Martina McBride Concert at the Nissan Pavillion - Last Show of 2008!

Last night I had the opportunity to experience my first concert at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA! Nissan Pavilion has some seating and lots of lawn space for concert goers. Lucky for me, a friend of mine actually won tickets off the radio from our local country channel - WMZQ 98.7 FM- and she took me! Can you believe this is her SECOND pair of tickets that she's won from the radio? I didn't know people actually did win tickets! Our seats weren't great - but considering that a) beggers can't be choosers since they were free, and b) it was POURING rain last night, I can't complain!

The opening act for Martina was newcomer Jason Michael Carroll, who did a few songs, including his hits "Living Our Long Song" and "Alyssa Lies"

Then came Country's Best New Artist: Jack Ingram. Jack was a huge crowd favorite, even taking a few minutes between songs to go out into the first few rows and give hugs, and took a picture with a fan before announcing: "That's going to be on MySpace tomorrow!" Jack's set included hits like: "Maybe She'll Get Lonely," "Measure of a Man" and "Barbie Doll"





The headliner, Martina McBride, did about an hour and a half of past hits and a couple from the new CD, "Waking Up Laughing." Her biggest hit was her new song "For These Times" where she asked people to write on a whiteboard things they wish to see in their lifetime, which she then flashed on the screen during her performance. Fans wishes included "Bring Our Troops Home Safely," "Go Redskins!." "Higher Teacher Salaries," "Low FIXED Interest Mortgage Rates." "Martina for President 2008," and "Cure for Cancer." With each new one, a roar came from the crowd- it was much more emotional than you'd expect!

Because it's outside ampitheather, this years' concert schedule is over! But check www.livenation.com for more concert information for 2009!

Now Licensed in Washington D.C.

It's official! This Keller Williams Agent is now licensed in both the state of Virginia and the District of Columbia!

Looking for a new condo or townhouse in Georgetown, Dupont, Logan Circle, Adams Morgan, Woodley Park, Columbia Heights, or any other neighborhood in Washington, D.C.? Give me a call!!

Looking to Buy New in Arlington? Get Them Before They're Gone!

With some buildings originally planned as condos, now converting to rentals - the existing new construction condos are going fast.

Former plans for condos, have turned Zoso into 144 luxury rentals in Clarendon (located behind Clarendon 1021 on N. Fillmore Street).

Current construction of the old Clarendon Center on Clarendon Blvd between Highland and Garfield, will also be rentals (244) and an office/retail mixed-use building.

So what can you buy?

Courthouse - Mercer & Wooser Lofts: Read my old blog about all the amenities and features of this total luxury building here.

Clarendon: The Phoenix At Clarendon Metro: Hardwoods, stainless steel appliances, granite, and all colors your choice, come standard in this building. I just happen to call it home!! One bedroom's are all gone, but inventory remains for Junior 1 Bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bedroom with dens. Read more here.



Ballston/VA Square: The Residences at Liberty Center: Beautiful luxury units with large wall windows, granite, hardwoods, stainless steel appliances, gorgeous rooftop views (from the gym and the pool!), and so much more. Search floor plans and more here.

Construction Along Columbia Pike Near Arlington Village - Update

If you've been driving down S. Walter Reed and Columbia Pike recently, you may be interested in what Hallstead is building on that corner! Construction currently looks like this:

The building will be an 8-story building that consists of 269 condominiums, 450 parking spaces, and over 42,000 sq. ft of retail space. Within this retail space will be the Arlington Free Clinic.
Delivery of the residential spaces was due for July 2008, but as I drove by today - it appears the cranes are still out! Retail space and the building is due to open in November 2008.

The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization has this photo on their website of an artistic interpretation of what they expect the final product to look like:

Curious about other construction sites? Give me a call...703.283.6120

September 20th and 21st in Arlington, VA!

Here are some fun events for the upcoming weekend:

Saturday, September 20th

Taste of the Pike: Outside Arlington Mill Community Center, from Noon to 7pm

Culinary Specialities from all over Columbia Pike: a variety of the Pike's popular restaurants and food vendors, including Rincome (Thai), San Vincente (Salvadoran), Dama (Ethiopian), Hector Palomo Catering (Peruvian), Pan American Bakery (Latin American), Rina's Fresh Fruit & Smoothies, and Big Daddy's BBQ (Southern American).

The festival will also feature a colorful global market with arts and crafts booths, and live entertainment including performances by a diverse set of musical and heritage dance groups including Sutera Malaysia, Estrellita de Amazonias (Peruvian singer), Saffron Dance, YesOn2Salsa Dance Studio, Mongolian School of the National Capital Area, Grupolfawa (Panamanian), Decada Prodigiosa (Peruvian musical ensemble), and more.

Arlington Mill Community Center: 4975 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204


Admission is free.
For more information, visit http://www.columbiapikepartnership.com/.

Sunday, September 21st:

Vintage Crystal: An event from 2-6pm that will showcase wines from around the world and culinary samples from restaurants in Crystal City and the metropolitan area. Also, jazz harmonicist Frederic Yonnet, along with other talented musicians from DC's own Duke Ellington Jazz Festival, will add jazz flavors amid an open air market featuring local artisans' work.

Vintage Crystal takes over the courtyard at 2200 Crystal Drive on Sunday, September 21 from 2 - 6 PM.
Tickets: $20, sold on-site the day of, and will include sips, tastes, sounds, a commemorative wine glass, and access to Crystal Market, where patrons can purchase paintings, ceramics, glasswork, jewelry and other hand-made items. **Designated driver tickets are $10 and admission for kids is free.

For more information, visit http://www.crystalcity.org/.

Arlington County Virginia Police Department Crime Reports

It's always nice to know as much about the area as possible when moving to an unfamiliar town. While some things are better left explored - like new restaurants, hang outs, monuments, etc., crime statistics shouldn't be one of them. The people down at the Arlington County Police Department are very nice, and are willing to pull information for you with a simple phone call.
Arlington is divided into Districts:

District 1: Cherrydale, Ashton Heights, Lyon Park, Old Glebe, Dominion Hills...etc (Mainly the Ballston/VA Square area out towards McLean)
District 2: Clarendon, Courthouse, Rosslyn, Colonial Village, Lyon Village, Arlington Ridge, etc (mainly the Clarendon, Courthouse, Rosslyn corridor)
District 3: Penrose, Arlington Heights, Columbia Heights, Glencarlyn, Claremont, Fairlington (mainly the corridor along Columbia Pike)
District 4: Barcroft Hieghts, Route 1 Near Reagan DCA Airport, Arlington National Cemetery (mainly Pentagon City, Crystal City, etc).

There are specific numbers you can call for each district. Once you've given them an address, or location, they can supply with you the past 12 months of reports, within a 4-5 mile radius of that location.

When you've found an area you're happy with - call me for available properties

The Washington Post Describes the "Freshman 15" - 15 Things You Need to Know About Washington, D.C.

This blog comes straight from the Sunday Article titled "The Freshman 15 - What Every First-Year College Student Needs to Know About Washington." I found myself laughing at some of these as a nearby resident in Arlington, so I thought I would share with you what the experts advise as "must know" information about the Washington, D.C. Metro area:

1. Stand to the Right....Instructions on riding the metro.
2. Recognize that the Nats are a major league team. Even though they may not win enough games, or have the popularity of the Yankees or Red Sox, they actually ARE a Major League National Team. Go Figure.
3. Don't dance at indie-rock shows. Recognize the seriousness of local DC residents. Stoic faces and stiff bodies, only.
4. Maintain residency in your home state (if your new home is in the District). Ever wonder why the DC license plate says "Taxation without Representation," read this one to find out why.
5. Forget the fake ID. Underage? Don't even bother.
6. Remember that the Metro shuts down at 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Never get stranded in Adams Morgan or Dupont after a night out of maxing out your credit card and no cash.
7. That police car is probably not pulling you over. Those flashing lights and sirens are scary no matter how old, or how long you've been driving. Find out why they drive with their lights on.
8. Yield to cars in traffic circles. Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, Thomas Circle...so many! Why? And how to navigate them.
9. Better yet: Ride the bus. You have less of a chance of losing cell service if you ride the bus. (*Although, some of you may not know that Verizon has an exclusive deal with the DC Metro system for cell "towers" down under.)
10. Even better: Walk. Be a tourist!
11. There is no J Street. This is tricky when people tell you that streets go in alphabetical order, you'll be walking around in circles if you don't know this one!
12. NoMa is a neighborhood. Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Dupont....now add NoMa to your list of vocab.
13. Take your palate global. You can find cuisines from every country in the District - go ahead, be adventurous.
14. Sample go-go. Information on local music unique to the DC scene.
15. Get the tourist stuff out of the way now. I can tell you that even after living here, I still only go to the monuments and museums when I have out of town guests. Go look now, so you know where to take people when they visit - and keep the painful tourist traps to a minimum!

While We're Talking About Cars....Information on Arlington County Personal Property Taxes - Cars Included

Yes, you read that correctly - Arlington County charges taxes on your car, in addition to your real estate. Assessments are based on commonly used guides such as the N.A.D.A. or your sales price, if it's not a commonly listed car. General rules for property taxes pertaining to cars:

*You have 60 days to file a tax return from moving into Arlington, or buying a car.
*Vehicles included in property taxes include: automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motor homes, trailers, semitrailers, boats, and aircrafts.
*All vehicles located in Arlington County are subject to personal property tax, including vehicles not registered in VA, vehicles that do not run, and that are temporarily absent from Arlington County.
*After registering the car with Arlington County, they will issue a decal to be placed on your front windshield; they're $24 -->
*Tax bills are issued on or around July 15th, and payment is due by October 5th.

For more information on this, see the online information packet from the Commissioner of Revenue.

The Tale of the Real Estate Agent vs. The Used-Car Salesman - Who Do YOU Think Won?

So, if there's ONE thing that has really changed about me since I became a Realtor - it is my absolute lack of patience for bad salespeople. And I don't think I could have scripted a more infuriating story about an absolutely terrible, and I mean AWFUL, salesman.

Some background: I grew up with a used-car salesman for a father, yes, that's right (*insert used-car salesman joke here*). Which also means, I never had to actually go buy a car - I always got it wholesale! (insert another joke here). So after some research on my own, I made an appointment with a salesman at the dealership in Arlington, and headed down to fight!

Upon my arrival, after many minutes of waiting to be helped...I tell my guy I want a certain color, a certain model, and I know you have 2 of them in stock - let's talk. His reply: "ok, well, why don't you look around the lot, and see what you like." Lesson #1: Actually LISTEN to what the customer tells you THEY want. Especially when they've already given you all of the specifics. This should have rang "Easy Sale" to this guy.

Upon telling him that i've already narrowed it down to these 2 vehicles (again), already test-drove them, already know i'm going to buy one of them - he proceeds to tell me in 3 different ways that he's the sales manager, and that his office is upstairs, paying no attention once again to me, or my wants/needs. Lesson #2: In any type of sales, you sell YOURSELF first, and your product later. From this moment on, it only got worse.

With my requested trade-in value in hand, we begin the scary price negotiation! After asking me the same question 2 different ways, and my answer apparently not getting through to him - he writes the complete opposite down on his "appraisal sheet" and attempts to decrease my car's value by about $3k (the question was whether the car had ever been into an accient, which it hadn't. AFTER running a Carfax report, which showed it had NEVER been in an accident, he proceeded to check yes, anyway!) Lesson #3: Attempting to swindle your customer out of a few thousand dollars, is not a way to earn trust or business.

Needless to say, the rest of the 1.5 hours of this experience was equally as unpleasant. So the exchanged ended with me saying, "Please give me back my keys" since they were hiding them, and I turned on my heels, and left.

I called the other dealership, spoke to a GREAT salesman who actually LISTENED to what I wanted, PREPARED what I had asked for, and MET my needs. In fact, he nearly surpassed my asking value for my trade-in, AND gave me a deal on the sales price, which increased my buying power to purchase an EVEN better model than I had originally anticipated - all for the same amount.

Some Lessons Learned From Today's Experience:
1. LISTEN to your customer
2. Sell YOURSELF to your customer
3. If you can't exactly meet the wants of your customer (which sometimes you can't), find an alternate method to at least meet as many of their needs as possible.
4. LISTEN to your customer

At the very least, I hope this experience gave you something enjoyable to read! It gave me a good laugh....after the fact. :)