Craig Easly - @properties

I contacted Craig based on a friend's recommendation, though she had used him to buy a home rather than sell one. Immediately, I was impressed by his enthusiasm and passion for his profession, plus his friendly and charming personality. He was knowledgeable from the get-go with regard to the neighborhood market, and I appreciated his honesty when evaluating my condo's value and what he believed was necessary to create an ideal first impression. Not much needed to be done because I had basically completely remodeled and updated my condo upon buying it, and I kept it very clean. But I have to say that his minor recommendations, which involved, for my condo, mainly rearranging furniture and adding lights and color, greatly improved the flow and look of my home. I regret that I hadn't applied his changes years before. In short, listen to what he says, because he knows what he's talking about when it comes to interior design. One thing though - he strongly suggested that I purchase lighting from the higher-end local stores, and while I'm sure these lamps would've looked great in my place, I was able to find cheaper options that significantly improved the look probably just as well. I always felt in control during the entire home-selling process, particularly when it came to the list price. I'l admit that I was a bit ambitious with what I thought I could get for my condo, but he agreed to list it higher than what he suggested, without hesitation (granted, we weren't that, far apart). And, he was never pushy or eager to just make a quick sale and move on; he put my wishes first. He treated me like a person, not just a potential sale. I had a steady flow of traffic through my home, and while I wish there was more, I blame the market and neighborhood, not Craig's efforts; my place was listed everywhere, and he constantly pushed it upon potential buyers. I eventually agreed to a sales price a bit lower than what I was hoping for (but still higher than I bought it for, which most people nowadays would be happy with). While I was disappointed at the time, looking back, I'm happy I got out when I did; the market over there doesn't seem to have improved all that much, and now I'm sure I most likely couldn't have gotten a better price if I hired someone other than Craig. It's one thing to recommended his services to you strangers reading this, but just so you know, I had recommended him to a friend of mine as well. She even proceeded to continue use him to buy a new home after she had used him to sell hers.

Craig is very responsive and made the whole process as simple as possible. I'm positive that quality of the listing that Craig put together is what sold our condo in 3 days. He assisted in choosing paint colors and staging the property in a way that we would not have done on our own. Craig is a true professional.

I would highly recommend calling Craig Easly (@ Properties) when purchasing or selling your home. My wife and I couldn't be happier from our experience with him selling our home in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Craig is highly skilled and amazingly insightful at a wearing all of the hats associated with such an important decision/transaction. Whether it be brochure development, marketing, home staging, negotiation support and even great recommendations of associated service providers (attorney, mortgage, repair, etc.), Craig will be your trusted partner. Of particular note is Craig's urgency in communication and diligence throughout the entire process. Give him a call- you will be very glad you did!

We were selling our condo unit at the same time as two building neighbors (of our eight unit building) were also on the market. After interviewing several realtors, we selected Craig because he presented fresh staging ideas and we were attracted to his personality (earnest - yet energetic + someone we wanted to spend time with over the next month). Craig walked through every room in our home offering staging ideas and suggestions. When we finished making these small changes, our home looked better than it had ever looked before. Six weeks later, we accepted an offer that was $10k more than both of the other two units sold for! The staging Craig suggested and his connections throughout the neighborhood/real estate industry made all the difference. We would highly recommend Craig to anyone in on the North Side of Chicago.

Contacted Craig from his Angie's List ratings and selected him after a phone conversation about the area and his expertise. He worked with me over several weeks to find and purchase a condo in Lincoln Square. Responsive and friendly throughout even at a time that the real estate market was heating up and most everyone in it was overwhelmed and unable to keep up. Suggested and brought with him a team of providers (mortgage, legal) he recommended who took me through the buying process smoothly other than a few hiccups here and there. Cost says $0 only because in theory the seller paid his commission rather than I.

We met Craig completely randomly while searching properties on the internet. We met in person, liked Craig immediately and began our search together. The results of Craig's efforts are we found the perfect home at a fantastic price. We have been moved in for several months now and cant even believe we bought our home for the price we paid. Craig was very patient and focused on our needs. He never pushed us toward a sale. He continually questioned what we liked and didn't like on each of the dozens of properties shown until we collectively found the perfect home at the perfect price. I am convinced no one else could not have come close to achieving our level of satisfaction that we now have. Thanks Craig!

Craig provided superior knowledge in assisting in preparation and execution of my residence. Promptness in informing me of each showing as well as the needed feedback. His real estate resources are exceptional. The outcome was very gratifying.

My experience with Craig Easly was not as great as the experience that some other users of Angie's List have had. I found Craig on Angie's List and reached out to him regarding selling my condo in Southport corridor. Craig seemed excited at first. He took down my address and promised to call me after he had done some market analysis. After he did not call me at the scheduled time, I called him. He set another time for the call. During this subsequent call, Craig had lost all excitement and seemed rather pessimistic about the sale. I had bought my condo in 2007 for $260,000. He suggested that a realistic price would be around $170-$180k. I knew that the prices had fallen but I also knew that they were were recovering. The price that Craig suggested was just unrealistic. For that price, I don't need to hire a realtor, I could just sell it by placing a sale sign outside my window. By the time we ended this call, I was devastated about prices and Craig did not give any indication that he wanted to be my realtor. I found another realtor on Angie's List. After our initial call, she met with me armed with all the details. She also had done her own market analysis and suggested a sale price of $239,000. She seemed reassuring and confident. Within a week of the property going on the market, we had an offer and the property eventually closed for $233,000. So how did Craig get it so wrong - from his predicted sale price $170k to the actual sale price of $233k? Was he just incompetent in the Lakeview real estate market? I doubt it. What I think really happened is that Craig knew that the property could sell for around $240k but he did not think it was worth his time and effort to work on this relatively low end market. I would have respected him much more, however, if he had been honest with me by saying that the property was below the threshold that he typically works for rather than devalue my property. Judging by others' reviews of him, I'm sure he could be a great realtor. I just did not have a good experience with him.

We really appreciated the way Craig handled the whole selling process. He met with us at the outset and explained everything and, in particular, what he would be doing to market our property. We had met with one other real estate company and they wanted to list our property for $95,000 less than our eventual sales price! We listed our property with Craig for $140,000 more, reduced the price by $25,000 after 30 days and had an offer for 91.5% of our ORIGINAL list price within 60 days... a full $95,000 more than the recommended LIST price of the other broker. Craig was very helpful throughout the entire process. He dealt with our tenants (not an easy task) and kept us informed of the results of showings. There were approximately 30-40 showings within the first 60 days. The marketing materials that were prepared put the very best "light" on our property and we were very impressed with everything that was done to market the place. When we finally had an offer, some issues with the electrical system were brought up by the buyer after the inspection. Craig immediately brought in an electrician to prepare an alternate quote to address the electrical issues and we were able to use this as leverage to negotiate a reduced credit to the buyer for the needed electrical work. We are very happy that we found Craig Easlyon Angie's List. He is a professional who knows his business. He helped to make a difficult process relatively painless and we would recommend him to anyone looking to sell property in Chicago.

Great, nothing to add other than he did everything we asked of him and more.

It was very educational. The advice was very much appreciated. I now understand what needs to be done to ensure an optimal sale price. Craig also made himself available if there were any questions. Update: See above for details.

We identified Craig via Angie's List. We had interest in possibly moving into a larger place in the same area we are in now. Craig was great. Very responsive and knows the Lakeview market very well. We met a few times and then spent a weekend looking at potential new homes. He was great an listening to what we wanted and having a list of properties that aligned with what we were looking for. So much so that we found a place we fell in love with and made an offer a few days later. The process for the new house went great really without a hitch. At the same time he advised us on what we needed to do to make our current house more marketable. We spent a few weeks in getting ready, listed our place and in the first weekend had over a dozen showings. That led to four offers two of which were above our asking price. Obviously we were thrilled. The process on selling our old house went very well also. Really enjoyed working with Craig. Glad we found him here and would easily recommend him to others.

We met with Craig in October and he gave us honest advice that it might be better to wait until early 2013 to list our house. This shows his truly honest approach with his clients' best interest in mind. We met again in January and Craig had prepared comparables and provided his recommended list price. Craig was in constant contact and when we were ready to list our condo, he provided consultation on how to best stage our house. He then had a professional photographer take amazing pictures of our home and within 24 hours, our house was on every real estate website you can think of. The marketing of our home was extraordinary. We were out of town the weekend we listed, and Craig had 15+ showings within 72 hours of listing. Our condo was listed on Friday and we had 4 offers by Sunday. We accepted an offer that Tuesday...our house had sold within 4 days of listing at 99% of the asking price! Craig was extremely thorough in communicating all the way through the closing and even brought us a housewarming gift for our new home. Craig truly works with his clients' best interest in mind. I would recommend his strongly to anyone looking to sell their home in Chicago. The process was seemless!

Craig is truly a real-estate professional. He is prompt, patient, courteous and very knowledgable of the area. We were looking for an investement property in Chicago and he was there with us in all our steps-- from property hunting to closing. We strongly recommend Craig and will definetly go back to him for all our real-estate needs.

Working with Craig has been a terrific experience. Craig is not only very knowledgeable about the real estate market, professional, always on time, but also very pleasant to work with. As a first time buyer, there were many times when I felt overwhelmed and frustrated, and it was great to have Craig by my side as he knew all the right questions to ask about the property to make sure I don't overlook important things without pushing me any particular direction and letting me make my own decision. He took as much time as needed to work with me to make sure I have the best deal and I am completely satisfied with my decision. At the end, I got amazing property at a great price. I have already recommended Craig to my coworker who is also a first time buyer and my friend who is an experienced real estate investor. And I am looking forward to working with Craig again in the future

Why you should consider Craig Easly as your real estate advisor / consultant. He first informed us about his 5 ease steps to prepare us for the sale of our home. At first I was skeptical , but once he laid them out it made very good sense. After initial meeting and evaluating our home, we implemented his suggestions and prepared our house for sale. Do not get me wrong, not all the suggestions were ease to swallow nor at first was I prepared to follow through. In fact the most difficult process and challenge was when he said we needed to start packing our things. This was the hardest step of all to endure since I was not prepared to pack nor start to store my belongings. It was hard enough to come to grips that I was selling my home which my family have lived in for over nine years. Craig was adamant about this step and gave us two weeks to get ready. After some resistance, I got on board and followed Craig's suggestions; which in the end were extremely helpful. The steps allowed us to get into the proper mind set to sell our home, and provided the ground work and guidance to develop a routine. In addition, Craig's knowledge of the market and insight made the entire experience less stressful. We could rely on Craig to offer his expertise on whether to maintain price or make adjustments depending on the situation. Throughout the process Craig continued to gain our confidence and trust ; which made it very ease to just allow him to do his job. The end result, is we sold our home in less than 5 months, in a very challenging and tough market. If you need to sell your home and get the results that exceed expectations, I highly recommend and strongly encourage you contact Craig Easly.

Craig was a pleasure to work with. He was always calm and collected, responsive and very knowledgeable about the current real estate market, generating snap shots of the market activity frequently. He had a number of sources who were helpful in staging or addressing repairs and a moments notice. Overall we were very satisfied with our experience with Craig, and would definitely recommend him.

Overall, our experience was great. We sold our place, which was key. Craig was in many ways the best type of person to help us navigate this market. He pushed us to prioritize: What was important? Selling the place? Selling it for a profit? Selling it for a certain dollar amount? We determined it was most important for us to sell the place at a reasonable price and move on (regardless of the profit). We had been carrying the property for 9 months after moving out. Is that ideal? No. Is that a reflection of Craigs efforts? Absolutely not!!! He marketed our place tirelessly. In the end, as sellers, we need to be realistic about what's available. The market was saturated with condos, so we had to face some harsh realities about pricing our place lower versus holding on to our place and trying to rent it, etc. Even saying this, Craig encouraged us not to undervalue our place, just because we were getting frustrated at the initial lack of interest. He gave us great advice throughout.He got foot traffic in when no one was looking anywhere in Chicago for a new house. He used his large and ever-growing network of contacts to get the word out about the properties he was selling. One feels as if he is receiving a high quality experience during what is typically a stressful and worrisome time in life. Selling a place during a bad economy is not easy. We had to carry the expense of two places (the place we lived in and the place we were selling) in order to do it. Craig never once made us feel like he would not be able to do it. You need that kind of confidence in a realtor as you won't find it in yourself. More importantly, you need your realtor to back up his talk with action -- Craig did this at every turn.Chicagoans, if you want a realtor who is knowledgeable, charming, tough and understanding, look no further than Craig Easly. He will help you determine what you want, and he will go out and find it.

We found Craig on Angie's List in the fall of 2011 when we considered putting our condo on the market. He met with us and explained the current market and at what level we might expect to sell. We decided to postpone the sale until the following spring and Craig continued to keep us informed on market conditions. When we were ready to sell he walked us through the process step by step and discussed realistic expectations. The conversation about what a seller can expect in terms of pricing is usually difficult and we were no different. Craig stayed calmed and let us process the information making us more and more comfortable. He also had solid recommendations on how to stage and decorate our place. Even though we weren't keen on spending more money on the place, in the end it definitely paid off. We sold at 95% of asking and had an easy close. Craig also represented us on the concurrent purchase of our new home. It was during this part of our relationship with Craig that we knew we would recommend him to anyone looking to buy real estate. His advice was solid and honest, which became more apparent with each house we saw. He occupied the seller's agent so we could freely walk around and brought them back around when we had questions. Craig was able to speak to the positives of the home and the ease or difficulty of fixing things that weren't exactly where we wanted them. Our eventual compromises were on the more trivial items on our list and ended up with a home we love and have no regrets - emotionally or from an investment standpoint. We wouldn't have made it without him. Overall, we appreciated Craig's honest, straightforward and knowledgeable approach to both the selling and purchasing process. He was always accessible and on time. Craig had a unique ability to get us thinking along the right path without being condescending or over bearing - letting us get there on our own when we were ready and truly knowing we were making the right decisions for us.

We recently purchased a condo in Chicago and found Craig on Angie’s List. He was flexible to set up times to visit properties and always reachable, which is very important to us. From the beginning he understood what we were looking for and the search became even more targeted as we learned more about the market and our wishes. He also put us in touch with a strong team, including a responsive loan broker and attorney. Overall it was a good experience and we definitely recommend him.

Craig walked me through the process of selling my condo with a great deal of professionalism and patients. He took the time to explain every detail and stuck with the process in an extremely difficult real estate market. He was especially helpful in assiting me with preparing my property for sale and respoding to all of my quetions regarding the sale process. He was always available to answer any of my questions or concerns at any time of the day or evening and was always flexable in setting up appointments. I doubt very much that I would have been able to sell this property in this buyerwithout his professional help and I would definitely recommend him to anyone trying to sell their home.

At our initial meeting, Craig provided a thorough analysis of the current real estate market for my neighborhood and specifically my condo. I was impressed with his overall knowledge and felt that if I was going to list my house, I had accurate and complete information to be able to come up with an individualized plan. Although I chose not to list my condo at this time, I would hire Craig if I needed an agent in the future.

I was in the process of listing my home for sale and needed a real estate agent. I've used Angie's list for other contractors and thought I would use to find a real estate agent. Before signing a contract with a real estate agent, I hired an independent appraiser to appraise my home before listing on the market. I wanted to ensure my home was priced at current market conditions. I called Craig and we met to discuss his services and how he would market and sell my home. Craig provided advise on staging my home, so it would be more attractive to buyers and thus sell quicker. I asked his opinion on what should be the listing price of my property, without disclosing the appraised value. Craig was very close to the appraised value and his reasoning and provided statistics on why he would list at the price he suggested. We listed my condo in April, 2011, I had a lot of showings but no offers. Craig continued to communicate the feedback he was hearing from prospective buyers and provide his advise in order to sell my house. I was motivated to sell my house and based upon feedback I received from potential buyers and my urgency of selling my home, I decided to reduce my listing price. Within two weeks of reducing my price, I had three offers, Craig helped me along the way and I accepted the highest offer. Craig committed to getting multiple offers on my home when I hired him, so I could leverage during negotiation and achieve the highest price. He lived up to his commitment. I am very happy with the price I received for my home, I wish I could have received more, but I believe it is was a great price given the current market conditions. I would hire and recommend Craig for any real estate needs.

As difficult as it is to sell a property these days, Craig did an excellent job getting three offers on our place in just ten days. He is great at staging and knew exactly what to do. Don't second guess him on this one, just go with the flow and trust him, you will be happy. Overall it was a tough process since we didn't get an offer that would cover our current loan obligation. I don't think this was due to Craig, just more the current market. Overall he was very responsive and helped us through the entire process. If you want to sell your place, Craig is your guy!

So far, our experience with Craig has been good. He is a go getter, and he makes things happen. We’re still working with him, but I’ve been very pleased with his service up to this point.