Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Which towns do you actually work in?
Naperville is home base; my office is on Route 59. But my closings over the last two years span DuPage, Will, Kane and Cook: Lisle, Downers Grove, Addison, Elmhurst, Bolingbrook, Mokena, Elgin, Plainfield, Romeoville, Montgomery, Oswego, Lombard and Tinley Park. If you're anywhere in the western or southwestern suburbs, I've almost certainly closed nearby.
I'm a first-time buyer and I don't know where to start. Is that a problem?
It's the most common way people start working with me, and most of my five-star reviews come from first-time buyers. The first conversation isn't about houses. It's about budget, commute, timeline and what you actually need, and then a lender introduction if you don't have one. I won't assume you've done this before, and asking me the same question twice is completely normal.
What happens at a showing with you?
More than a walkthrough. I check the foundation, go into the crawlspace, read the manufacturing dates off the furnace and water heater, and take notes on everything. Liking a house is the easy part; my job is finding out what owning it will cost you. Anything I can't answer standing there, I chase down afterwards and bring back to you.
We're relocating from out of state. Can this work remotely?
Yes, and it has, including for buyers arriving from California with no local network at all. We do video tours first to rule the wrong homes out, I get you oriented on schools, commutes and how the towns actually differ, and then you make one focused trip to see a real shortlist instead of twenty-five houses over three weekends.
How do you price a listing?
Against what actually closed nearby and recently, not against what the neighbors are asking. My own sales run from $68K to $967K, so I'm not starting from an assumption about your price band. You'll get the comparable sales, a straight read on which improvements return their cost before listing and which don't, and a number you can defend to a buyer's appraiser.
Do you work with Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients?
I sign, and I speak English, so raise it at our first conversation if that would make this easier for you. We can set showings and the closing schedule up around it, and I will tell you plainly what I can cover myself and where bringing in an interpreter would serve you better.
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