Sources & Methodology | Marc Cormier

Sources and Methodology: How This Site Is Researched and Written

This page explains where the information on this site comes from and how it is written, so readers and search engines can trust what they read. The site never invents statistics, percentages, dollar figures, or unsourced numbers. Anything that makes a factual claim points back to a source.

Last updated: 2026-09-09

Who writes this site

I'm Marc Cormier, a licensed Realtor and Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) serving the DC metro, Maryland, and Virginia. I've spent 27 years in real estate and have sold close to 1,000 homes, a large share of them for homeowners and families going through a downsize. Every informational page on this site is written and reviewed by me, drawing on the work I do every day with real clients. For a closer look at how claims are checked before they go live, read Proof Over Claims: How This Site Backs What It Says.

How topics are chosen

Topics come from the real questions homeowners and adult children ask when they are downsizing, aging in place, or selling a family home in the DC metro. If a question comes up again and again in consultations, it deserves a clear, useful answer on the site. That keeps the content practical and grounded in what people actually wrestle with, rather than what a search engine might want to hear.

Where information comes from

The information here comes from three honest places: my professional experience working with downsizing clients in this market, direct conversations with those clients, and verifiable public sources such as government programs, county services, and industry guidance. When a page depends on a specific statistic or study, that source is listed in a sources box on that page so you can follow it back yourself.

The no-invented-numbers rule

This site commits to never publishing made-up statistics, percentages, dollar figures, or unsourced numbers. Where a precise figure is not available or verified, the site says so in plain language rather than guessing. An honest "we don't have a reliable number for that" is always better than a number that sounds confident but isn't real.

How claims are kept current

Pages carry a "Last updated" date and are reviewed as programs, services, and market conditions change. Real estate data and local programs shift over time, so I revisit pages on a regular basis and refresh them when something becomes outdated. The date at the top of each page tells you how recently a page was reviewed.

Reporting a concern

If you see something on this site that looks inaccurate or out of date, please let me know. I'd rather fix a real problem than let an outdated claim stand. You can reach me any time through the contact page, and I'll take a look and correct it.