Brad Sowell, with Northwest Suburban Real Estate, was recommended to us by our daughter. She was…read morevery satisfied with her experience and now we are too. We have bought/sold homes more than six times as work and family have taken us to many places. We were finally ready to make one last move and find our dream home. For two and a half years, Brad searched for homes that would fit our (extensive) criteria and was always available to show us homes that we, additionally, came upon. Brad was very good at listening to our requests and suggesting options we had not considered. He always made time to view properties on our schedule. He was never pushy and built good relationships with those around him. He was professional, courteous, knowledgeable and quick to answer questions and concerns. Brad was instrumental in helping us find and obtain our "forever home." Of all the realtors we have worked with, Brad has been the best and he is now aiding us in selling our previous abode. As previously stated, we have had experience with many realtors, Brad outperformed them all. We give him our highest recommendation.

My brother and I were left with our parent's estate, with several properties in the Midwest. I…read morelive in California and needed to find a real estate agent to represent us. After interviewing numerous on the phone and in person we found Black Castle Properties specifically Thomas Holder. Thomas has been a great choice. He is professional, knowledgeable, competent and motivated. Thomas has an out going down to earth personality, is available to answer questions, does his best to provide information and follows up phone calls and emails very quickly. He is responsible, helpful and works tirelessly to provide excellent service. We have closed on one of the properties, listed 2 additional properties and have a few we are preparing to list. We are confident Thomas will bring everything to closing. We are very happy to have Thomas representing us and highly recommend him.

Jim is a 5-star realtor and also a 5-star human being. He really listens and cares. I hired him as…read morea property manager, and when my life situation changed and difficult decisions had to be made, he was so extremely helpful. He was compassionate, knowledgeable, and able to make my non-ideal situation go as smoothly as possible for all parties involved, and very quickly too. He is prompt at responding and good at providing relevant info in an easy-to-understand way.

I had scheduled a showing for Saturday morning through my realtor. Everything was confirmed several…read moredays before since we have to drive over an hour to see the house. When we arrived, he was a no show, did not provide our realtor with any additional information as to how to get inside the home, and when he was called, he stated how unprofessional we were. This is our first home buying experience so I'm thankful I don't have someone like him as our realtor- unfriendly, unprofessional, and unreasonable.

If you're moving into (or around) ogle county, you won't be able to find a better realtor then Ron…read morePifkin. I moved from central Illinois to the Byron area in June of 2015. As I was going through the home search process, I called half a dozen relators to find someone who was personable, easy to work with, and committed to making sure my priorities were being heard. Even from my first phone call with him, Ron was extremely dedicated to making sure that I was taken care of and my needs were being met. Ron is an excellent listener and is the type of relator who is not going to try and pressure you one way or another. He will listen to what you need and will aggressively go about seeing those needs met, even if he doesn't 100% agree with you (which in my opinion is the sign of an excellent relator). Ron has a ton of history in the area so he will easily be able to recommend lawyers, tradesmen, financiers, etc who you can trust and get the job done quickly with a great value. His website is always up to date, easy to navigate, and more aesthetically pleasing then most of the big box relator sites. And when it comes to the actually home purchase he will work with you through the whole home buying process... Not just showing a home and closing on it. For the BEST service, go to Ron Pifkin Realty. You won't be disappointed

My husband and I just bought our first home and have nothing but nice things to say about Bo West…read more Prior to using Bo, the realtor we were working with was very pushy and did not have our best interest at heart. Bo, on the other hand bent over backwards to accomodate our hectic work schedules and to meet us on the days that worked for us to see homes. Not only was Bo friendly, he is also very knowledgable of the current market and gave us great tips and things to think about. Bo was involved in every portion of us buying the home and even would check in while we were waiting to close just to see if we had any questions. If you are looking for an outstanding realtor who works for you, I would highly recommend Bo West.

Israel Ballesteros, a real estate agent with Remax Horizon in Elgin, IL was extremely difficult to…read morework with. After days of "working the numbers" his buyer placed an offer on our property which we promptly countered, but Mr. Ballesteros was very unprofessional during attempted negotiations by ignoring numerous messages. He was totally non-responsive to our agent for several days at a time. Meanwhile, we suspect there was also an offer placed on another property(s) since the buyer's own home would now be closing in two weeks, and although we had agreed to the terms, the one in hand was suddenly withdrawn because: "Something came up that they have their eyes on." It is highly questionable that an entirely new transaction could be completed in such a short time frame. . Placing an undisclosed second offer while ours was still in play is highly unethical. Pursuant to the Realtors Code of Ethics his actions appear to be in violation of its basic premise "to treat all parties honestly." Minimally, Mr. Ballesteros should review the Code of Ethics and attend a communications seminar. We reached out to both his manager and the owner of Remax Horizon with our concerns, but received no response from either of them. We would NOT recommend Israel Ballesteros or any interaction with Remax Horizon in Elgin, IL when there are so many agents and realtors out there with excellent communication skills, and certainly, higher standards of professionalism.

My wife and I bought our home in Carpentersville in 2003, and moved out of the area 10 years later…read more We decided to keep the home and it earned some rental income for about 10 more years. When we decided to sell it, we called Bill at Five Star Realty and we are glad we did. Some challenges came up and he was very helpful in solving small problems that came up along the way. We are very satisfied with Bill and Five Star Realty and recommend their services to other homeowners and prospective home owners.

Company did a great job showing me my new rental. Very…read moreresponsive to all questions. Took alot pictures before I moved in during walk thru. Highly recommend.

Jerry Kopacz is by far the best Realtor we have ever countered. We have bought and sold 4 homes and…read morea commercial building. Of the Realtors we have encountered, he is the most honest, knowledgeable and respectful Realtor we have ever had the pleasure to work with. Jerry seems to know so much regarding rules, regulations, procedures and complete workings of homes etc. Jerry is more than a Realtor. He puts is mind, heart and sole into his career and it shows. He will not only be the best Realtor you work with... he becomes a friend. Sincerely one of the best people my wife and I ever had the pleasure to meet!

We would recommend Ken Bruderle to anyone thinking about selling their home. Hands down Ken is a…read moretrue professional! His vast knowledge and experience helped us sell our home for more than we expected to receive, with no inconvenience to us. Please consider Ken Bruderle if you are in the market to sell your home...you won't be disappointed!

When it came time to buy our next home, we my wife and I tried several realtors in the Elgin area,…read morebut it seemed like we were spinning our wheels. We were clear on what we were looking for with a good amount of flexibility, yet we felt like we were just not being taken seriously. It was a Sunday, I wrote an email to Ken and the very next morning I received a call from Ken. The tone was completely different on the phone and I could tell here was a realtor who was wanting to work with and for us. By that afternoon I was sent over a number of listings that were more in line of what we were looking for. I took a liking to one particular home, when my wife came home she picked out the same house. Ken gave us a follow up call later that evening and said he could arrange a viewing that night if we wanted. We found the perfect home, more than we expected. Several other people were bidding on this home. Ken convinced the listing realtor we would be a good bet for the sellers, and the sellers accepted our offer which was a bit lower than some. Apparently, the sellers had another offer at one time which fell through. Since both my wife and I are self-employed financing is much more securitized and we had more hurdles to jump through than in previous homes I had purchased when I was an employee. Ken kept the seller's realtor informed all the way and both us and the sellers were very satisfied. I truly believe that the sellers realtor if not for Ken would have advised the sellers to accept the higher offer. Additionally, I convinced my brother to list his home with Ken, OMG the hurdles Ken jumped through for my brother were amassing. It would take a novel to explain it here. Truly, if you ae looking for a extremely knowledgeable hard working realtor I HIGHLY recommend Ken! You will not be disappointed. Mike and Romy Plato Township, IL (Elgin)