Selling
I've bought, rehabbed, staged, and sold Chicago property for twenty years, including my own. Single-family in the suburbs or a 4-flat with tenants in place, the job is the same: tell you the truth about your number, present it right, and get you to the closing table clean.
Send the address and a line or two. You hear back, usually within a business day, to set a time to see it. Nobody else gets your number.
Where it starts
Every seller I've worked with had a different reason for moving. A new baby, a new job, a building that became more work than it's worth, a chapter that ended. What you should do with your property depends on where you're headed, so that's where we start. Tell me what you're trying to make happen. If selling gets you there, I'll show you exactly how I'd do it. If it doesn't, I'll say so. Either way, you'll leave that conversation knowing more than you walked in with.
Your number
The list price is a starting price, not the number you end up with. Start too high and you chase the market down. Start too low and you leave money on the table. Neither one is hard to avoid, because every sale near you is public record, and I read those records for a living. I look at what sold near you in the last year, walk through your place, and show you which sales I would compare it to and why. You see the number and how I got there. Then we talk about when to list. By the time we list, I usually know whether the place will get offers the first weekend, and I'll tell you either way. If it won't, we set the price and the date for a longer sale and say so up front.
How I sell
The most expensive mistake in selling is starting too high and chasing the market down. I'll show you the comps I'd use and why, so the number is one you understand, not one you take on faith.
Most sellers spend money on the wrong things getting ready. I'll walk your property and give you the short list that actually changes your price, and what to skip. Then photos, a floor plan, and a listing date we pick together around your tenants' notice periods and the season.
You will never be pressured into taking an offer. When a lowball or an inspection report lands, I'll tell you what's standard, what's negotiable, and what I'd do if it were mine.
Selling a building
Yes, you can sell with tenants in place. The leases go with the building, and a lot of buyers want exactly that: a building with rent already coming in. Buyers ask for four things, and I help you put them together after we talk, not before: the leases (or a one-page summary if it's month to month on a handshake), what each unit pays, who pays which utilities, and the last year of costs. You don't need any of it to reach out.
Whether to sell occupied or vacant depends on the rents. Rents at market make an occupied building easier to sell. Rents far below market are harder, because a buyer usually prices the building on today's rents, not on what the units could get. Then there are two paths: sell occupied at that number, or wait out the leases and sell empty. I show you what each one leaves you, after the lost rent and the notice periods, so you can choose.
Two kinds of buyers want a Chicago 2-flat: investors, who want your tenants to stay, and people who plan to live in one unit, who need that unit empty by closing. Which one your building suits depends on the leases, and that is part of the timing talk.
One thing to know early. In Chicago a landlord has to give written notice before a lease ends or the rent goes up: 30, 60 or 120 days, depending on how long the tenant has lived there. That applies even if you live in the building. A few blocks near Jackson Park have longer periods. So the calendar matters, and we look at it before we pick a date.
A lot of Chicago 2-flats come up for sale for one of a few reasons. A family owned it for years and the kids never wanted to be landlords. The owner bought it decades ago, lives in Florida now, and kept the rent low so the tenants never call. A newer landlord bought it with the tenants that came with it, never raised the rent, and is ready to move on. Or someone has lived upstairs for twenty years, is done being the landlord downstairs, and wants to know what the building is worth before deciding anything. All of them sell. What differs is what has to happen first: paperwork from the estate, a lease calendar, or a talk with your tenants.
Staging, photography, and launch timing tuned to your block, not a template. I prep the house for its optimal price and manage every showing, so the only decision left on your plate is which offer.
Tenant-occupied units and rent rolls don't scare me. That's my specialty. I market 2-4 units to both investor buyers and people who will live in one unit, so your building gets both kinds of buyer. I'll tell you whether to sell occupied or vacant, and what each path nets you.
Reviews
"Dan was more than a real estate agent for me. My condo sold quickly, and I found the single-family home I had always wanted."
K. S. · sold her condo of 10+ years · ★★★★★ Zillow"He helped us sell our house and buy the new perfect home for my family, and made sure we got the best deal possible, to the dollar."
M. N. · sold and bought · ★★★★★ Zillow"My wife and I had an absolutely wonderful experience with Dan. He helped us sell our house and buy the new perfect home, and made sure we got the best deal possible."
marionavarro9830 · sold and bought their single-family home · ★★★★★ Zillow"Dan is amazing and I can't recommend him enough! He goes above and beyond for his clients. His knowledge of real estate and my neighborhood is outstanding."
sfthackston · sold their single-family home in Bowmanville · ★★★★★ ZillowSkin in the game
I didn't learn this business from a course. I've bought Chicago buildings with my own money, taken the tenant calls, stood in the permit lines, and sat at the closing tables. Twenty years of it. So when I tell you what your property is worth, it's the same math I run before I buy anything myself.
Been here before?
If you bought or sold with me before, you know how this works. Reach out and we pick up where we left off. Telling you what your place is worth is my favorite part of this job.
Thinking about selling, now or in a year?
