Deb Pestronk
Company: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Address: 1801 Old Reston Ave., Suite 200, Reston, VA 20190
Phone: 703/471-7220 (office), 703/624-2132 (cell)
Fax: 703/471-3977
E-mail: dpestronk@cbmove.com
Web site: www.DebPestronk Team.com
Year started: 2003
How did you get started in real estate? I had toyed with the idea for years, but during the time my children were growing up, I was a single mom and therefore couldn’t work with such variable hours.
How long with the current company? 2 1/2 years
Licenses and designations: Virginia Realtors License, Senior Residential Housing Specialist, Accredited Buyer Agent, Certified Relocation Specialist
Associations: Northern Virginia Association of Realtors
Awards: NVAR Top Producer 2003-2007
Greatest accomplishment in the past 12 months: In 2007, I served as president of the Greater Washington Tennis Association, a league of 56 women’s teams that play during the day in the spring and fall seasons. Our board received the highest compliments for the way we ran the league.
What is your area of specialty? My niche would be clients who want a forceful and blunt-speaking agent and an agent who believes in honesty and fair negotiation. I don’t play games or pull tricks.
Highest-priced home sold: $1,450,000
Most memorable house: On Tuesdays, we view properties at “brokers opens.” At one viewing, I saw a home that was absolutely scrumptious - it had an indoor pool and tennis court. Although I couldn’t afford it, I decided one of my friends must have this property. Fortunately, she agreed and purchased it. She has since made the property even more gorgeous.
Worst experience buying or selling a house: I represented the estate of a woman who had committed suicide in the house. What made the experience awful was twofold:
1. Dealing with the bank. The bank wanted to have the owner pay her mortgage. No matter how many death notices I submitted, the bank’s representatives still couldn’t figure out the owner was deceased.
2. In Virginia, as the listing agent, I am not forced to reveal the circumstances creating the sale of the home. Unfortunately, neighbors kept advising prospective buyers to ask about the circumstances, and I was forbidden to say anything by the terms of the estate.
Age: 60
Family: Divorced with two adult sons, one of whom is married.
Pets: Two rescue cats - they have rescued me!
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from Goucher College
Community affiliations/community service/outside interests: Captain of Reston B 2 Women’s Tennis Team, member of Reston Association Tennis Committee, past winner of Reston Top Seed Award, special covenants member of Golf Course Island Cluster in Reston
Last book read: “The Tortilla Curtain” by T. Coraghessan Boyle
Last movie seen: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”
What kind of car do you drive? Mazda CRV 7
Describe your personal dream house: An open contemporary with soaring ceilings, light maple hardwood floors laid on the diagonal, a two-car garage, two or three bedrooms, two baths (one with sunken tub, the other with a huge walk-in shower), and a modern Italian-style kitchen in the center of the main floor. Ideally, the home should overlook water.
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