Ask Eli

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: By year and areas of Arlington, what percentage of original house sales have been to developers and what percentage have been to individual/family occupants?

Answer: The numbers suggest that since 2009, just over 1,000 detached home sales in Arlington are to an investor. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to accurately determine the true numbers because so many investors buy properties off-market, but I’ll walk you through the data I used, some caveats, and my findings to get as close to an answer as I can.

The Data

1. Data set includes all 8,004 sales recorded in MRIS (REALTOR database of record for “on-market” sales) of detached/single family homes in Arlington from Jan 1 2009 to Aug 20 2016
2. Despite attempts with tax records and the County, I couldn’t come up with a good way to account for off-market deals. Since many tear-downs are off-market purchases I’ve attempted to back into the data using the sales of the finished home.
3. Defining investor activity
   • I targeted tear-down/new build sales by parsing out homes sold within three years from when they were built
   • I targeted flips by parsing out two transactions at the same address where the second sale had a % return and time to market that suggested investor activity (quick re-sale w/ high mark-up)

Tear Down/New Build Sales:

Of the 8,004 detached home sales, 711 are likely tear-down/new build investor projects. Most should have a 1:1 corresponding purchase, but are small developments where multiple homes were built on one or more sub-divided lots (one purchase results in multiple new home sales).

Tear Down/New Build Sales Stats:

I was able to locate corresponding purchase data in MRIS for 188 out of the 711 tear-down sales summarized above. Some sales statistics for those 188 sales below:

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This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: What’s a reasonable response time from a seller after I’ve submitted an offer? Is there a way to set a response deadline?

Answer: I usually set expectations at 24-48 hours for a response on an initial offer and always ask the other agent how responsive their client is and to let me know if they expect a response to take more than 48 hours. If the seller is on vacation, in a difficult time zone, or pushing 100 years old it’s completely reasonable for a response to take more than 48 hours.

Setting Deadlines

In order to set a deadline, you’re committing to voiding your offer by a certain time if no response is provided. There are two ways to do this. First (this is my preferred method), your agent can provide notice in the offer email that the offer expires at a specific date and time if no response is received. Notice voiding the contract should be sent immediately if the deadline passes without a seller counter or acceptance. The other option is to include a clause at the end of the Residential Sales Contract stating the same. I’m not a fan of this option because a sleuth of an Underwriter (person who approved your loan) may come back and ask for proof that a response was received by the deadline and you could have some issues if it wasn’t.

Fishing With Your Offer

Aside from being anxious to hear back from the seller, the main reason you don’t want the response time being dragged out is to prevent your offer from being used as bait for competing offers. You can count on most sellers’ agents contacting interested parties to let them know about the offer in order to encourage multiple offers.

Recommendation

While I don’t recommend setting a deadline on every offer you make, it’s a good idea if you think your offer is being used as bait to fish for other offers or if you want to close the deal before an Open House. If a property is new to the market and likely to have multiple bids, you’ll want to find out if the seller’s agent is accepting offers as they come in or if there’s an offer review deadline.

Keep in mind that if you set a response deadline and then decide not to void the offer if the deadline passes without a response, you’re giving up a lot of leverage in the negotiations, so be sure to think through the decision fully beforehand.

I hope this was helpful! Please keep your questions coming for future columns!

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Our family is increasing by one soon and we’re targeting the next six months to purchase a larger home and sell our current home. Is there any truth to the winter being a bad time to sell?

Answer: If you’re planning to sell your home in the next six months, the statistics in Arlington strongly support selling your home before Thanksgiving, but all is not lost if you miss the fall season and need to list during the winter.

Stats Indicate Weaker Winter Sales

From December – February, Arlington home sale trends include lower median sold price, fewer pending contracts, higher discounts from list price, and higher days on market. All clear indicators that home owners considering selling their home soon should push for a fall sale. Take a look at the Arlington trends over the last three years:

Median sold price:

New contracts:

Discount from list price:

Days on market:

Does It Apply To Everybody?

If you have a great view or valuable outdoor space, you’ll almost certainly take a hit by listing in the winter, but if you’re like nearly half of Arlington home owners who live in a condo with little or no outdoor space or view, the effects of a winter sale won’t be nearly as harmful.

Do you have a unique home that appeals to a small number of buyers? Unique homes require maximum exposure to the most number of buyers and with fewer active buyers in the winter, it can be much more difficult to sell a unique home than one with mass appeal.

If You Have To Sell In The Winter

Not everybody has the luxury of timing their sale, so if you’re planning to sell in the winter, here are some tips and stats that work in your favor:

• Take your (professional) exterior pictures between now and when the leaves turn. It’s very hard for buyers to visualize how beautiful your yard or view can be during the cold, dark winter months so make it easy on them. A picture is worth a thousand words and thousands of dollars!  Don’t forget to landscape first.
• In the winter, housing supply drops more than demand. The housing demand drops in the winter because there are fewer active buyers, that’s why sales numbers are weaker. However, the supply of homes drops even more, so the supply/demand works out in favor of the seller. See the below chart showing the trend in months of supply (lower months of supply is better for sellers):

• Active buyers in the winter are dedicated buyers. You’re not going to find many looky-loos when it’s 25 degrees out. Take advantage of fewer competing listing by introducing a strong marketing campaign that attracts the pool of committed buyers or even gets a few “spring buyers” off the bench early and into your home.

Selling your home can seem like a daunting task, but selling in the right market can make all the difference. Feel free to give me a call if you’re considering selling your home and want to discuss what it will take to get it ready in time to hit the fall market.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Is it legal to list a room as a bedroom if it doesn’t have a closet?

Answer: Ahhh, the great bedroom debate! Of all the misconceptions about bedroom requirements, closets may be the most common. There are no requirements in Arlington (or in any other Northern Virginia localities) that a bedroom include a closet. You’ll be surprised at what else is missing from the requirements for a legal bedroom in Virginia.

Who Makes The Rules?

Arlington County doesn’t have any local requirements for bedrooms and defaults to the current version (2012) of the Virginia Residential Code and Virginia Maintenance Code. In these codes, bedrooms are classified as “habitable rooms” and mostly found in Chapter 3: Building Planning of the Residential Code.

Summary of Bedroom Requirements

• Dimensions: Must be a minimum of 70 sqft, with no horizontal dimension under 7 ft. For example, in a rectangular room, if one side measures 7 ft, the other side must be at least 10 ft.
• Ceiling Height: Ceilings must be at least 7 ft tall. In rooms w/ sloping ceilings (i.e. upper level of Cape Cods), any area of the room underneath a ceiling less than 5 ft high cannot be counted towards the minimum dimensions.
• Emergency Escape: Must be “at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening” aka point of egress to the outside of the home. In most cases this is a window with minimum requirements that include not being more than 44 inches off the floor, minimum 24 in height, minimum 20 in width, minimum 5.7 sqft total clearing/opening, and if in a basement, a minimum window well of 9 sqft and ability for window to open fully.
• Heating: Must be capable of maintaining a minimum room temperature of at least 68 degrees
• Windows: Referred to as “glazed area” and must equal at least 8% of the floor area, meaning you can’t have a huge bedroom with one windo
• Ventilation: All rooms must have a window that can open to the outdoors and the open area must be at least 4% of the total floor area
• Outlets: Per the Virginia Maintenance Code, bedrooms must have at least two separate electrical outlets

What the Code Does Not Include

I contacted the Building Code office of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to confirm that the following common assumptions of bedrooms are not actually included in the code:

• Doors: The code makes no mention of having an actual door or second point of egress (Fairfax County has a local requirement for two points of egress). Presumably, this allows for an English Basement with one point of egress, not connected to the rest of the home, to be considered a legal bedroom.
• Interior passage: The code makes no mention of not passing through one (bed)room to get to a bedroom.
• Lights
• Closets

In all of my conversations with the Virginia Code office, they made it very clear that the code is meant to provide a minimum, non-restrictive set of requirements, but normal construction practices are assumed such as a bedroom having a door and being accessible from a hallway, not through another room.

What else do you think should be added to the minimum requirements for a bedroom in Virginia?

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Where is it? In May, I covered one of the southern-most neighborhoods in Arlington, Claremont; so this month we’re taking a look at Arlington’s northern-most neighborhood, Arlingwood, located in the northern corner of Arlington bordered by N Glebe Rd to the south/southwest and the GW Parkway to the east and north, although some consider homes north of the parkway along the Potomac on Chain Bridge Rd to be the “Greater” Arlingwood neighborhood as well. It’s a fantastic location for active lifestyles and nature lovers, with quick access via walking/biking trails to the Potomac River (Potomac Heritage Trail on the Virginia side and Towpath/Capital Crescent Trail on the DC side) and Chain Bridge. Interestingly, the area is primarily made up of homes along N Richmond St and N Randolph St, which form a two-way loop around the neighborhood and seamlessly connect/transition into one another at the bottom of a big hill.

About the interviewee: Ronnie Precup raised three children in a 1956 ranch-style Arlingwood home, which she and her husband bought in December 1971 for $60,500(!). She recalls the location and access to North Arlington public schools were the primary reasons they decided on a home in Arlington, even though it was a bit more than they planned to spend at the time. Having recently retired as Editor-in-Chief for the Association of Clinical Research Professionals, she decided that she’ll remain in her home for a long time to come, so she’s made some beautiful updates throughout the home, including the kitchen, bedrooms, and basement!

Can you tell me a bit about your neighborhood? It’s so wonderful, I want to stay here forever! Although it’s car-dependent here, there are constantly joggers and serious bikers coming through the neighborhood to reach various trails nearby. Nearly everybody has pets, so neighbors are constantly out walking their dogs, providing a very friendly atmosphere. We also have a very active neighborhood website where people discuss local issues and exchange or sell household items, and kids offer their services to mow lawns, shovel driveways, etc. There are a lot of families here, but mostly with schooled-aged children; I don’t see a lot of strollers. The families love the annual Halloween party!

What’s changed in the last 40+ years? Increased density for sure as larger, new homes replace older homes like mine, and they’ve even cleared large wooded areas to add more new homes. I don’t blame them and like to see new families moving in, but I hope that the density increase is limited and they don’t remove any more trees to expand the neighborhood, although I could see them expanding to the west towards Chain Bridge Forest.

What’s been your experience with the public schools? Great! Our kids went to Jamestown Elementary and Williamsburg Middle School, although we decided to send them to Bishop O’Connell for high school. My granddaughter just graduated from Williamsburg this year and loved it!

What about public transportation for the neighborhood? It’s definitely a car-dependent area of the county, although there’s an ART bus stop just up the street that takes you to the metro.

Favorite restaurants? I love Peter Chang and Metro 29 Diner off of Lee Highway, of course Lost Dog Café, and I have a soft spot for Bon Chon! If you go to Metro 29 Diner, I highly recommend splitting the meals and saving room for dessert.

Anything else? I’m not sure how many people have noticed it, but I’ve always found it curious that there’s a plaque on a rock up the road by the Madison Community Center that references the Civil War as the “War of Northern Aggression.” I notice it every time I walk by and wonder how it’s never been changed or removed.

Thank you very much for the great interview Ronnie! And for being an Arlingwood resident and ambassador for 45 years with no plans of moving any time soon.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Is there anything I can do about smoking in my condo? When my neighbors smoke, there is a strong cigarette odor in the hallway and inside my unit. Unfortunately, the building manager and the Board are reticent to do anything about it and say that they can’t tell people to stop smoking under the current bylaws.

Answer: I’m on the Board for the 1800 Wilson condos in Rosslyn and we’ve been exploring a smoking ban since our 2015 annual meeting. We’ve begun crafting a plan, but haven’t implemented anything to-date, hence the “Part 1.” I plan to write a second column to share our experience as we move through the process of establishing a cleaner home for our residents.

Arlingtonians Do Not Smoke

As of the 2012 census, only 11.8% of men and 10.2% of women in Arlington smoked, compared to national averages of 22.2% of men and 17.9% of women. Arlington also saw the 2nd sharpest decline of male smokers in the country, just behind Falls Church. The CDC currently reports that only 9.8% of adults in Arlington smoke.

Ban Smoking, Improve Property Value

I’d argue that establishing your building as a smoke-free community will improve property value over time because it appeals to approximately 90% of the local adult population and sets you apart from other communities. Consider how much more valuable a smoke-free building becomes to groups like families, those who suffer from asthma, and homeowners with a sensitive sense of smell.

Another factor in improved value is that homes that have been smoked in are often more difficult to sell and sell for less because of the lingering scent. The value of your home/community is heavily influenced by past sales, so anything that causes a home in your community to sell for less and/or take longer to sell will hinder growth.

Types of Bans

Common Areas: In most cases, Boards should easily be able to ban smoking from common areas like courtyards, pools, and rooftop decks. The management of common elements is at the discretion of the Board and can be handled via changes to the Rules & Regulations, without requiring a vote by the owners.

Total Ban: A full smoking ban would include banning smoking from individual units and/or Limited Common Elements (e.g. private balconies) and is a much more difficult task in an established community. Per the advice of the 1800 Wilson legal advisor at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, a total ban requires a change to the by laws, which usually requires a two-thirds affirmative vote from the owners (a non-vote counts as a no-vote). They also advised that, if the by-law change were to pass, current owners should be grandfathered into the original by-laws allowing them to smoke in their unit and Limited Common Elements.

Other Quick Tips

• There is not any case law in Virginia that establishes smoking as a nuisance, making a successful lawsuit against your neighbor or Association unlikely.
• Communities that explore a smoking ban should work to find a convenient, safe place for owners and their guests to smoke, but one that is not directly underneath the windows of other units.
• Smokers are not a protected class.
• There are special vent filters and door seals that smokers can use to contain scent to their own unit.

I would love to hear from other Arlingtonians who live in buildings that have also dealt with this topic, either successfully or unsuccessfully.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: How’s the Arlington market doing halfway through the year?

Answer: The Arlington real estate market is very stable right now.

First half of 2016 vs first half of 2015:

Stable speed of sale: Average of 50 days on market this year vs 49 days last year

Stable sold price: Median/Average sold price of $558,000/$638,166 this year vs. $556,750/$639,546 last year. That’s a change of just .22% and -.22%.

No change to discounts: Buyers are netting an average of 2.2% discount off of the original list price, same as the first half of last year

Only nine more total sales: There were 1,412 closed sales in the first half of 2015. This year? 1,421.

Total sold value: Arlington has seen $906,833,434 in closed sales through June, only about $3.8M more than last year

Other interesting stats (first half of 2016):

An impressive 12.7% of sales were over $1,000,000

13.2% of homes were cash purchases and FHA loans continued to be an uncommon choice, representing only 3.7% of sales

34.2% of homes went under contract within 1-10 days of being listed and 6.2% were under contract the same day they were listed (a sign of pre-market sales). Only 19% of homes lasted more than three months on the market.

Compared to our neighbors (first half of 2016):

DC saw average days on market of 39 days and an 8.43% jump in total value of sold homes due to a 6.89% growth in total units sold, largely due to new housing units hitting the market.

Fairfax County saw sales slow by 3 days to 53 days on market, but saw an increase in units sold of 5.96%, with a slight increase in median and average sold price.

Montgomery County maintained a pace of 57 days on market and, like our other neighbors, saw a pop of 9.47% in number of units sold, with an increased median sold price of 1.25%, leading to a total increase of 11.46% in total value of units sold.

Looking Forward

While there are some areas with localized development plans like Rosslyn, Ballston, Columbia Pike, and Crystal/Pentagon City that offer a potential boost to the neighborhood real estate values, I expect the county to remain stable in the coming years. Concerned about a housing bubble? I’ll defer to the greatest investor of all time, Warren Buffett, who recently said at his 2016 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting that he doesn’t “see a nationwide bubble in real estate right now at all.” He also noted that now is still a great time to buy a home, but not as good as it was four years ago.

Readers: I’m hoping for some more questions! Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to address in a future column.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Where is it? Bluemont is ideally located walking distance from the urban centers of Ballston and Clarendon, but with quieter residential streets filled with single family homes. It’s bordered by Glebe Rd/Ballston to the east, Four Mile Run/Bon Air & Bluemont Parks to the west, Rt 66 to the north (and a small section north to Washington Blvd), and N Carlin Springs Rd to the south. Bluemont hosts multiple parks, the popular Pupatella Italian restaurant, and Arlington Traditional Elementary School. Most homes in Bluemont were built between 1940 and the early 1950s, but the neighborhood is experiencing the replacement of older homes with large new homes, Arlington’s most popular housing trend.

About the interviewee: I had the pleasure of interviewing Don Kautter, a 12-year Bluemont resident, who was born in Arlington and grew up in Chantilly. Prior to moving to his “forever” home in Bluemont, Don lived in Fairfax and then Ballston’s Lexington Square condos. Don is a Microbiologist for the FDA in College Park, MD, with a grad degree from U of Maryland (Terps!). Since purchasing his home in 2004, he’s made quite a few updates including remodeling the bathrooms and adding a new roof and deck.

Why did you move to Bluemont? I loved the urban/suburban blend that it offered. I could walk to the metro, grocery store, parks, and restaurants but live in a single family home w/ a small yard for my dog. I commute to College Park, MD for work, so being close to major roads was important, but I can’t hear or see them. It’s walk, bike, car, and public transit friendly!

What are you favorite restaurants? I’m a regular at Layalina, a fantastic Syrian restaurant, just a few blocks away. It’s authentic, great food! I also love Cheestique in Ballston and, of course, the Italian Store in Westover.

Do you consider Bluemont an active community? Absolutely! Neighbors are always riding bikes, jogging, and walking dogs. I take my dog on a walk every day along the Custis Trail and through the Bon Air Park Rose Garden, her favorite spot. I belong to the nearby Planet Fitness and there are a ton of gyms and studios down the road in Ballston.

Do you use public transit? Yes, lots of people do. The Ballston Metro is a short walk and there are three ART buses and an Arlington Transit bus that run every 10-15 min. Arlington does a good job of putting non-metro public transit into residential neighborhoods.

What will the next 10-15 years bring? I expect small, old homes to continue being replaced by larger, new homes, which drives up home values, but we lose some of the cuteness/history that I enjoy. If done right, the Ballston (Mall) Quarter re-development will be transformational. I hope to see development continue west down Wilson Blvd, particularly improvements to the Safeway.

What’s the personality of the community? I’ve had an extremely positive experience here and there’s a long-range family feeling amongst the neighbors. Even though we’re in separate homes, you never feel like you’re alone. There’s constant outdoor activity, especially kids because parents feel safe letting them run around. My street has a block party every year. It’s like a little slice of America!

A quick look at some Bluemont housing stats:

Volume: An average of 45 homes sell each year

Growth: The average sold price price in 2014 = $720,000 Average sold price in 2015 = $754,000 and current 2016 average sold price = $771,000

Pace of Sales: Since 2011, the average days on market is 41 days, but the median days on market is only 11 days

Discounts: On average, there’s a 3.7% discount of the original list price

Three Bedrooms: 40% of homes sold have three bedrooms (about 25% across Arlington). Investors target them, but many are priced too high to turn a profit and great starter-home options.

Thank you for the interview Don!

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.