Jason Outten

1. What was life like before becoming a Realtor?

I was born in sunny California, (San Diego to be exact) but moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland at 19 to work in the family’s retail store. With a strong work ethic and a keen ability to solve problems as they were presented, I worked my way up from a delivery driver to managing the day to day operations. Looking for a new adventure, I left the small town on the Eastern Shore, leaving the comfort and security of the family business to explore new opportunities in a larger metropolitan area. It was exciting to plant my own roots and create my own path. Northern Virginia has now been my home for the past 12 years.

2. What do you love most about residential real estate?

I love working with people in life transitions. Whether it’s a first time home buyer, a couple looking for a home in which to grow a family, or a recent divorcee that’s never been involved with finance, I love begin the trusted advisor that sets my client up for long-term success. Helping them buy right and build equity with a drama-free experience is the key to happiness- for them and for me. I have built my career on clients coming back to me, asking to put their equity to work by finding them a bigger home.

3. Of all the experiences and sales you’ve had as a Realtor, can you tell me about your most memorable or most favorite?

When Donna came to me, she was going through an awful divorce. She is Romanian and had a young son. She’d never worked and her husband had always taken responsibility for the finances, so she had no clue on how or where to start a home search.

To make matters worse, this was happening during the ’09 financial crisis. Her income was limited and her credit was non-existent, and banks were reticent to give loans, so the experience was challenging. Knowing that a Short Sale was our best bet, we viewed 50 homes and put offers in on 10 of them before we met with success.

In the beginning, Donna even had to rent out the basement to help her afford the mortgage. Five years later, she called me because she was ready to move to a bigger home. The kicker however, was that by then, she’d rented the top two floors and had decided to become a landlord too!

From immigrant divorcee, to self-reliant, entrepreneur; it warms my heart to know I am part of such positive life transformations.