ZillowVERIFIEDA lengthy review reflecting the strength of my admiration for the expertise and service both Jack and Esther provided in my home search and purchase. Jack Shoptaw and Esther Konrad helped me find and purchase the perfect home in an aggressive market. I have purchased and sold homes previously, and this was by far the best experience despite the fact that I was a buyer in a hot sellers' market. Market knowledge: Jack has lived in DC all or most of his life working in real estate and knows the market well as the city as evolved; Esther is a transplant who has lived in various neighborhoods and has a keen eye for trends, style, food and arts. They make an incredibly knowledgeable and fun team. No upsell: Given my previous experiences with other agents, I was surprised that Jack and Esther limited our search to homes within the price range I described -- no effort to upsell, but rather respect for my parameters and a genuine fun and helpful home search. I felt no pressure; only support. Home search "mentors": No pressure and no upsell, but as they got to know me through viewing a few homes together, they respectfully and helpfully suggested various considerations during my search that eventually lead me to redirect my search from NW to Capitol Hill. We were shopping in a sellers' market: I found a home that I liked one Saturday, we bid and lost, and kept searching. Above and beyond customer service: Responsiveness and representation are a hallmark of Jack and Esther's approach to residential real estate. They found my home while I was witting in my office in Connecticut: Esther messaged me to suggest I join them immediately to tour a home on FaceTime, as they were visiting a home and thought I should see it. Standing in a parking lot in Connecticut, I viewed the Capitol Hill home on my iPhone as Esther walked me through the first floor, second floor, garden etc ... giving me closeups of architectural detail and interesting features. On my iPhone, I saw Jack inspecting the exterior. From what I saw, I drove back to Washington (was it the next day? I think so...) and toured the home with both of them in person, and decided to make an offer. The home was a surprising fit -- features that I love that I never would have thought to look for. What a find! Finding the right home requires one set of skills, and Esther and Jack were great partners for the hunt! I appreciated their very good taste and design style, an area where I can really use their help to overcome my own shortcomings. However, as a finance professional that has had bad experiences in prior real estate purchases, I am keenly aware however that the process of purchasing a home requires a different set of skills than the process of finding a home. Jack's skill and dedication in this part of the process is where I was most impressed. Once we found the home, Jack's professionalism and experience, his high-level customer service, his emotional intelligence and his remarkable attention to detail were critical to completing a complicated real estate transaction. I have worked with many other agents in the prior transactions, and noted that most will eagerly assist with finding a home (the "shopping" part of the deal) but have weak skills at contract negotiations and during the critical sign-to-close period (the very very important "business" part of the deal), and I have never previously been impressed. In contrast, Jack knocked my socks off. His representation was expert, committed, communicative, and accurate. Furthermore, the other professionals that he has recommended to me have also been top notch: skilled, ethical, conscientious, communicative/responsive and attentive without fail. My transaction was complicated by some changes on the seller's side, but the team of professionals surrounding me could not have impressed me more. Given that I had a demanding professional life, it was very helpful to me that the team of professions (title company, lender, and agents) knew one another well and could anticipate and manage small issues on my behalf to keep the deal on track when I was traveling or otherwise distracted. As a finance professional, I appreciate that it takes a well coordinated team to complete a deal smoothly. I appreciated that we could navigate the complex deal with relaxed humor and treating all parties with warmth, professionalism and respect to a successful and very happy settlement. I write this rather lengthy review from my new kitchen, very contentedly enjoying a warm coffee on my first Saturday morning in the new home. Good luck to you! The home purchase process is at times fun and at times rather stressful. I hope that you are as fortunate as I have been to find an expert and supportive team. Work with someone you trust and who makes you smarter both for home search and for the business part of the transaction. I recommend Jack and Esther highly.