Craig Easly - @properties

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My experience with Craig has been fairly limited, but he did provide me with helpful advice. He was very matter-of-fact with me, which I appreciated. If I do decide to list my property, I will call Craig first.

We recently relocated to a North Shore suburb from Philadelphia and worked with Craig to find a single-family home. He was accommodating and patient with our limited windows of time to view houses due to our travel to and from Philadelphia. Always the professional, he has an honest & straightforward approach that is refreshing. He got to know our needs and wants and was able to secure the 1st showing appointment for us on a new listing. We loved the house and he quickly pulled together our offer that afternoon. Five offers came in after our offer, but in the end, we got the house because Craig new the market, acted quickly, built a good rapport with the selling agent and responded to our individual needs. We would highly recommend Craig to anyone looking for a North Shore property.

Craig provided objective real estate advice in my long-term interests, knowing that I was on the fence about my decision to sell or rent. He generated multiple area market reports with trends and statistics and helped me interpret how they applied to my property. Though I ultimately decided to lease out my property in lieue of selling, Craig followed through and referred me to his colleague who specializes in rentals. Like Craig, that colleague provided service at parity to his benchmark service and professionalism. Without question, Craig sets the standard for competence, professionalism, and courtesy.

Things have gone well with Craig. I wish I had not had to temporarily hold off in my home search because I'm sure I would have found a home by now but I'm glad to be working with Craig again.

The experience was excellent. Craig showed us numerous options and other time got to understand our likes and dislikes. He was always there to answer our questions which we had many as first time home buyers. We were able to put an offer in and close on the property in about a month's time. We were very excited for the property and the neighborhood. We had other friends looking to buy a place and they had a really bad time. We had them meet with Craig after we had bought our place and they now own a condo due to Craig's help. We would recommend him to anyone looking to buy a place in Chicago.

I am a real estate attorney and work with dozens of realtors. When it came time to hire a realtor for my wife and I to sell our own condominium, Craig was our choice. He is ethical, hard-working and creative. Our unit is just going to market now, but Craig has done a superb job so far in advising us on how to prepare our unit for sale. He has also done a good job explaining the process, how to market and position our unit for sale.

After initial market research and a thorough walkthrough of my house, we determined a range that would be reasonable to sell in. I went about the process of readying for showings, had photos taken professionally and brochures created. I determined that I would list at the bottom of Craig's suggested range. At the last possible moment, he demanded that I list for approximately 4% less than even the bottom of his range, citing changes in the market in the intervening time. Quite frankly, this was complete bunk. A shift of 4% in prices in my area in a single month is unthinkable; this was far past the crash of the housing market, on the upswing in fact. Moreover, I live in a relatively stable area, as far as housing prices go. More likely, either Craig did not do his homework properly and initially mispriced his range, or he was trying to turn a quick sale at my (significant!) expense. In either case, there is no way I would proceed with him as my representation.

Craig did an outstanding job getting our deal through in a very tough market. He used thorough analysis of the market to help us find a rational, objective strategy for selling our unit in a timely manner without resorting to a "fire sale." Craig offered solid advice on how best to prepare and stage for the sale. He offered good, solid advice all through the negotiation process. I'm confident that we would not have gotten to a sale at the price we did or in as short a time period without Craig. We would highly recommend Craig to anyone buying or selling in the Chicago market.

Very well he always let us know in advance of a showing so we could set up and get the puppy out.

He listened to what we needed and helped us find the right home.

Craig fulfilled his promises. He was a true partner during both the sale of our home & the purchase of our new one. Despite the fact that we were in the middle of a real-estate market which was in severe decline due to the ecomony, Craig not only helped us sell, but his efforts generated multiple offers on our condo. Even before we listed our condo, Craig's expertise guided us on ways to maximize the impact of our home on potential buyers & their agents. We went through the home together and came up with a "punch list" of small improvements to make on fixtures & paint as well as overall staging of the property. Because of the effort we put in together ahead of the first showing, prospects & agnets unanimously gave us feedback that our home showed the best of all places they visited. Craig let us set the boundaries for how aggressive we wanted to be in negotaitions on both the purchase & sale transactions. Above all, he held himself accountable for ensuring that our financial goals and timelines were met. In a challenging real estate market, he helped us sell for a profit and I always felt that our business was a priority to him.

Craig was very patient with me, as we spent nearly a full year searching for the right single-family house. While searching for the house, Craig was kindly reminding me of what needed to be done to get my 2-flat ready for sale. When we found the house, Craig had a sales plan ready to be executed, and had created some really impressive sales materials. We sold my 2-flat in less than 3 weeks, at a price close to my asking price. I would definitely hire Craig again for my next purchase.

Craig was energetic and ready to get to work from the start, and this was a tough job: Try to sell an older-building condo unit in a down market in a down neighborhood. The 66-unot building already had 9 units for sale through various agents, and not a one had sold in 15 months. Very tall order. Craig understood that the only way to break through the pack and garner quick interest was for us to price very aggressively. Many agents, thinking of their commission, are slow to do that, but Craig understood that for a sale to have a chance to happen, price would be king. Craig expertly knows how to list on the listing services in ways to grab attention. Many subtle details of how it is listed matter. Very importantly, Craig was able to refer us to a maintenance/repair company that he has worked closely with, which was able to come in and make numerous repairs, painting, etc. to get the unit in shape to sell (it was somewhat run down and needed quick help). He also gave us an excellent referral for an attorney to represent us in the sale -- needed because of complexities with the condominium rules and finances. We received an offer in the first week of listing that was at our full "ask" price. Yes, the price we asked was bargain, but still this was impressive considering 9 other units had sat unsold for over a year. We are in final contract and will close by early October. When unexpected problems came up with assessments, threatening the deal (buyer almost walked), Craig quickly and diplomatically worked hard to communicate with the buyer and agent to explain what had happened, regain their confidence, and work with all parties and attorneys to get it back on track successfully. Great rescue operation. Craig pays a lot of attention to detail, promptly returns calls, reacts quickly to changing developments, and he doesn't get discouraged when obstacles suddenly appear. He is confident and capable in an overall down market, and really gets the job done. His honesty, ethics and energy are all outstanding. Very highly recommended!

Easley Does It! In addition to Craig cute moniker, Craig's knowledge of the northside multi-unit market is unsurpassed. He will aggressively pursue other agents to make things happen. He has a good network of reliable partners for legal services and loans.

i just don't know if what he's doing is legal

He always calls us back promptly and is willing to take us to any property we are interested in.

Craig did a good job representing the property.

Craig was referred to me by a friend and former colleague who promised that Craig would put my interests first. He spent weeks with my wife and me searching for the perfect "in-town" condo. He talked us out of areas where inventory was abundant and steered us away from units that he felt would be hard to sell if we needed to move fast. Overall, he served us well and we found and purchased an ideal unit in a great location.

Craig is a great salesman, friend and advocate. As an example, the first property he sold for us, he advised keeping an apartment vacant to make it more showable , he suggested we add some paint (in a tasteful non-white color), carpet, and serious cleaning, and referred us to a cleaning service and paint and carpet guys. We got a bunch of offers on the property and got our full asking price. There was a plumbing issue on the day of closing which Craig took care of and we were able to close the next day. Since that first purchase, Craig has assisted in the purchase of three other multi-unit properties. They have all had their own twists and turns and Craig has always had thoughtful advice. He knows many contractors, which came in handy when he supervised a debris removal company, when we had plumbing issues and on numerous other occasions. When looking for properties he always had good suggestions and was patient as we explored dozens of different buildings. Lately, Craig has provided plenty of rental advice to keep all our apartments occupied.

Craig was great. Gave us good advice regarding necessary changes to make our 2-flat sales ready. Great advice when putting offers on homes.

Craig is a real professional. He worked hard and helped us find just the right properties for our family. He always did his research and only showed us properties that were within our specifications. We would highly recommend him and we will definitely use him in the future.

We were impressed with Craig s continual analysis of the market. The reports he compiled regarding existing listings in the immediate area were a significant contribution as to how to price our unit for sale in a difficult market. His understanding of first time buyers and how to market to them was insightful. He helped us decide how to best stage the condo. We painted, sanded the floors, installed new carpet, installed new countertops and moved furniture and furnishings (some supplied by Craig) into the unit. He really put a lot of effort into generating showings and getting our condo sold. Craig kept in constant communication with us. He regularly called, sent emails, and text messages regarding the showings so we always were aware of feedback from prospective buyers (as well insights from their agents). His communication skills with the buyer and their agent made the enhanced the process. While our experience with Craig was in selling our unit, I would love to see his tenacity as a buyer s agent.

When I first met Craig, I was exploring a potential working relationship with a realtor, I just wanted to hear what he had to say. I didn't expect for him to be so prepared and put so much thought into my options. I've never really had that type of service before, most realtors I have worked with listened to my thoughts, did searches based on that, and then showed me condos. Craig had ideas for me that I hadn't considered, a way that I could make my money work for me as an investment. I ended up exploring his suggestion and followed it and I'm so glad I did. Craig patiently showed me several types of properties and was understanding when I wanted to pursue different options, just to make sure I had pursued all potential living arrangements (single-family, 2-flat, condo, etc.). He gave me his insight and advice every step of the way. He gave me suggestions on how buildings could be remodeled, what rents I could expect in certain neighborhoods if I decided on a 2-flat, what qualities in a building would be best for resale. No question of mine was too stupid or minute (at least he didn't let on). I even asked his advice on doggie doors, for Pete's sake! During the negotiation period, Craig was always on my side. I never felt like he was trying to close a sale too fast or too high. He helped me get the right price at the right time. His support didn't end after the closing; he has helped me with contacts and advice as issues arose. Craig really knows this industry and he knows how to help his clients understand the market. He is head-and-shoulders above the pack and I would recommend his services to anyone in a heartbeat. He has become a friend and ally and I know I ended up purchasing the building that is the best for me and my goals. And he took the ceremonial photo of me in front of my new place.