This review is specifically about deceptive marketing practices by @properties more than it is about the @properties agent I hired to sell my home, 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. 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, my property was listed with a full 1% commission in my agent's 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 @properties 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. read more

@properties - Highlighted for clarity on the standard 5 page listing agreement. Completely buried in the fine print! - Real Estate Services Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Shelley Shelly in the Winnetka office was fantastic to work with. She was so helpful. She steered us away from Glencoe telling us about how it is the "Jewish suburb." We are thrilled with our home in Wilmette. Shelley let us know which blocks more African-American families are moving into so we would be at lower risk of our property value going down. I'm sorry, but this is a big investment and these things make a difference. We are investing a lot in the New Trier High School district. We moved here from Dallas so we just wouldn't have known about these things without Shelley's help. We are so happy with our new home! read more

Unwelcoming and quite disheveled looking. The space looked cramped and disorganized.I guess there isn't an expectation for many clients as the waiting area contains only two chairs. However, my biggest complaint is with how unfriendly and unwelcoming the staff are. Given that everyone is a potential client, everyone should be treated as such, and not just by the staff person directly interacting with the customer. Dry and dismissive was the impression I was given. The stars are for the prompt manner in which my earnest money was processed. As far as the selling of my home- I wouldn't even consider this office though it is the closest in proximity to our property. read more

Back in July I worked through a realtor to find an apartment in Chicago. I found a location that fit all my needs and was very interested. Through the process I made sure there was a lot of communication between myself, the realtor, and @properties about my intent to apply and where things were with the application. I viewed the unit on a Thursday and put in my application on a Saturday night. Sunday morning my realtor told me that unbeknownst to her a lease had already been signed Saturday morning. I immediately requested my application be withdrawn and stopped. I requested a refund if it had been processed because I was applying to a unit that had already been rented out. I did not want to be charged nor did I want a soft credit check on my record for a unit that was rented out. My credit card was charged and two days later my credit check was reviewed despite clear and constant communication that it would be unacceptable to run my application for a unit that was no longer available. Four days later, I was told that no refund would be coming for my application to an apartment @properties had already leased out prior to my application. This is an unacceptable business practice and makes it clear I will never want to work with @properties. My realtor's company recognized the error made by @properties and provided me with a refund on behalf of @properties. @Properties never called back to apologize for the situation and thought that because my realtor had paid everything would be resolved. Basically, the message I received is that @Properties is willing to let other realty groups deal with their mistakes and not take ownership or apologize directly for their error. This experience has shown me it is worth being wary of @properties and that they are unable to provide a high level of good customer service. @Properties is definitely an organization to be incredibly wary of if you are going to be working with them. There are many, many, many other realty agencies who are able to treat their customers right. read more

Christy Callahan was the agent who represented us during the sale of our condo on Sheridan Road. She was firm with us about decluttering our unit and arranged for powerful helicopter photos of the building exterior. We highly recommend Christy. She did a great job for us! read more

@properties - Real Estate Services Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

My #1 expectation of a professional realtor is to understand my key issues and concerns and ensure my issues and concerns are addressed. My key concern for my Chicago condo purchase was construction quality and noise (I didn't want to hear upstairs neighbors). I consistently asked about floors/ceilings. The Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff listing agent said the upstairs floors were concrete. This was never confirmed. The upstairs floors are wood - noisy, loud wood floors. My #1 issue was not looked after. Soundproofing the master bedroom ceiling alone is going to cost $5,000. Needless to say, not a happy client. Martin Uthe did a great job utilizing a realtor program that pushes out listings based upon our search criteria. But I could have Googled those listings. He set us up with a lender and a home inspector. I made a mistake using Evanston @properties for a Chicago (Lakeview) condo search. Martin dropped the ball on protecting my #1 issue. I didn't need a realtor for the other stuff. Next time, I would go solo before using @properties. read more

Vicky Todorova was a joy to work with. Even though she's great with North Shore properties, she had in depth knowledge of the real estate market in the city of Chicago and helped us through a very frustrating search. She took time to understand our personalities, likes, dislikes and also to educate us first time home buyers. She was patient with our requests to see places in a moment's notice and very driven towards getting us showings, and getting us the right price once we did find our dream home. She is a fireball businesswoman in a kind little package who will get you where you need to be. Perfect fit for type-A personalities like myself, but also for people that need education and hand-holding. I highly recommend her! read more

When it came time to find our home in Evanston, we turned to Vicky Todorova. My husband and I arrived with a number of realtor recommendations, but Vicky came with the most accolades. After our experience with her, I understand why and can only add to her praise. There was a slight sense of urgency when finding our new home. We were leasing a house for the summer and ideally wanted to be living in our future home come summer's end. Vicky noted our timeline and dedicated much of her schedule to working with us - practically daily. We have two very young children and there were times when we had to tour houses with them in tow. Having young children herself, Vicky was sensitive to their needs and kind enough to work around my children's schedules - allowing time for snack breaks and avoiding nap times. While touring homes, there were times she also went as far as helping us watch our children so we could concentrate on the tasks at hand. This was not expected, yet greatly appreciated! From the get go, Vicky listened to our needs and understood what we were after. After a showing, she was receptive of feedback - wanting to know our likes, dislikes, concerns. She was clear on our budget, never pushy, nor wasted our time. We were grateful Vicky was willing to hold our hand throughout the entire home buying process because, as first time home buyers, we needed this support immensely. Thanks to Vicky, we're now living in our dream house! Without her initiative, encouragement and commitment we wouldn't have the home we do today. It's evident that Vicky truly takes great joy in finding someone their home. I recommend Vicky Todorova with no hesitation. If you are searching for a home on the North Shore - she's your realtor! read more

I would not recommend this company to list or represent commercial properties or tenants. They are residential and they should stick to residential! read more

if you are looking for a real estate agent in evanston - vicky todorova is the best. since 2006, i have been trying to get back to chicago (from san francisco, then ohio). vicky contacted me through an online lead, and i have been working with her ever since. first i looked for houses - she was incredibly knowledgeable about the neighborhoods, schools, and properties, in general. never a hard sell, just extremely informative and helpful, and she definitely had our best interests in mind. unfortu read more » nately, the market turned so we stopped our search. regardless, she still kept in touch over the years. when we ended up coming back to evanston, and were looking for a rental, she bent over backwards to find us the right place. countless hours of work in negotiating with the listing agent, and owner, and i'm sure she didn't make a penny when it was all said and done. i couldn't recommend her enough - just a wonderful person. she even reached out to her friends to help me find childcare! love, love, love her. when it's time to find a house, she's my gal. read more

We worked with Beth Morgan on the purchase of our townhouse. She was great to work with. Always available (even for short notice viewings) and frank in her assessment of the properties we looked at. I never got the sense that she was telling us what we wanted to hear in the interest of getting a deal done, which was refreshing given how common that is among realtors. Would certainly work with her again. read more

Yvonne Sito helped me buy my first condo. She spent countless Fridays and Sundays taking me to see various properties and retaking me to see properties that I wanted to get a second (or third) look at. She was patient and she is very familiar with the area. She found a fabulous condo in my price range. I was very happy with the entire experience. read more

Disappointed I offered above asking, was charged for the backround check, and didnt get the apartment.

Vittoria was our first choice to sell our home in Glenview. She has an outstanding team who made our house look great. And her business background and marketing savvy positioned us well to sell. Vittoria knows the Glenview market and got us a great result. read more

If you are looking for a Real Estate Agent in Glenview, IL look up Vittoria Logli. Vittoria helped me find a house in Dec. She listened to what I wanted, gave me great advise on neighborhoods as well as the properties. She would point out if she had concerns about certain houses and therefore was never trying to sell a house just to sell a house. She was looking after my interests. She is willing to help with all aspects, including recommending a builder, financing, lawyers and handymen. She also thinks ahead to make sure everyone has their ducks in a row to insure a smooth close. I was impressed with her business skills, market knowledge and she is a joy to be with!! read more

Making the decision to choose Vicky Todorova as our agent when we put our house on the market was an easy one. For one thing, she came HIGHLY recommended from several members of a group I belonged to. Secondly, she was by far the most prepared agent we interviewed with relevant comps for our home. She really did her homework! Finally, She was incredibly responsive and professional. Every time we had a question or concern, Vicky addressed it immediately. Together, we put together a schedule of items she recommended be attended to before getting the home listed on the MLS. She gave us terrific guidance during this period. Vicky outlined for us precisely what and when we needed to get things done, so that in the end, the home would be priced right and ready for sale and in a historically challenging housing market. We felt good knowing that it was her objective to get us an offer worthy of the home without ever having to lower listing price. We worked hard, followed her advice, and despite cancelling our first open house due to a power outage from a severe storm that ripped through our area, we were able to accept an offer that pleased us within 9 days of listing our house. Vicky was tremendous throughout the entire process! Our only disappointment is that we moved out of state and couldn't work with her when we bought our next home! read more

Vittoria Logli was exactly what we needed! We have worked with Vittoria on the purchase of our last two homes in Glenview, and she has done an outstanding job for us each time. Our most recent home purchase was particularly tricky, but she was able to navigate the complexities based on her extensive expertise. She is extremely dedicated, which is evidenced by the fact that we were in daily contact during her vacation which happened to fall near our closing date, and has a strong network of contacts ranging from lenders and attorneys to handyman and cleaning services. We HIGHLY recommend using Vittoria for your real estate needs as she can be expected to go above and beyond to help you sell your existing home and/or purchase your next one. read more

Rick Whittemore has been so patient and awesome. He is a great listener with your needs, likes and dislikes. He gives you great useful information from A to Z. He isn't pushy at all, which I love, it's such a process and feeling like you have someone that is truly, "in your corner" is so important! I love that he is always on time, very organized and never takes calls when he is with you, we will use him again and would highly recommend him! N.Young. in Evanston read more

I bought my first home with Martin, he listened to what I wanted in a home, and took me to several even after I fell in love with the third place I saw. He was patient and knowledgeable and when things got rough with the sellers side, he advocated for me to ensure I was still getting a great deal. Martin is the best realtor, and I would recommend him to everyone! read more

We picked Vicky Todorova to help us find a home in Evanston based on previous reviews and we couldn't have been happier with our choice. Buying a house can be a daunting task but Vicky made it easy and exciting for us. She was so knowledgeable of the area and offered us unparalleled advice that ultimately helped us buy a house that we love in a neighborhood that we adore. Thank you Vicky for being such a wonderful agent and for making us feel comfortable and confident throughout our experience. No doubt whoever picks Vicky to represent them will be equally satisfied with her abilities! read more

This company is awesome. Bram Chill was my agent and his team worked seamless. I had to sell my property as fast as I could. House was sold in 2 days. Closing was a breeze, even though I live in Arizona and property was located in Palatine Illinois. I cannot give one bad word about their service. It felt good to work with a company that cares....These days, that is very rare. read more

Called Andy Forster on Thursday and set up an appointment for the following Monday at 9:30 to do a proposal on listing my home. (two other companies did proposals and home is over 500k as suggested by them). I sent a test reminder on Sunday that we were meeting, no response. No show so I called at 10;15 AGAIN AT 10:30. Left messages no return call. At about 5 in the afternoon he had another broker call me and she suggested as she was an expert in my neighborhood I should call her. No apology. Guess I'm old fashioned but happy to not have a broker who does follow through or have any sophisticated panache. read more