Pickard Group-REMAX Suburban

I can't speak highly enough of Ron Pickard. He was patient and kind and spent a lot of time with me. I sold a small townhouse in Tahoe Village in Wheeling. He wasn't going to make a huge amount of money on this sale, yet he was always diligent and attentive. Ron came to my home in October. He spent 2 hours with me carefully explaining the ins and outs of selling a property since this was my first time doing so. We walked though the house and I got a list of things I needed to do to get the house ready to list. I took my time cleaning out and sorting things and at last in February I was ready to let Ron give his approval. He gave it a thumbs up and said, "I'm coming to take pictures tomorrow!" He took over 20 wonderful photos. The online listing and the brochure they made were polished and professional and showed my home at its best! His advice on staging was practical and wise. We got showings immediately, 2 offers in 4 days and a contract signed in 5. Ron did extra things to the process run smoothly. When the buyers requested a plumbing repair, he said he had a good, reasonably priced person; he let the plumber in and took care of everything, so I didn't have to make phone calls or take off work. When a piece of my front door threshold got bent, he came over and fixed it. He always answered my calls and emails cheerfully and immediately. Ron Pickard is an excellent realtor and a wonderful person to work with. I highly highly recommend him.

Ron and The Pickard Group are professionals and a pleasure to work with. My wife and I were very tentative going back into the real estate market following our first purchase which did not go well. From the beginning Ron guided us expertly through the process. At every point in these transactions (buying our home and renting the old) Ron provided solid guidance. He was especially helpful while searching for homes. He was honest about the properties we were looking at. He has good taste and is very knowledgeable which is helpful when you are not quite certain what you want in a house. For our rental, the group quickly secured a top notch tenant. I will not take part in another real estate transaction without The Pickard Group.

We were about to move out of state on short notice when we first met with Ron. He helped us decide how to prepare the house for sale and even helped with tile shopping. After we moved, Ron dealt with issues that came up with the house, including giving the meter reader access for the final reading prior to closing. Ron also turns the art of pricing into a science. He compared specific features of our home to recent comparable sales and to similar homes still on the market in our neighborhood. Not all agents we met take such a detailed and local approach to home pricing, and Ron's pricing turned out to be just right. His knowledge of ongoing changes in the market was critical to our successful home sale. Even if the market had not been as good at the time, we would have trusted Ron to find the best approach for selling our home because his methods showed a deep understanding of buyers and the selling process. The Pickard Group's online marketing and paperwork skills are up to date and Ron is easy to work with remotely by email and phone. I've saved the best for last, though: I believe you will not find a kinder or more level-headed agent in this field. Ron's calm demeanor and patience made the selling experience much more pleasant than I could have imagined. Now I just have to figure out how to get him to move to our new town so we can use him again.

Ron made sure we avoided all the pitfalls that first time landlords make. Money well spent! Ron works at your pace, not his pace. I highly recommend his services to anybody.

After our father died, we had to sell his home. We knew it would be more of a challenge since none of us lived near the home. When we contacted Ron Pickard, he met us out at the home, did a thorough walkthru of the house, went through the things that he recommended be fixed or polished up prior to putting it on the market, and then volunteered to coordinate all of the improvements and repairs for us! He gave us the option of finding our own repair people or using his; we did get some bids, but we ended up going with his people since their bids were lower and we knew he'd be standing behind them. Once we agreed on a bid and the work to be done, Ron coordinated all the work, and it was done quickly and with high quality. We were concerned that the home might take some time to sell, since we were listing it during the slow season, but the very first day it was on the market we received multiple offers, and ended up successfully selling it for over the listing price! Ron's recommendations for paint colors and other improvements were excellent; we followed them all, and we are quite sure that these recommendations and the professionalism demonstrated by Ron throughout the process were the factors that went into such a successful, profitable, quick sale. We've bought and sold many homes over the years, and he was by far the best realtor we've ever worked with.

We had quite a few realtors referred to us on our quest for a new home this year but I ultimately decided to use Angie's list as well as a top 20 realtors list in the area I had seen on another site. I thank my lucky stars I did, and that both lead me to Sue Pickard as she was wonderful. I know based on her listings the price range we were looking within was no where near many of her other clients, but you would never know that working with her. We consistently felt we had her undivided attention and when we were ready to see a home she was always quick to act. This is especially noteworthy given we were extremely picky and probably saw around fifty homes (and went through 3 offers) before ultimately closing on our new home. Sue stuck in there the whole time, always patient and just wonderful to work with. By the end of all this I consider her a great friend based on how caring and helpful she was throughout the process. We've definitely found our realtor for life!

I couldn't say enough wonderful things about Ron. He spent time getting to know my husband and I for a couple hours in our initial meeting and then was hard at work setting up a specific home search. His knowledge of what to look for in a home was great. Looking for a home on a time limit is stressful enough, but doing it with a six month old only compounds the urgency and need to look for specific things that would fit our family. It was wonderful having Ron as someone who was dependable. We knew he would be there when we had questions or just that simple need for some guidance in a process that was new to both of us. It was like having a member of your family looking our for your best interests. It wasn't just about "making a sale" but a true genuine concern for what was best for our future and life goals in a home. We can't thank him enough for all his help, jokes and candid ability to make a difficult process so much easier. Many sincere thanks and if you are looking for a home anywhere in the Chicago area please call them! Thanks, Sarah and Kevin Z.

Very professional. Prompt with returning calls.

Sue and her team were very professional and extremely patient with us. It took 4 1/2 months to find the best home, and through it all Sue never gave up on us. She was always good spirited, prompt at each showing, and helpful in seeing the pluses and negatives of each home we visited. Sue also knows the real estate business inside out, and could allay all my fears when the road was bumpy. Best real estate agent I've ever used.

Ron served me in a truly excellent manner, as my realtor. From the beginning of my home buying experience to the end, he guided a novice like me expertly through the entire process. He is intelligent, astute, helpful, easy to get along with, honest, and is truly an expert in the field!!!! He is on time always, prompt in his replies to queries, and does not seem bothered in the least by some of my more "stupd" questions! What more can I say, except I that am 100% sure that I have met my realtor "for life"!!!

II felt she was extremely professional and gave me a lot of attention and ideas on how to handle the sale of my home. I might not use her because of how I am going to end up selling my home.

Prior to purchasing the townhouse, I contacted Ron and asked if he would be interested in helping me determine the fair market value of the property and, in return, I would give him the listing for the sale after I had renovated the property. Not only did he prepare a thorough competitive market analysis for me, he offered to advise me on the most cost efficient upgrades in order to maximize the value to a new buyer. His recommendations allowed me to prioritize the investment dollars needed to make the townhouse more marketable. When the unit finally was listed in the MLS, the response was incredible and I had 7 bids within 3 days and the winning bid was significantly above my asking price. Because the local market had been so depressed in the year prior to the listing, Ron met with the buyer?s bank?s appraiser when he inspected the property, to point out the upgrades that had been made to differentiate the selling price from other recent sales and to show him the invoices supporting the costs incurred. I believe that was instrumental in the appraisal report indicating that the contract price was in line with the market value of the unit.

Ron did a really good job to sell my house. I need to sell my house remotely as I don't live in IL. I found Ron on angies list and zillow. Talked to him and several other seller agents. Asked them to take a look of my house and give me some estimate and comments. Ron came up with a really detailed comments about what should be done for each room and also a good estimate of the selling price. I decided to hire him and then the whole process became worry free. He took care of all the fixes/painting/cleaning for me. After the work, the whole house looks much more attractive. He also took wonderful photos to show my house. We got a lot of visits on the first week after the listing and got 2 offers quickly after that. Ron negotiated a good price for me and we accepted the offer. After that, Ron and the lawyer took care of all the other works for us: all documents, fixes from inspection report and closing. He even went to pay the city transfer tax for me as I am not there. All I need to do is sign all the documents at home and send them back. I never expect that selling a house remotely can be so easy. I cannot finish all of these without Ron. I highly recommend him to anyone who need to sell a house. I will definitely hire him again if I have another house to sell.

Everything went great. Ron was very helpful every step of the way. (He was our buyers agent in first purchasing the property.) In preparing to rent the property, Ron advised on what to change/upgrade before listing as well as providing referrals who could help with much of the work. Once we were ready, he handled the photos and listing; he helped us evaluate potential tenants; and he did the credit/background checks for us before we finalized the deal. We are very happy with the result and got a great tenant. We would definitely use this service again (This was the second time; there is also a third time already, but I was a little slow in writing this review).

Everything went great. Ron was very helpful every step of the way. He helped us sort through what we were looking for and our goals in the purchase, then set up an automated search to help locate properties that would interest us. As we chose what to see, he helped advise us on narrowing our search. Once we found a place we liked, he submitted the offer and helped us through the negotiation. No complaints. Would definitely use this services again (we've actually used them 3 times now, but I am slow in writing the reviews).

Everything went great. Ron was very helpful every step of the way. This was our second purchase through Pickard Group. Our criteria changed a bit, but Ron worked with us to make sure he understood what we wanted and set up an appropriate automated search to help locate properties that would interest us. He helped us monitor the market, evaluate the properties that interested us and consider our options. No complaints. Would definitely use this service again (we've used them 3 times now, and probably will again soon).

After researching real estate agents here on Angie's List, I was struck by the positive reviews for the Pickard group so reached out via email to schedule an appointment for Saturday, March 16th at a home in Naperville. I was to meet the realtor, David Pickard there. I arrived first, followed closely behind by David. I didn?t take notice but my sister, who was with me, later noted that his attire consisted of- jeans, tennis shoes and a hooded sweatshirt. Not the most professional? We looked at the first property, which I liked a lot, then went over to the second property which did not meet my criteria at all. At that time, David indicated I should look at several more properties and we decided to meet up again the following weekend to make a day of it. What struck me at that point was that he had two business cards and didn?t seem to be a full-time realtor but had a couple of other side projects that kept him quite busy. It definitely put my radar up that I couldn?t quite get a handle on whether or not real estate was his side gig or if it was full time. I?m actually still not quite sure? Now this is where the real trouble begins. I had contacted David by email a couple of times during the following week and then called, I believe, on Thursday finally to find out the details of our meeting that Saturday. By FRIDAY, the day before, at 5 I was livid since I had not heard a peep from this guy. At that point, I was venting to a colleague and she mentioned that I should contact her realtor who she had a wonderful experience with. That night at approximately 6pm, I reached out to the referred realtor and wouldn?t you know it, I heard back from her BEFORE David confirmed our appointment the FOLLOWING DAY. This guy not only had the NERVE to confirm with me at 8:30 p.m. the night before, but then responded to my email cancellation wanting an explanation. Really? if I have to explain the problem, there is so much more wrong with this picture than I ever dreamed. I?m so happy I found out what kind of person I was dealing with BEFORE the stressful negotiation process. I?ve had such a positive experience with my new realtor, who sat down with me before we ever even went out looking to explain the process, answer my questions and really to find out what my goals are for a new home. I would not recommend this company, specifically this realtor, to anyone looking for a new home, especially a first-time home buyer.

Our experience has been very good. We have been working with Ron although we saw Sue too, he was really upfront and clear about where things were in terms of market. He told us we might want to stay off the market for a week and wait to see how it would go and it has been shooting up locally, so that worked for us. In terms of work having to be done to the house before it was sold, was all very clear. We got an offer out of the first two showings. They are fairly priced; we just didn’t need them as much as we thought we would. We sold quickly and they were very clear about what had to happen. They were quick about getting back to us and they were not hard to reach out to. There was one single problem and that was immediately taken care of, it was like wow. It is not the question of how it goes the first time but it is how fast you fix it when something comes up and that was impressive. They were the most professional people I have ever dealt with; there was no snowing going on at all. It was a straight market analysis and how they did all of that was very clear, and was incredible impressive. They were really upfront about what steps they would take before putting it on market. They were the highest ranked in Angie’s List, locally, which is why I chose them, and they were by far the best out of the ones we have used in the past.

Great experience, and I would contact their office again for a future sale/rental.

I contacted them. They responded quickly. I detailed exactly what we wanted and they provided. It was a brief transaction but well worth it as they guided us into the correct decision to not sell.

Ron and Sue Pickard were the miracle we had been waiting for. My wife and I started looking for our first home last year. The first real-estate agent we used was not working out well so we began our search for someone else. After a few "interviews" we finally met Ron (we had heard about him through Angie's List - THANKS!). Ron was the answer we had been waiting for. His knowledge, expertise, and professionalism were above and beyond what we expected. He would change plans on a dime for us if needed and would frequently go out of his way to help us find the perfect house. The experience with Sue, his wife, was equally as wonderful. This is a great team and I would trust them over and over again in this process! Most importantly I felt comfortable with Ron and Sue and trusted them completely. We recently closed on our new home and couldn't be happier. They gave us a wonderful gift basket in celebration and even sent us some great coupons and gift cards to use at the local hardware store. Have no doubts....The Pickard Group is the way to go!

Ron was the best! From the start to finish, the most kindest, professional and patient agent I could have worked with. He educated me on the home buying process, and showed me what I could afford and closed the deal on a perfect place at the right price!

Ron is very knowledgable about the locality and the home buying process, and this was a key for us being first time buyers. Ron helped us to have a balanced view on the entire process, and the houses that we picked, patiently explaning the pros and cons of the houses we looked at. Ron was always present throught the entire process. And the most wonderful part was the service we got even after we had decided on the house, and the purchase was closed. We still reach out to Ron when we have questions, and he is always prompt to respond.

We found Susan and Ron via Angie's List. From start to finish; Susan was just amazing. She showed us many houses/ townhouses within our range and area we were looking. Every day we recieved email notifications of new houses that met our criteria..... This is a tremendous feature they offer and it really made finding our house more fun and much easier! Susan was ALWAYS professional; funny and courteous. Once we made an offer; she assisted with knowledge and experience regarding the whole process; and held our hands through the days we were on pins and needles. (We closed in an extremely short time; and this was cumbersome because the time constraints were very tight)..... Whenever I was freaking out; she was there and was able to calm us down...... On the day of closing; the washer and dryer that were supposed to be included were GONE. Once again; she stepped up to the plate and we were able to save the deal...... We were able to find a great house! It needs work; but most houses do...... Susan and Ron went the extra mile throughout the whole time and when/if we move again; I would not want to have anyone except them as our realtor..... Thanks again for EVERYTHING!!!!!

It went very well. She did an excellent job. She didn't charge us. If we decide to sell our condo, we will use her again.