Moving to Fairfax, VA this Summer? 4 Smart Things You Need to Know

  • Author: Devin Henry
  • Last Updated: March 6, 2022
Table of Contents

The weather is warm, and the flowers are blooming in the DMV area, and now is an exciting time to consider moving to Fairfax! The Fairfax, VA area is full of opportunity and fun things to do. Located just outside the nation’s Capital, Fairfax has easy metro access into the city too. 

Being so conveniently located to DC, thousands of people move to Fairfax each year.

In fact, an estimated 85,000 people move into Fairfax City every year, while a predicted 77,000 move out.

fairfax population growth chart

If you’re planning on moving to Fairfax in the near future, there’s a few important things you should know.

Today we are going to cover all the tips for your big change of atmosphere. Moving to Fairfax is a great choice, so stay tuned!

1. Research is Key

It’s essential to do your research before you hit the road too fast because you’ll want to know your rights as a mover to the city of Fairfax, VA. So hit the books before your lease is up, or home is sold. 

When you move to the state of Virginia, the Department of Motor Vehicles regulates your move. You can check out their Moving 101 guide here.

Girl is driving a car

On the other hand, if you are moving to Fairfax, Virginia or taking a big step and moving out of state, your move will be regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 

Luckily, the FSCMA has a free moving pamphlet, that goes over everything you need to know. The last thing you want to worry about during a big move is a visit to the local DMW. 

2. The Fairfax Moving Checklist

Explore your options! Get estimates from a couple of different moving companies before you make the final choice. 

It is also essential to get your belongings insured before you head out. There are five different types of insurance that you can consider and find more out about here. 

  • Trip Transit Insurance
  • Special Perils Consent Coverage
  • Floater Insurance
  • Car Insurance Verification
  • Storage Insurance

Man signing contract to buy new car

These are all great options to consider, and we encourage you to use this free moving checklist to get organized and brace yourself for any surprises.

Need more structure during your move? Check out our handy Fairfax moving checklist.

3. Be in the Know

So you checked everything off the list, and you are all moved in. But you recognize that some of your items are missing or damaged. 

If this is the case for you, we have got some steps that you can begin taking today to fix the issue!

  • It is essential to keep all of your damaged items and contact your moving company within 30 days from when you first moved. 
  • You can also contact the Fairfax County Government at their Consumer Affairs Branch for any advice or questions that you might have. 
  • You can also file a complaint against your moving company through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles online.

couple moving to new apartment

Now you know, if there were any problems with your move you are protected and have plenty of options moving forward. We told you moving to Fairfax doesn’t have to be stressful!

4. After the Big Move

You’ve done it, you now reside just outside the nation’s Capital, and it feels so good!

So what’s next?

It is time to:

-Register your car and driver’s license in Fairfax County and the state of Virginia 

-Update your voter registration card, and register to vote in Virginia 

-Sign up for emergency alerts 

-Register your children in Fairfax County Public School

We hope this guide helped you along your moving journey, and we are excited to welcome you into Fairfax County. If you have any questions or concerns about moving to Fairfax, feel free to reach out to Nomadic Real Estate for help with renting, buying, selling, or managing a property needs.

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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.