Experience Alexandria, VA with These 11 Fun Things to Do

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Alexandria is one of the most historic cities in the nation. Located just outside of D.C., there’s a rich culture here that everyone should experience.

Whether you’re just visiting, looking to rent, or planning on buying a home, Alexandria is the city for you.

Here are 11 fun ways to experience Alexandria, VA.

  1. Be a Historian for the Day
  2. Visit Your Old Friend George
  3. Pretend You’re Not a Muggle
  4. Buy Vegetables Like It’s 1753
  5. Eat and Drink to Your Heart’s Content
  6. Indulge Your Inner Tolkienite
  7. Find the Speakeasy…But Don’t Tell the Authorities
  8. Grab a Beer…Or Two, Or Three
  9. Live Music Just for You (and Everybody Else)
  10. Get Haunted
  11. Torpedos and Art? A Winning Combination

1. Be a Historian for the Day

As one of the oldest cities in the United States, there’s history here dating back to the American Revolution and beyond. To truly experience Alexandria, in our opinion, you absolutely have to check out some of the historical locations.

2. Visit Your Old Friend George

You probably know that George Washington to this day is still the only president to have never lived in the White House. Instead, he called Mount Vernon home.

You can visit George’s estate and take in the mansion, gardens, and distillery. You can even pay your respects at the New Tomb where George and Martha Washington were laid to rest.

If you’re a history buff, we can’t recommend swinging by Mount Vernon enough. Situated on a lush hill overlooking the Potomac, it can make one feel as if they have been taken back in time to another moment in history. Go see for yourself, already!

3. Pretend You’re Not a Muggle

It must’ve been crushing when you didn’t get a letter from Hogwarts on your eleventh birthday. It’s a disappointment you’ve probably lived with your entire life.

tourist girls experience alexandria

Well, we can’t make you a wizard, but you can pretend to be one for the day at the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum. On select dates, you can learn about potion making, with some familiar-sounding ingredients like mandrake roots, wolfsbane, and dragon’s blood.

Oh, and you can also learn about some medical practices of the 1700s.

4. Buy Vegetables Like It’s 1753

When you visit the Old Town Farmers Market, you’ll be visiting the longest-running farmers market in the country. It’s been in business since 1753.

Mix of vegetables at farmers market

It’s so old that George Washington used to send his produce to be sold at the Old Town Farmers Market. Don’t worry, though. The fruit and vegetables you’ll get from there are all from this century.

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5. Eat and Drink to Your Heart’s Content

Every great city has a great food scene, and Alexandria is no exception.

6. Indulge Your Inner Tolkienite

Are you a fan of the Lord of the Rings? If so, you have to visit the Bilbo Baggins Restaurant.

They received approval from the Tolkien foundation and promised to uphold the ideals of hobbit hospitality. What more do you need?

7. Find the Speakeasy…But Don’t Tell the Authorities

Sugar Shack has a secret, and it’s not how good the donuts are. (Because that secret got out a long time ago.)

Donuts

If you can find the door, you’ll walk straight into Captain Gregory’s, a speakeasy hidden inside this donut shop.

Okay, fine, so it’s not the best-kept secret. You’ll probably need a reservation to get in.

8. Grab a Beer…Or Two, Or Three

Port City Brewing is the oldest of its kind in the area. Check out their events list, and you’ll find food truck Sundays, trivia nights, and BeerYoga on Tuesdays.

Two Beers

Look out for the pineapple on top of their sign – that means they’re open for business.

Are You Not Entertained?

Check out the local entertainment. You’ll always have something to do.

9. Live Music Just for You (and Everybody Else)

The Birchmere is the place to go for live music. It’s a nationally recognized music hall that’s helped launch a lot of careers over the last fifty years.

man playing guitar at studio rehearsal

Some acts that have performed here are Shawn Colvin, Dave Matthews, and Johnny Gill from New Edition. Be sure to get your tickets before they all sell out.

10. Get Haunted

Okay, hopefully, you won’t walk away from these ghost tours haunted, but we’re just saying it’s a possibility. With the rich history of Alexandria, there are probably some spirits still hanging around.

Man in nature, fantasy dark forest landscape

Learn about the history of Alexandria and some of the most famous ghost stories in the area. If all goes well, you’ll leave with a chill down your spine instead of a new ghost best friend. (Though that sounds cool, too.)

11. Torpedos and Art? A Winning Combination

The Torpedo Factory Art Center was actually a torpedo factory back in the World War II era. There’s even a lime green torpedo in the main hall that was built there.

Today, it acts as a reminder of the building’s history and perhaps as inspiration for the incredibly talented artists working there.

Now that you know how great Alexandria is, you may be considering buying or renting here.

We, at Nomadic Real Estate, will make sure you find the perfect place to set down roots. Ready to move? Give us a call, and we’ll get started.

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Enhanced Reporting

Your portal includes a selection of extremely useful reports. Reports are available in the “Reports” section, and are distinct from the financial statements. Unlike financial statements which are static records, Reports are dynamic real-time records that will update with current data every time you view them. 

Scroll down to learn more about Reports:

Navigate to the "Reports" module in your portal:

Owner Portal Reports
  • Keep in mind, these reports are dynamic records. They will refresh to display current information every time you view them. 

Enhanced Rent Roll Report:

Enhanced Rent Roll Report
  • The Enhanced Rent Roll Report will show the rent amount, last payment date, move-in date, lease expiration date, and security deposit amount for each of your tenants. 
  • It will also show a portfolio summary with occupancy percentage, vacancy loss, and more!

Unit Comparison Report:

Unit Comparison Report
  • If you own multiple units (or buildings) with Nomadic, you’ll get access to the Unit Comparison Report. 
  • This report enables you to quickly compare financial performance between your units at a glance without toggling between individual reports. 

Income Statement Month-Over-Month:

Income Statement by Month Report
  • The Income Statement Detail – Monthly Report serves as a month-over-month record of portfolio performance. You’ll see itemized income and expense categories and can track monthly. This report will update with fresh data every time you view it. 

Financial Statements

Financial statements will be published to your portal on a monthly basis. The statements are found in your Documents library, and provide a historical record of all financial performance. The statements serve as a snapshot of financial performance over a given period, and are static documents (unlike Reports, the statements do not update/change in real-time). 

Scroll down for more info about the Financial Statements in your Documents library:

The Documents area contains monthly financial statements:

Owner Portal Documents
  • The statements in the Documents are are static documents. They are posted to the portal once a month to serve as a historical record of financial performance. 

Download a statement to see month and YTD financials:

Owner Portal Property Statement

You'll also find a month-over-month operating statement:

Month over Month Statement

Portal Communication Tool

You can use your owner portal to communicate with our team. Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager. When we reply, you’ll get an email notification and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

Here’s an overview of using the communication platform:

Click "Communications" and navigate to "Conversations":

Commincation Dashboard Screenshot
  • The communications module will contain a record of all messages that you create through the portal. 

Click the "New Message" button and send your message:

Owner Portal New Message Screenshot

Responses will show up in the conversation ticket:

Portal Conversation Response Screenshot
  • You’ll get an email notification whenever you get a response, and you’ll also see the message in your portal next time you log in. 

You can reply in-line using the comment box:

Owner Portal Comment

Each conversation will be logged in its entirety:

Portal Conversation Snapshot

Understanding the Ledger

Your portal includes a ledger with all transactions. The ledger is populated with data in real-time as transactions flow through our accounting software. Much of this information is also available in the Reports area, as well as the Statements in your Documents library, but the ledger is the most comprehensive resource for diving into the details. 

Please scroll through the sections below to get a better understanding of how to interpret the ledger. 

By default, transactions are sorted chronologically:

Owner Ledger Dates
  • The date reflected in the lefthand column is the actual transaction date, not the “bill date”. This is the date the transaction was actually processed. 

If you have multiple properties with Nomadic, you'll see the address for each transaction in the "Location" column:

Ledger Property Column
  • You can filter the ledger to look at just one property, all properties, or specific sets of properties. 
  • If you only have one property with us, you’ll just see the ledger for that property. 

The Description column displays the transaction type:

Owner Ledger Description Column
  • BILL: this is an expense transaction, such as for repair costs or management fees.
  • CHARGE: this is a transaction  billed to the tenant, most typically a rent payment. 
  • NACHA EXPORT: this is a credit we processed to your distribution account. This type of transaction is how you get paid! 

The Amount column shows the dollar value of each transaction:

Owner Ledger Amount Column
  • Positive Amounts: if an amount is positive, it reflects a transaction that is payable to you. Typically, this will be a rent payment that we collected from your tenants. On occasion, a positive number could also signify a journal entry or credit adjustment. 
  • Negative Amounts:  if an amount is negative, this is a transaction that is either payable to Nomadic or is an amount that has already been paid to you. Typically this will be for repair costs or management/leasing fees. Owner draws (net distributions into your checking/savings account) also reflect as negative amounts, since they have already been paid to you. 

The Account Balance column shows a sum of positive/negative transactions at a given point in time:

Owner Ledger Account Balance Column
  • Account Balance should always equal zero after a net distribution has been processed. When the balance is zero, this means that all expenses have been paid and you’ve received the remainder as net operating income, leaving a balance of zero (meaning: no one is due any money, as all funds have been distributed appropriately). 

Navigating the Propertyware Owner Portal

Your portal includes some extremely useful features that help you understand your property’s financial performance at a new level, with real-time transparency into every transaction.

Scroll through the snapshots below for an overview of portal navigation! If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share. 

You can filter all info by date range or property:

PW Portal Filters

View a snapshot of income and expenses on your dashboard:

PW Owner Dashboard View

See every transaction in real-time on your ledger:

Owner Portal Ledger View

Statements and forms will be posted to your documents library:

Owner Portal Document Library

View a suite of real-time financial reports:

Portal Reports View

See a running list of all bills, and drill down for more detail:

Owner Portal Bills View

Under Bill Details, you'll find dates/descriptions/amounts and more:

Portal Bill Details

You can also communicate with your Account Manager through the portal:

Owner Portal Communication Tools

How do net distributions work?

Net distributions keep your accounting clean and simple. Each month we’ll collect rent from the tenants, deduct any repair expenses for the previous month and any management/leasing fees for the current month, and credit the remaining net operating income to your account. 

Net Distribution

You’ll receive a statement via email each time a net distribution is processed, and can view all transaction details in your Propertyware owner portal.