A recent article in the Washington Post says that Loudoun County, Virginia has the highest concentration of 25 – 34 year olds with an annual income exceeding $100,000. The article also says that these 20-3o somethings, spend weekends at the local Virginia wineries. I decided to test this article and head up to Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, VA.
Located at 18755 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont, VA 20135. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes from Arlington, VA. But the ride is beautiful – Loudoun County has some beautiful houses on tons of land, trees, views of hills, and the occasional cow.
Bluemont Vineyard does $5 tastings of their wines with knowledgeable and friendly staff. Tastings in April through October are 12pm to 6pm, and during November through March from 12pm to 5pm.
Editors Note: During your tasting, there are 2 ceramic jugs in front of you – one for water (to clean your glass before the dessert wine) and another to pour your discarded wine and/or water into (if there’s a handle on the jug – it’s the one for water. Oops.)
You can choose to enjoy their wines by the glass or the bottle. They have cheese, fudge, apple butter, dipping oils, and fresh baked bread for purchase from Goot Essa with your wines. Goot Essa is a cooperative of Central Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers.
You can sit outside or inside and enjoy their live music and views. You’ll notice on their wine glasses, labels, t-shirts, and most other things with the Bluemont Vineyard label, has “951″ printed on it. The Vineyard is located at 951 feet above sea level. The boutique winery says that on a clear day, you can see the top of the Washington Monument (as you can see from the picture below, it was a beautiful day, but I didn’t see the monument…maybe someone else did!) My friend, and former client, Colleen, enjoyed the views with me:
Day after Day, as new condo buildings are being built in the Washington D.C. Metro area and nearby Arlington, VA, I read new descriptions that say “cozy boutique condo building.” But what does a “boutique condo building” really mean? Here’s my personal (i.e. others may have other viewpoints) definition:
Dictionary.com defines ”boutique” as:
“1. a small shop or a small speciality department within a larger store
2. any small, exclusive business offering customized service
So how does that apply to real estate?
I tend to think of a Boutique building as a smaller building, with fewer than 100 units, under 5 floors. Sometimes they have a front desk, but often they don’t. They also usually have fewer amenities, as the feel/atmosphere of the building is much like a single-family home/personal residence; it tends to be a nice foyer/lobby and that’s it. Often times, this results in lower condo fees.
Examples of Arlington VA Boutique Condo Buildings:
Examples of Washington DC Boutique Condo Buildings:
Harvard Lofts in Columbia Heights
Of course, there are more than the few examples I listed above. Have questions? Feel free to contact me.
Laura J. Rubinchuk
Keller Williams Realty
703.283.6120
Laura@TheLJRGroup.com
Located on N. Glebe Road, between Washington Golf and The Marymount University, lies a construction site for the future home to an enclave of 4 European style, luxurious townhomes. Built overlooking the National Cathedral, these 4 level townhomes will have an elevator, media room, guest suite, 3-car garage parking, and over 8,000 sq ft of living space. Finishing touches will be selected by the buyer, as the builder has decided to "build to suit." Search Cathedral View Townhomes For Sale Here are a few pictures of the current site:
I had the fortunate opportunity to be featured on this question, from a prospective investor interested in purchasing a triplex (a 3-family home): Q: “I am interested in a triplex. They’re asking 224,000. It’s in great shape. All three units are currently rented. What questions should I be asking the selling agent? I gross $1,875 a month and my mortgage will be $1,350 with taxes and insurance. What percentage does the REALTOR® make on the transaction? I would like to offer $198,000. Is that where I should start?” – Anthony (location is not disclosed) Here’s my answer: Whenever you look to invest in a property, you always want to estimate on the lower side, to make sure you won’t fall immediately into the red. I’d also ask about recent repairs: how’s the HVAC? The roof? Gutters? Driveway (if applicable)? You’ll have to consider your expenses for repairs and maintenance when you factor in your $525 estimated profit her month. I’d ask for copies of each lease, and make sure their security deposits are credited to you at closing, since you’re inheriting the tenants and have to honor their leases (this may vary per state). I’d ask your agent to run rental comparisons to see if the current rents are below, at, or above market value. This may also affect your rental income. The Realtor’s commission is based on his/her agreement with the current seller. There are many options to consider when writing your purchase offer. If you feel $198,000 is a fair offer, go for it! I’d have an agent run recent sales comparisons for you to truly give you an idea of fair market value in that neighborhood to make sure you’re not overpaying. See the full feature on Realtor.com’s Ask A Realtor.
Realtor.com has an “Ask A Realtor” section of their website, where people can submit questions that are sent to a group of agents for response. They select one answer to publish on their website.
Since everyone has voting on the brain, why not add your favorite Arlington Business to the list.
Vote for the 2009 ABBIES: Arlington Best Business Awards
Nominations are in, and voting is open thru Friday, November 6th, 2009. The ABBIES will honor local restaurants, bars, stores, boutiques, charities, and organizations. It’s a great way to support your favorite local establishment.
The ABBIE website encourages participation, by saying:
“The People’s Choice ABBIES encourge public participation with nominations and voting opened to the entire community, allowing for greater recognition of a wider variety of businesses. “An awards program is just one of the many ways we support the Arlington business community, especially the small retail stores and restaurants that help shape the character of Arlington’s urban villages,” stated Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer. ‘The People’s Choice ABBIES help us recognize the very best of all Arlington businesses, with participation from the entire community.’”
Check out the full list of 2008 Winners.
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Providing real estate expertise in Arlington County, Fairfax County, and Washington, D.C.
Laura is an upstate New York native, but now calls Arlington home. Prior to becoming a full-time Realtor, Laura served as an analyst and consultant in the finance realm of the Federal Government. Laura completed her undergraduate work at the University of Rochester and holds a dual degree in Economics and Statistics, as well as a Master's Degree in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., Laura focuses her business on helping first-time home buyers and sellers navigate the real estate process.
Professional Affiliations and Designations
Business Experience
Education
Licensed in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland
Use this section to write about your specific areas of expertise. Do you specialize in first time buyers - listing high end homes - etc. Are there specific market area's that you specialize in? The more you write about your area's of expertise the more knowledgeable you'll sound to a potential buyer or seller.
"My fiance and I met Laura by chance when we stopped in on an open house in the very beginning of our home search. Laura was paying her dues, spending her Saturday showing of a not-so-glamorous rundown home with a smile on her face. It wasn't until months later that we really got serious about finding a home, but we remembered Laura from the one interaction we'd had and gave her a call. The positivity, poise, and professionalism we saw in Laura that day was what made our entire experience working with her such an excellent one. Laura was very clear and professional about her expectations of our working relationship from the very beginning. She spent time explaining each process and procedure to us, until the night we sat down together to write our first offer at 9 PM on a weeknight (when I'm sure she had other things she'd rather be doing!). Laura is always responsive by phone and email, always on time for appointments, and has continued to be available even since our home purchase was finalized. She offered just the right amount of knowledge and opinion no matter how many questions we asked, allowing us to form our own thoughts about each home we visited. Laura is also extremely good with numbers, organized, and able to effectively articulate intracacies of the home-buying process that not everyone might understand right away. She sent us all the information and home listings we needed but also looked through them on her own and ended up finding the home we live in now after I had passed by it in the listings. We are so thankful to have had a wonderful home-buying experience and to be living in our amazing home in Arlington. We'd recommend Laura to anyone interested in having an experience like ours!" - Pam & Greg, Arlington, VA
"As a first time home buyer the entire process was very daunting to us, however Laura made it very easy. She made us feel very comfortable from the start and never made us feel like any of our questions were "dumb questions". I would absolutely refer her to any of our friends and family in the area searching for a home." - Nick, Washington, D.C.
"When my business partner and I moved into the DC area looking to invest we sent out a list of criteria to several real estate agents hoping to find one that could help us accomplish our goals, thank goodness we found Laura. She worked quickly to compile a list of over 100 properties, most of which we visited in a short two day period. Without Laura's dedication and hard work I'm convinced that we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now. We plan on continuing our professional relationship with her and look forward to working with her in the future. Thanks Laura!" -Stephen E., Alexandria
"We are happy to say that in less than six weeks, we were in our new home and it is all thanks to Laura's dedication to us. She really listened, her commitment to us was reflected in her professionalism, timely communication and service to us and that made all of the difference. She was very knowledgeable and there were no questions or concerns that she was unwilling or unable to address. She has so much energy and goes above and beyond what a Realtor should do. She restored our confidence in the home buying process and I have since recommended her to anyone interested in buying or selling a home." -Maxine and Mustafa, Washington, D.C
"We recently had a baby and needed to move to a bigger home. A friend recommended Laura, so we contacted her. We thought we wanted to rent for another year before buying, but we told Laura that if she was able to find us a "steal" we'd consider it. When she got back to us with a list of for sale and for rent properties, we were surprised how many homes were on the market close to our price range. In the end we decided to stick to our original plan and rent. Laura never put any pressure on us to decide one way or the other- she let us decide what was best for us- even when it would have been better for her had we chosen to buy. We were planning to move in September but Laura's work was so fast that she was able to help us get into a place in August which worked out even better for us. She showed us the properties on last minute notice and was overall very flexible, friendly and helpful. We would recommend her to anyone who asked!" -Jess & James, Falls Church
"Laura did an amazing job of finding me a condo that fit exactly what I was looking for. Her extensive knowledge of the area and the outside research she did for me made the process very fast and easy since we didn't waste time looking at properties that she knew I wouldn't be interested in. She was very low-pressure about making the sale by letting me move at my own pace.
As a first time buyer, I wasn't sure exactly how the process worked after finding a place to put an offer on, so Laura helped me every step of the way, from the initial offer through the mortgage approval and closing. I always felt very comfortable with how things were working, and anytime something came up she would contact me right away and we'd resolve the issue asap. I couldn't have asked for a better experience!" - Mark, Arlington
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