Overall, primarily influenced by the outcome of our search / purchase (the most important measure),…read morewe were very dissatisfied with the overall service from Pam and Wendy. Pam and Wendy did give us a significant amount of their time and energy over the months it took us to complete the purchase of our new home, which was greatly appreciated. That being said, due to circumstances that could and should have been avoided, we now find ourselves in a discouraging and extremely costly situation as we work through several issues that should have been identified through the home search, due diligence and inspection. We trusted the inspector Pam and Wendy recommended to us would be thorough with a critical focus on protecting us from major issues - this was clearly not the case, and the shortcomings of the inspection and related negotiations have left us having to pay tens of thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to remedy. On a related note, the 'experts' Pam and Wendy recommended during the inspection/attorney review period were equally poor, particularly a roofer that gave us an estimate for repairs that we now know was 95%+ underestimated (as proven by four subsequent estimates for the same work), and gave us a false sense of security in terms of what we had ahead of us. Maybe the most unsettling part of the experience in hindsight (which should have raised our flags in the moment) was when Pam and Wendy clearly put the best interest of the sellers ahead of ours (their client) in the context of pressuring us to sign the deal on a condensed timeline so the sellers would not have to relist the property. Finally, neither Pam nor Wendy made themselves or a legal representative available to represent us in person during our closing, and did not give us a heads up that we would be there alone, leaving us with a fairly sour taste on what should have been a celebratory day. Overall, as we continue to work through issues daily and try to recoup our losses, we do not feel our best interests were prioritized and feel the advice from Pam, Wendy and their recommended subject experts was critically underwhelming and insufficient.

From the moment we met with Pam and Wendy we knew we were in great hands. My husband and I were in…read morethe process of trying to decipher whether or not we wanted to take on a big project, or something more turnkey. Pam and Wendy differentiated themselves from the beginning because they knew the estimated costs of various projects, and where we would get a significant return on investment should we decide to sell our home in the future. We truly felt that they had our best interests in mind, and were always available to consult on various ideas. When we heard about a home coming on the market in Evanston, Pam did not hesitate to reach out to her contacts and ensure that we were the first people to get into see. Once we knew this was the home for us, Pam and Wendy knew how to navigate the negotiations with multiple offers, and her competitive yet sensible drive kept us calm and focused throughout the stressful process of buying a home in a pandemic. After the house was ours, Pam and Wendy's work did not end. They connected us with their favorite vendors for roofing, carpeting, lighting and more. They ensured we were connected with the best lawyer and loan-officer and were on-call to help us navigate several unforeseen circumstances throughout the process. We truly feel that our "forever home" today, would not have been ours without this incredible team of professionals assisting us throughout the process. We can't recommend them enough!

I am a handful. I will willingly admit it. Sarah has been incredible to work with. I trust her…read moreopinion and appreciate her dedication. We met at an open house and really just fell in love with her spark. I can't imagine going through buying our first house with anyone else! She has taken the time to make sure we feel comfortable and has been more than willing to work with our crazy schedules. She also has a vast collection of referrals who have all ended up being great to help us through this exciting and incredibly stressful time! Sarah is, hands down, one of our favorite people! Not just a realtor, by any means.

Sarah is an amazing Realtor! She truly listens and delivers with amazingly high standards. Her…read morework ethic is incomparable and I would recommend her to anybody looking to buy a home or list their property for sale. Top notch work!!!

I've been working with Jane Ehlert for several years now, and she continues to exceed my…read moreexpectations every time. Most recently, she helped me secure amazing new tenants in just one weekend! Jane provided great recommendations on what to fix and update to get faster results, and she was right on point. She's incredibly professional, responsive, and an absolute pleasure to work with. I trust her judgment completely and truly appreciate her dedication. If you're looking for someone who knows the market and gets results quickly, Jane is the one!

Jane and her team are what you want when you are buying or selling a home. They make the whole…read moreprocess, which is usually really stressful, feel totally easy and calm. From the very first phone call, they treat you like you are their only client. Their communication is outstanding; they promptly respond to texts and calls, explaining complex paperwork in clear terms so you comprehend what you are signing. Working with them feels less like a transaction and more like getting help from a super-smart friend. Their service exemplifies what it means to be 5-star.

Stephanie is an incredible real estate agent who just helped us sell our home in Avondale. Out of…read morethe gate, she really stood out with her preparedness and customized plan for our home and goals with the sale. She was immediately personable and listened to us - which she continued to do through the entire process. She promised as little stress as possible and she delivered! Stephanie helped us make the house look beautiful, drummed up an incredible amount of viewers for our first weekend, and got us 12 offers in a 24 hour period, ultimately selling our house for WAY over asking. She was supportive all the way through the final closing and we would absolutely use her again for any home purchase or sale in Chicago.

We count our blessings that we were introduced to Stephanie. We've gone through a lot of…read moreuncertainties in the last five years- the first being a potential deconversion of our condo, which would have left us in a terrible position while I was pregnant. Stephanie talked to us about the deconversion process and possible timelines and even went on record to our condo board about what she has seen deconversions promise residents as well as what they usually deliver. Her testimony helped change some votes in our building and resulted in us staying in our homes. I was endlessly grateful she was so willing to go over and above for us that way. But in the meantime, she had been showing us places that would have met our basic needs, and was helping us imagine how to make the most of programs we didn't even know were available. After the deconversion scare, we stayed in touch with Stephanie and every year or so when a unicorn popped up on the market, we would ask and she happily took us to see it. She never made us feel like we were wasting her time, and she always had really insightful comments to make about the places we were seeing-- things we never would have noticed on our own. Finally, when I got an offer letter to study in London for two years, we reached out to Stephanie and told her, we still weren't really ready to leave our house and asked if she could give us some guidance. She, again, GRACIOUSLY offered to talk to us on the phone about what renting our condo would mean, what a contract should include, what our options were with property managers, and gave us a lot of advice about how to feel safe and secure about our home during this time away. She didn't have to do ANY of that. Stephanie CARES about her clients. She KNOWS real estate. And anyone would be LUCKY to have her working for them.

We would hire Amy and Howard again in a heartbeat. They know the Western Suburbs of Chicago inside…read moreand out, are super responsive and leverage their relationships to get the best outcome for their clients. They found multiple investment properties for us, advised us regarding bidding strategy for the one we wanted, and stayed on stop of it even after the seller went with another buyer. The persistence paid off as the seller contacted Amy directly after the other buyer walked which enabled us to secure the property without it going back on the market again for a competitive bid. She has also been helpful in determining which renovations are essential, gauging optimal rent based on the current market and actually finding tenants for our vacant units. In short, our experience has been fantastic and we look forward to providing repeat business.

Amy is a great real estate agent with a deep understanding of the business. She helped our family…read morepurchase a single-family home in a tough, low-inventory market. Throughout the process, she was very responsive and gave her all to get the deal done. We would highly recommend her for anyone looking for a strong, no-nonsense agent/broker who will give you an edge over your competition.

We didn't have a lot of time to find a rental for our daughter, who was moving from a dorm to her…read morefirst apartment. Going through online rentals she would have tour cancellations without notice, or the property would rent the unit without letting her know, which made the process extremely stressful, especially with finals looming. Rena from Dumas & Assoc stepped in and within a week she had narrowed our search to two places and was instrumental in communicating with rental managers and making the whole process a breeze. We couldn't have done it without her. Rena was fabulous!

When my daughter was moving to Chicago and looking for an apartment to rent, I looked online for…read morereal estate agents and also checked Yelp. I am so grateful to Nikki and Stacie for all the help they have given my daughter over the years. They have been there for her whenever she has a question or concern. Just a few months ago, they helped her secure a gorgeous place. I am so grateful to them. They take away some of the worry I have of having my daughter so far from home.

I hired Lynn Briskin to market and sell my home. This review is specifically about deceptive…read moremarketing practices by @properties more than it is about Lynn Briskin, although she too is culpable for this behavior. Frankly, I am upset and feel deceived by the whole process and can only hope future homeowners will not be put in the same position as me. TL;DR: If you are listing your home with @properties, INSIST that the commission split between the buyer's and seller's agents be written into your listing agreement. Buried in the very fine print of the @properties standard listing agreement it says that @properties can decide the commission split between the agents. Even I missed it, and it was only at the closing table that I even caught wind of the consequences of this. My property sat on the market for 10 weeks accruing market time with a below average number of showings and Lynn assured me she had done absolutely everything in her power to help me garner a buyer. For those who may not be aware: When a property is listed on the MLS, the listing agent inputs what the commission to the buyer's agent will be. This information is absolutely secret to the general public and not viewable to anyone without MLS access, so you are completely putting your faith in the listing agent and trusting they are holding your best interests. As we all know, agent commissions drive showings and ultimately sales. Whether it would be considered ethical or not, a property listed with a lower commission to a buyer's agent (e.g., 1%) will result in fewer showings. (Please tell any agent who disagrees with this statement to switch to a flat fee structure instead). As I found out the hard way, Lynn listed my property with a full 1% commission in her favor (i.e., not an equal commission split). In other words, a lower commission to the buyer's agent, and plausibly responsible for the longer market time and lower sale price. While the "net" commission to me as the seller was the same, had this been *disclosed* upfront, I would never have hired Lynn to represent me. To my dismay, this is a widespread practice with @properties. After speaking with Don Shea the @properties managing broker, he encourages "all of his agents" to list properties in this manner with this type of split commission in a 1% favor to his agents. While this practice puts more money in the @properties pockets (and may be even justifiable in some instances), the homeowner has zero visibility or knowledge of this practice. The commission split should be disclosed upfront because it is both the ethical thing to do as well as consequential to the homeowner with their sale.

Lynn is the best! We worked with her for the purchase of our condo 6 years ago and also this past…read moremonth for the sale of our condo and both times she was a joy to work with. She makes the process incredibly easy and straightforward and truly takes care of you. We would highly recommend her to anyone buying or selling!

Serena is very professional and knowledgeable about my investment property, I highly recommend this…read morebusiness.

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We first met Tedi when she was selling a condo unit across the hall from us about a year before we…read morebegan our search for a single family home. I'm glad we met her because we have been completely satisfied working with her in our search. She is friendly, very responsive (via text and email), and was quick to show us homes in our desired area as soon as they became available. She is a straight-shooter when it comes to pointing out deficiencies in the homes that we visited, and we never felt pressure from her to make a move on a home that didn't necessarily fit what we wanted. When we found a home(s) that we were interested in, she quickly sent us comps to make sure we were making competitive and fair offers. It took us nearly 8 months to purchase a home (we walked away from several properties after inspection), and we never felt that Tedi was getting annoyed or frustrated with our decisions. Now that we've purchased our new home, I'm looking forward to working with her again once we put our condo on the market. I wouldn't want to work with anyone else for such an important transaction.

Tedi was a godsend for my family. I'm so happy I chose her to be my agent! I had a home that I…read moreneeded to sell quickly due to us relocating and Tedi was up for the challenge! She came in knowing her stuff and my market! She had fun and innovative ways on how to try to advertise my home to the right people! She knew my house was in a family oriented neighborhood so she suggested a creative open house idea that appealed to families. And even after that open house she did an open house every weekend after that until my home sold! She pushed advertisements on Facebook and made my home look very nice on all the top sights. She's a hands on realtor! She has guided us every step of the way with her professionalism and positive attitude. She sold my home in 24 days (and I was told the average for my neighborhood is 40 days)! And she sold it for pretty close to asking price! If you're looking for a realtor -- stop looking! Tedi is exactly who you need!

We had such a great experience working with Mike and his team. Moving my family from Canada to…read moreChicago was very stressful and adding buying a home. But Mike was awesome, he worked diligently on finding us our dream home. His experience and valuable knowledge on neighborhoods was extremely helpful. He made the entire experience enjoyable and we are so happy in our "dream home". Thank you Mike for all your help. Ash P.

Mike and Lena sold our house in Evanston and amazed us every step of the way. They were…read moreprofessional and marketed our house in the most beautiful way. The Thomas team worked tirelessly to pre-market our house, get with their connections, and this resulted in multiple offers. We made a nice profit on our house, and, although it all seemed so daunting at the time, it was well worth it. They guided us through it all and were there for us whenever we needed them for reassurance. I could not recommend them more. They are hard workers and I felt secure with our biggest asset in their hands. If you're reading this, Mike and Lena, thank you so much. You might not realize it, but you changed our lives.