If you don't want to read my preamble and want to skip to the juicy part, just scroll through the selected screenshots from the lease and the example of WJD Management's Yelp activity.

My wife and I just concluded a search for a new rental in NoVA, and I'm happy to report we found a great place that we're very excited about...but not before we almost signed our lives away to a ridiculous local property management company with a borderline predatory lease.

Thankfully we read the lease carefully before signing. After identifying the most outrageous items, we sent a list of eight requests to change some aspects we did not feel comfortable with. They responded with, "No," to six of the points, "Understood," to our request to use wall anchors for baby-proofing, and the one thing they approved was removing our liability for the dehumidifier (that the lease requires us to run) if it fails.

Their general dismissiveness was enough to turn us off from signing with them, but the aggressively anti-tenant nature of the lease left me feeling like they would invent ways to come after us even beyond the explicitly stated expenses and liability we would be on the hook for.

"But OP, they have 4.7 stars on Google." Dear reader, that is because if you sign this lease you AGREE TO PAY LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IF YOU MAKE DEGRADING STATEMENTS ABOUT WJD MANAGEMENT.

Truly unhinged stuff, but despite those legal threats the brave people of Yelp have still managed to rate WJD Management 2.8 stars. That is also where you can find the owner of the company nastily clapping back at people who have already had a bad enough experience to go rant about it online.

Nadia B.'s Yelp review from 2024 reads like a case study of how some of the most concerning parts of the lease could come back to haunt you in real life. The response from WJD Management's owner boiled down to victim blaming and concluded with, "Therefore, none of the events you outlined should have come as a surprise to you."

As recently as July 2026, you can find the owner snapping at someone who was not happy with how her pet request was handled by referring her to "www.realtor.com" so she can find another place to stay. Thankfully it appears that Yelper was spared from actually signing a lease with the company.

We're extremely relieved we did not end up in a relationship with WJD Management, and could not be happier to have found a different home that met all of our needs and didn't come with crushing legal liability and future financial burdens.

Here are some lowlights from the lease, with screenshots included.

- You owe them $4,375.00 if you make disparaging comments about them orally or in writing.

- They are only required to give you two hours' notice to show the property. If you fail to provide them access, that's a $500 fee and they can keep your security deposit.

- Regardless of the condition of the property, you're out of pocket for five different professional cleaning services on move-out.

- If you cash the refund check for whatever they give you back from your security deposit, you are forfeiting the right to make any further claims about anything related to your tenancy.

- If you take them to court over money they keep from your security deposit and you lose, you pay their attorney fees.

In the name of avoiding a sob story, I'll cut to the chase: I'm recently diagnosed with metastatic cancer. I'm thinking a lot about how I want to use whatever time I have left; I love food and flavors, and definitely want to experience whatever I can. That being said, as much as my tongue and my brain love spicy food, the rest of my digestive tract is no longer compatible with even mildly spicy things due to chemo (dammit). So, I am looking for suggestions on foods to try that are NOT spicy.

I live in Arlington but still have a vehicle for now. I'm an adventurous eater and enjoy trying "weird" food. No food allergies or dietary restrictions except no spicy, no alcohol, and no raw/undercooked meat. I can eat things that have a lot of spices in them as long as they are not the burning kind. Also I love fruit. Please shout out whatever dishes/restaurants, premade snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages you think should be on my bucket list! Thanks y'all :)

Here’s the site: https://voteflow.raviudeshi.com/va/

I used to work in the Fairfax County elections office, where I spent a lot of time building spreadsheets to track turnout, compare elections, and figure out how many ballots we’d need for election day.

So I decided to build a website for fun to track early voting across all 133 Virginia cities and counties. It includes daily turnout numbers, historical comparisons going back to 2020, interactive charts and maps, and turnout projections.

About 1.2 million ballots have been cast across Virginia through October 26, combining early in-person voting and returned mail ballots.

Here’s how much of the registered electorate has voted so far across Northern Virginia:

• Fairfax County: 18.9% (154,739 ballots)
• Loudoun County: 19.0% (59,491 ballots)
• Prince William County: 18.8% (63,137 ballots)
• Arlington County: 18.7% (34,644 ballots)
• Alexandria: 20.7% (24,430 ballots)
• Falls Church: 30.3% (3,771 ballots)
• Fairfax City: 22.8% (4,343 ballots)
• Manassas: 18.8% (4,656 ballots)
• Manassas Park: 15.6% (1,551 ballots)

There’s also turnout by early voting site for Fairfax County, Arlington, Loudoun, and Alexandria because they publish their own daily dashboards with more information. Fairfax publishes the most information, so that page has the most charts and graphs.

This is just a little side project I made for fun because apparently years of election spreadsheets weren’t enough for me! I figured I’d share it in case anyone else enjoys digging into the numbers.

P.S. Don't forget to vote - this Saturday (Halloween) is the last day to vote early in person in Virginia!

See also r/VirginiaEnvironment and r/VirginiaUrbanism

Lake Barcroft

Like I’ve had a long day and the last thing I needed was a bunch of pale faced twats telling me I should be happy I wasn’t aborted. I told them to get fucked but now I’m in a bad mood. Anyway vote yes, folks.

Smaller-sized dog, maybe 10 pounds or so. Got their food and left.

Cool or not cool?

We are a family with a kid approaching bar mitzvah age looking for a progressive synagogue. We were members of a local reform congregation for several years but left because the synagogue would not condemn Israeli genocide. We miss the music, sense of community, and Hebrew school education. We are strongly progressive and will not attend a synagogue that does not acknowledge Palestinians are people.

While we live in Alexandria, we are willing to drive.

I need them for my ofrenda, anyone knows where I can find them around the area?

Hi! Just asking if how much it cost for a wisdom tooth removal here in VA (Alexandria) without insurance?

Have a small amount enfamil formula around 20oz and would like the best place to donate. Around the Leesburg area.

I'm looking for a place with a bunch of bins you can choose different candies from to fill a bag. Haven't seen any in a while.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I know school quality is a frequent topic here, and I've read through past threads, but I would really appreciate some fresh perspectives on our specific situation. I'm self-conscious about this post because it can come off as me being elitist, ignorant, etc. but here goes:

My wife and I have been house hunting for the past six months. We are planning to start a family soon and want to live in Arlington or Falls Church to keep our commutes manageable. Because we are planning for kids, school quality is top of mind for us. Obviously, this means spending much more on a mortgage, and with low inventory and recent interest rate increases, I'm worried we're going to be priced out of those highly-rated school districts.

I grew up attending top-rated FCPS schools, so I don't have personal experience with schools that carry lower GreatSchools ratings. From my research, it seems many of these lower ratings are driven by demographic and socioeconomic factors rather than a lack of teaching quality. In theory, a child from a supportive, resource-rich household can thrive and get an excellent education anywhere. Given that, it seems like there's little downside to choosing a more affordable house with lower-rated schools.

For those who chose a school with lower test-score ratings, what has your actual experience been? Did you notice any downsides regarding peer groups, classroom environment, extracurriculars, or academic engagement? Does a high percentage of ESOL classmates affect the learning experience? I want to ensure our future kids are surrounded by a strong peer culture that values learning, and I’d love to hear from parents who have navigated these same choices in the area. Thanks in advance!

We wanted to share the video here as we have been active in the nova community and will continue to do so. The Reel Adam shared, linked below, has a bit of the event we created, our philosophy and what we want to do in the community. We really appreciate this chance to share our vision about The Gaslight and the opportunity to become more involved in the community!

We are finishing up our spooky season event this weekend, and will be doing a charity drive train heist event next month. On that note we are still looking for a place through the end of the year. If anyone has recommendations about rental spaces or people to contact please let us know! We want to become a more permanent fixture in the Arlington/ Nova area and need a location to make that become a reality.

Link to Instagram video

Having about 15-20 people over for a party on Halloween evening before we head out.

Im supplying wine, beer, and "reasonably" priced liquor. I suck at making jello shots, so that's out. Any simple ideas for mixed drinks/shots?

I checked at the Dollar Trees in Chantilly and Fairfax for decorations. Anyone happen to know of a store within 20 minutes of Chantilly (close to Greenbriar Shopping plaza) where decorations are deeply discounted

What is the availability like these days? I understand WMATA recently implemented a $10 non-rider charge to discourage non-metro parking. Are spaces available at 8/8:30 am?

My 75 year old mother just went on a rant about how she’s voted yes for decades but the county keeps coming back and asking for more money. I told her that it’s basically just a formality, they have to ask for permission to borrow money to fund the projects, so they have to keep asking each time. I told her she should only vote no if the money is going to a cause she doesn’t support, not just because she’s tired of them asking to borrow money or because her taxes keep going up. I told her it would have been better to just leave that portion blank rather than vote no.

Is there a better way I can explain this to her?

She says the county already has plenty of money to maintain parks, they should use what they already have and not borrow more to buy expensive land to build new ones… I figured they wouldn’t ask to borrow money unless they actually needed it. Is there something I’m misunderstanding here?