. Adoption services are also available.

The convenience factor of in-home pet sitting for dogs and cats cannot be understated in the D.C. metro area, a region in which residents often have to leave town for short periods, very often with short notice. And for those clients who require boarding for extended stays, Fochler said that’s where his and his staff’s training comes into play.

“In general, when you give a pet what it needs in a happy healthy environment, it will be more likely to be successful.” Playtime, regular walks, socialization, feeding, medications (if needed) and personalized attention from skilled staff are all included services in the daycare and boarding fees at Dog Paws, not specialty add-ons.

Despite the longevity of the business, Fochler said they’re continually improving their services, responding to changing needs organically. “A lot of great systems we have in place now around here happened by chance,” he said with a laugh.

He is most proud of his daylong evaluation process, which came about due to a dog that was having trouble socializing with other dogs. Fochler’s daycare manager, John, who is always in-tune with dogs’ needs, decided to provide a daylong opportunity for this dog to be gradually introduced to the other dogs at the facility that day.

What transpired was truly unexpected — the dog with a history of difficulty in a group of dogs ended the day happily wagging his tail alongside his new doggie friends, and spent years as a favorite of dogs and staff alike, coming back to Dog Paws regularly.

(more…)

Previous Image 1/11 Next Image

After the winter and spring we “enjoyed” in Arlington, chances are your carpet, rugs, upholstery and wood floors took a weather beating.

If you pay attention and look closely, you will notice the colors are muted, the fabrics are stained but, worst of all, there are things deep in the fibers you can’t see but are possible menaces to your health and your family’s health.

Luckily USA Clean Master is around the corner, and has been for more than 10 years. One phone call or email to their Crystal Drive office summons the arrival of a team of licensed and certified technicians who bring the latest in deep-cleaning technology to your door.

“We are very well known in Arlington because we have been involved in the community there for so long,” says USA Clean Master commercial division manager Yael Goldshmid.

Goldshmid says just vacuuming carpets and rugs doesn’t do the job. USA Clean Master will use high-temperature steam to “basically kill everything” and loosen the dried mud and hidden grime; the steaming is followed up with high-pressure vacuuming, the likes of which your top-of-the-line vacuum cleaner can’t come close to matching. Then they dry the carpet before departing.

For high traffic areas, Goldshmid says steam or deep cleaning should be done every six months, but otherwise once a year usually suffices for the typical Arlington household.

As for those wood floors, USA Clean Master will perform a restoration process to bring the wood back to its natural gloss.

High pressure tile and grout cleaning are also on the menu of services available from USA Clean Master, as well as water extraction, air duct cleaning, marble floor polishing, pick up and delivery of area rugs and upholstery refreshing and stain removal.

Goldshmid says calling 202-558-2102 for an estimate is the easiest and fastest way to summon USA Clean Master, but for an idea of what it might cost to have your home restored to pre-winter condition, use the estimating calculator on the USA Clean Master website.

The preceding was a promoted post written by Buzz McClain and sponsored by USA Clean Master.

Previous Image 1/3 Next Image

No one wants to ever call a plumber, electrician or heating and air conditioning technician. It means something isn’t working right, something normally reliable and usually in high-demand (water, power, comfortable climate), but at the moment it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do.

There are those among us who can get out the tool box and figure out what’s up, but most of us have, you know, other skills that don’t involve voltage testers, drain assemblies or digital HVAC multimeters.

For the rest of us, there’s John C. Flood. For more than 100 years — since 1904, to be exact — the John C. Flood company has responded to reluctant callers and fixed their problems by getting the power back on, the water running or the air conditioner conditioning the air again.

With nearly 50 trucks in the fleet and some 20,000 service calls a year, that’s a LOT of people who don’t have to suddenly figure out where the breaker box is.

Tellingly, some 75 percent of John C. Flood’s clientele is made up of repeat customers, those who had a plumbing issue first and then later called again for them to fix an electrical or HVAC problem.

Of course, the company has changed with the times over the last century, and in fact, in many cases leads the field in innovation and application of new best practices.

One adaptation is how the firm reaches millennials and new first-time homeowners who suddenly find themselves responsible for the operation and maintenance of the industrial innards of their homes. Marketing to Arlington’s most populous population has required shifting platforms.

“In the past we just needed our advertising to be out there on multiple marketing channels,” says marketing director Chris Thompson. “Now the customers are more savvy and they can control when and how they see ads. It makes it much more challenging, and with mobile marketing picking up at quantum speed, things are going to be much more interesting when it comes to reaching these new customers.”

So let’s mention the A+ Better Business Bureau rating. And the all-important, millennial-driven 100 percent positive review ratings on Modern Comment.

As a full service service company, John C. Flood handles just about everything inside the house. Their experts can talk you through your immediate problem as well as help you project future improvements, from remodeling rooms to installing “smart home” Internet devices to make everything from heating to security available by smart phone apps.

John C. Flood can be reached many ways, including by phone (703-914-1800), by email ([email protected]), by web (johncflood.com), by Twitter (@johncfloodva), Facebook and probably ESP if this isn’t enough. Those digital platforms also have a bounty of do-it-yourself information on them, so those of you with new voltage testers can make sure you’re doing it right.

By the way, there are TWO John C. Floods in the region that do the same services — long story, but they were once one company. The story is here.

The preceding was a sponsored local business profile written by Buzz McClain for ARLnow.com.