With 15 years experience as realtors and 21 years as a general contractor, commercial or residential; we can help you find your ideal property.

I'll show you how to avoid surprises by identifying problems that could cause significant issues and costs for you down the road: faulty windows, patio doors that are going to need replacement, the stain someone is trying to hide, the bulge in the drywall, cracks in the foundation and bad workmanship wherever it exists.  We not only point out the problems but price out the repairs and we can then use these to negotiate prior to hiring an inspector. I've seen and addressed all of these issues in my career as builder

After investigating the cause of damage, filing the insurance claim, repairing and selling her Chicago Condo; I found her a perfect house in a perfect mountain town. Photo by David Funcheon

Success Story 1:  Buyer M wanted me to look at a house in Elk Grove Village.  A national building company had the property on the market for 14 months.  It was under market value for the area and met all the descriptions of what our client was looking for. When we walked downstairs the entire basement floor had been raised 3 feet post construction, to the extent that we had to duck down to pass through the basement door. We noticed the sump pump was cycling every 45 seconds.  To investigate the problem further, we asked for and analyzed the foundation underpinning plan and soil boring logs.  As part of our research, we even went out a morning after a light rain and timed the sump pump, which was now cycling every 4 seconds. Consequently, we told Client M to walk away from the deal.   We felt the underpinning wasn't adequate and any damage from future settlement issues would not be covered under the sales contract or home owners policy. Equally important, an extended power outage would leave the basement flooded and eventually the house uninsurable and then unsaleable.  The house wasn't cheap... the house was a trap.

Four days later our offer on a lovely house with a crack free and dry basement was accepted.  We had the needed rehabs completed within 3 weeks of closing.  Most of the updates were paid by the seller through credits we negotiated.

Success Story 2:  Buyer S avoided purchasing at a loft development in Lakeview where we were concerned because of water stains we saw.  In doing so, our client avoided the $120,000 special assessment levied by the association on that individual unit 12 months later.

Success Story 3:  We worked with Seller P, to market and sell her beautiful home in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood.   The house needed a significant rehab by a future buyer.  By looking at the required rehab budget and value after rehab we came up with a sales price.  We also determined those low price items that would help facilitate a faster sale, yet remain within the seller's budget.  For instance, we took down a few dead trees in the backyard and went through the house with the crew to patch & paint walls and make the house look presentable.  We held on to the bill until closing.  We received multiple offers, leading to a successful sale.

Success Story 4:  Seller D owned a condo which he rented out in Lakeview.  After several years of renting while he lived out of state, he worked with me to sell.  We helped him to review what he could sell the condo for without any rehabbing versus the market value with a small amount of rehab and investment.   Realizing the value of rehabbing the property; he agree to the rehab project, which we managed.  He become a satisfied investor who made $35,000 more in 3 months than if he had tried to sell his own condo as-is.