About John Pastre

Personal life

I was born in sunny southern California and spent my early teenage years in the Washington, DC area. For high school I went to St. Edward's School, Oxford, where I earned an International Baccalaureate diploma and rowed competitively — something I'm extremely proud of. Living in the UK broadened my horizons beyond the American point of view and gave me a passion for exploration.

I studied computer science and philosophy at the University of Virginia. My family had a house there that made me fall in love with real estate.

The start of my career

My first office job was in US politics. Working on Capitol Hill taught me valuable lessons and built important relationships — and showed me politics wasn't for me.

I got my first job and license as a mortgage loan officer at CityWorth Mortgage, originating FHA and VA loans for people with low credit scores and small down payments. These are hard-to-fund loans, and most of my time went into advising clients on building credit and learning the intricacies of government-backed mortgages and their underwriting guidelines.

My first mortgage loan

My first client was a US Army veteran, Olly, buying a home in Georgia with a VA loan. It was a long process: we worked on his credit profile, and I coached him on improving his credit in the short term. As a father of three daughters, his budget was tight, so I helped him understand not just the cost of financing a home but the cost of buying and owning one. That's still how I work with every client.