Mark's room

Beautiful setting in a super safe and friendly neighborhood that is very diverse racially and age-wise, lots of pets and children in the neighborhood.

I built some cabinetry for the private bathroom as it came with none. There is a semi-kitchenette that is shared by the downstairs tenants, but most cooking and food storage will be in the main kitchen.

The main kitchen has a humongous refrigerator and adequate food preparation space and storage for multiple tenants. There is a mini-fridge in the downstairs kitchenette (with a true freezer) and a loaned two-burner table-top induction burner set.

I bought this house in late JAN 2022 from flippers who only held the house for six weeks. They did a nice job on the upstairs, but the basement was a disaster and I had to spend over $120K to rebuild it. Now it is completely flood-proof, well insulated, attractive, welcoming, and has proper fire egress window wells in the bedrooms (expensive!).

Every door has its own unique lock/key, for added security and privacy. The basement has its own entrance, which is more convenient than the front as there are way fewer stairs. Back yard is not fully fenced, and I do not recommend letting cats outside as several have been killed recently by cars.

I am currently negotiating a rebuild and expansion of the deck, hopefully with a three-season room that will also allow pets to safely interact with the outdoors.

The house has brand-new solar panels, so the utilities have been low even in the height of winter or summer. I do not charge for internet or the solar panel payoff, but I can only allow Guest Wi-Fi vs. wired Ethernet due to my job. I have Verizon FIOS Gigabit and this same high-end service applies to downloads and uploads, wired and wireless connections, but wireless connections can still be limited by other factors (e.g., 3G vs. 4G vs. 5G). Weekly garbage collection is free.

The basement has two sump pumps with electrical backup and also electrical sump pumps in the window wells. There hasn’t even been a drop of water, even in the biggest storms, since I rebuilt the basement. There is drainage along the perimeter, horizontal and vertical, installed by AquaGuard.

Very centrally located, commuting is easy along Columbia Pike and other nearby thoroughfares, and there are also Fairfax County Connection buses nearby, as well as Arlington Transit and METRO buses. METRO subway stops are not close though.

Walkable grocery stores (ALDI, Giant Food, K-Market), and plenty of other commerce and restaurants.

I am vegan and live a monk’s lifestyle. I do not tolerate televisions in the house as the uneven volume ratios are a huge distraction and disruption. As I am allergic to the hemp family, I am not able to tolerate cannabis either, and my job also disallows me from having anyone in my household disobey federal laws regardless of Virginia laws, so I have to “self-report” if anyone in the house is caught breaking the rules. Note that this includes CBD’s, even if just for the pets. There is no room to negotiate on this matter; my job would be on the line, and two of us in the house have extreme allergies anyway. Most other stuff is negotiable.

No additional pets at this time, and I do not consider the house properly child-proof, so I cannot entertain families or children at this point.

Please note that the photos were taken right after the main round of basement reconstruction, before a few of the final touch-up appointments occurred, but I didn’t get a chance to update them before the current tenants moved in, and do not invade my tenants’ rooms unless there’s an emergency.

Note that I am quiet as a mouse with the exception of an occasional folk or jazz rehearsals, usually early evening (6pm) on weeknights or Sundays.

Due to a misunderstanding with one previous tenant, the next incoming tenant will be required to sign a VERY detailed lease, pay a full month’s rent worth of security deposit, and go through a background check.

The lease will be for three months, followed by month-by-month tenant-at-will.

I have shared most of my life, but this house was under reconstruction for over half a year so I was unable to place an ad until OCT 2022, after which three tenants moved in over a two month period.

I tend to be a night owl, in terms of computer-based work, but I often have to get up before 7am anyway for meetings and such. I cook a lot and am vegan, but I generally cook four to six days worth of food at a time, so most nights I am just reheating food and am quick in the kitchen. I do not entertain or party and do not tolerate television and other uneven noises that disturb work, concentration, and other activities.

The yard is probably in good shape for flower and food gardening. I experimented with a standalone container garden for vegetables this year and it was a mixed bag but the basil, collard greens, and red ojra did quite well.

The other regular tenants are a young woman who is in nursing and often works nights, so she generally needs quiet during the day, at least reasonably so, and a graduate student in artificial intelligence. Both have wonderful people-friendly cats that are well-behaved. All cats must be spayed or neutered; this will be put in the lease.

As someone who has extensively traveled the so-called Third World and has at times been fluent in Spanish and Russian, I am of course open to people from all backgrounds.