Washington DC Estate Real Estate - The Von Schlegel Realty Team.
For Washington DC Real estate and services throughout the Maryland suburbs including Montgomery County and Prince Georges County and the Virginia suburbs of Arlington County, Fairfax County, Alexandria and Falls Church.
Jackie Von Schlegel,
Peaches and Pooh Bear
Houses sing. Did you know that?
I've seen it time and again. Someone walks into a house and they don't have to say a word--I can sense when the singing begins. And when it does, I know it's the house for them.
To me, one of the most thrilling things about real estate is finding a house that sings for a buyer. When that happens, it usually becomes a duet. Both the buyer and the seller are delighted.
And I'm in matchmaker heaven. I don't care if it's a hundred thousand dollar house or several million, the pleasure is the same. I've been in this business for 15 years, and I never stop being thrilled when the right connection is made.
That enthusiasm is, I'm certain, one of the reasons why I'm in the top 1% of residential real estate associates in the nation.
But it's not the only reason.
What sets me apart from every other REALTOR® in the business is that my introduction to the industry came as a mortgage banker. I served for many years as a Regional Vice President at Merrill Lynch Mortgage Corp., Chevy Chase Branch Manager/Settlement Officer for Lawyers Title Insurance Corp, and Regional Vice President for US Home Mortgage.
This experience has given me an invaluable edge. Not only did I gain an intimate knowledge of city and suburban neighborhoods and properties, I developed a command of the intricacies of financing, low-cost programs such as FHA and VA loans, contracts and closings.
You can imagine how useful this has been to both buyers and sellers--particularly with skyrocketing property values throughout the metropolitan area.
Finding My Own Dream Home
Robert was the Washington Director of NBC's Today Show and we had a wonderful - and wonderfully exciting--24 years together. Among many other things, I learned to fly. We started out with a 1968 two-seater, Alon Air Coupe, moved up to a four-seater and finally owned an American Yankee, a hot little plane that's too fast for many runways.
These days my family consists of Peaches and Pooh Bear--the Siamese Chair Purrsons of the Von Schlegel Group - and all of my wonderful neighbors and friends on Capitol Hill, where I've lived since 1992.
While I list property and assist home buyers all across the metropolitan area, more and more my business has become focused on the Hill. That's because, unless they are transferred out of the city, residents rarely leave. They enjoy living here so much that they move to larger or smaller houses or apartments as their life circumstances change. And they keep calling me to help.
My neighbors all know each other and watch out for each other. We celebrate silly things like Ground Hog's Day and in the summertime we're all out in our front yards sipping wine.
It's an easy place to live. Great restaurants are a stroll away, as is the Eastern Market--the Hill's social center, with its flea market and craft fair every Saturday and Sunday. On the Hill's north side is our shopping mall and movie theater, that Beaux Arts masterpiece, Union Station.
And we have a pair of world class libraries: the Library of Congress and the Folger Shakespeare Library, which has the largest collection of first folios in the world as well as exhibits, readings and plays in the Elizabethan Theatre.
It's an excellent family place as well, with good private and public schools, the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, St. Mark's and the Oxford Academy for dance and theater and art classes, and there seems to be a park or playground around every corner.
Of course, the most unique feature of this little town is our awesome view of the US Capitol. It's not just the seat of government to us. Here we picnic, listen to concerts (nearly every day and night from May through August) and watch the fireworks on the 4th of July.
Getting Away from it All
While I no longer have a boat (or a plane), I still adore the water. Several years ago I bought a townhouse directly on the bay in Chesapeake Beach. It's just 40 minutes from downtown, but you feel like you're in another world. Peaches and Pooh Bear have a ball here too, and think they'll catch a seagull from the upper deck.
I'm blessed to have such an active, rewarding life in town - and the peace of the water on weekends. (In fact, Chesapeake Beach is such a joy that I've talked several Hill neighbors into buying vacation homes nearby.)
Life sings to me.
