Jeff Kropp-The Home Buyer Agents

While searching for an agent I was intrigued by Jeff's service of only working with buyers.  I initially used his sight to set up a search as I was just browsing.  Jeff followed up with me via email to make sure everything was going well and he continually followed up over the course of a year.  I finally was ready and I called Jeff to show me a few places.  My first impression of him was very professional and I was pleased to hear he was also a lawyer.  The one thing about him that stood out is that he really knows the city and he and was able to give me great advice on what I was looking for.  To my surprise I found out going into contract negotiations that he also could handle my mortgage.  The whole process was quick and smooth and I was very pleased.

We were looking for a new home in a good school district, we were looking specifically in the Coonley, Bell, Audobon and Burley districts. We knew that we could not afford a home in ready-to-move-in condition. So our target were properties that needed work but were affordable or within our budget.

A few months went by and we saw a number of properties. Jeff was very objective during the tours, he never tried to push us into buying or into more expensive properties. He had a good understanding of our situation and expectations and he knew the market in the area, so we always felt comfortable with him and listened to his advice.

We put an offer (bid is a better word because it's a bid war in those neighborhoods) to 3 properties, which we lost because we were outbid.

Finally, a property was put on the market, we got the search alert in our e-mail, we reviewed the details online, we liked it and we called Jeff. He was able to schedule a visit the same day. We saw the house and we liked everything about it, location, price, construction, so Jeff contacted the selling agent while we were still there in the property to let him know that we were going to put an offer. We submitted the offer next day in the morning with very aggressive dates and we offered the same as listing price. The offer was accepted next day.

We used Jeff recommended inspector and attorney, they were also very professional and were able to accommodate the tight timing.

Everything worked out fine, we had a few hiccups with the loan but that has nothing to do with Jeff support.

Overall, we are very satisfied with Jeff's services and we'd definitely recommend him.

Jeff walked me through the entire home buying process from start to finish. He has a limitless amount of knowledge having to do with the home buying process. He also can help you get your loan approved. He has been in Chicago for almost two decades and clearly knows the area. He also has a terrific way of matching people up with the house that will best meet their needs. He was able to answer just about every question i had and if there was something that needed additonal clarifying, he was able to do it.o find the best place possible for me.

Jeffrey Kropp was the exclusive home buyer agent.  He essentially worked with us and took us through the whole process all the way from helping us through, and it was like one stop shop with him.  He helped us with a lawyer that we used and he works for him.  He went through with all of the inspection with us; he went through all the property with us even though he wasn’t the listing agent, as he is the home buyer agent.  It was great for the first time home buyers that don’t know all questions to ask and don’t have someone like that there to help them.  It is a great first time home buyer option to have.  There was nothing out of our pocket; I believe he is come from the listing agent and something like that.  We found a great home and the process was painless.  Our house is great.  He was on top of the list and was always on time.  He was very laid back because it is one company and it is laid back for a real estate office.

Jeff was fantastic.  He was knowledgeable, helpful, prompt, and always available to answer any questions we had.  Our home purchase was slightly unique and took longer than expected, and Jeff stuck with us and advised us throughout the entire process.  I would absolutely recommend Jeff to anyone looking to buy a home, and we plan to use him again in the future. 

I found Jeff by coincidence when I was searching for homes.  He was the only agent that actually followed up with a phone call and emailed me to keep in contact.  There were several that I called regarding a particular home I saw that never even called me back.  The thing that appealed to me about him was that he worked exclusively with buyers.  I talked to several listing agents at open houses that I felt did not have my best interests at heart.  Most of the homes were short sales and they kept telling me that the home was already priced low and that I should bid close to asking.  Jeff would probably say that I was not easy to work with because I initially wanted to lowball all my offers and I wasted some time and lost a few homes because of it.  After awhile I learned to trust his advise and finally got a great deal on a house that I really liked.  He was very realistic with me about my budget and talked me out of a few that I could not afford.  This was my first home so i was only expecting some of the nighmares that I hear and read about but everything went so smooth.  He also handled the mortgage for me without a glitch.  My overall experience was better than expected.  If you need a realtor you can't get more professinal than with Jeff.

I called Jeff after reviewing tons of good stuff about him on the internet.  Before I hired Jeff I did my homework, talked to and met with other buyer agents, etc.  In the end, it was clear that Jeff had a better understanding of the process and the market than the other guys.  Probably helps that he is an attorney and mortgage banker.  He did require a buyer agent agreement which I was leery of, but I did not end up signing it until further in the process when I was more comfortable.

So to the search itself, I had a very tight time frame in order to claim relocation benefits, kinda put myself in pickle by waiting too long.  Jeff met with me and explained the timeline and even provided a nice Buyer Guide that laid it all out on a flow chart with key deadlines.  This helped me understand the next steps and helped me stay organized and prepared.  Since I was low on time, Jeff set up a search but also narrowed it by hand selecting what he felt the top places were.  I fell in love with a single family home he took me to in Jefferson Park, I could not believe how much prices fell and this was available to me in my range.

Jeff persuaded me to take a step back and complete some due dligence before making an aggressive offer (we found out why and where the seller was moving, their current lien amount, and what they paid for the home in 1999).  In the end Jeff negotiated a good deal quickly but without revealing my timeframe to the seller.  That is the great thing about exclusive buyer agents, they are more independant so I did not have to worry about Jeff sharing my info and motivations with the seller or listing agent around the water cooler of some big fim that has all the listing in-house (seemed like there were only a handful of listing brokers in the area that had all the listings).

The rest of the process was hectic as expected but Jeff got me through without a hitch by staying involved in the process, while the attorney, inspector and others each worked on their own pieces.  I really appreciate his help and highly recommend him, working with exclusive buyer agent is the best way to go.

We had a great experience working with Jeff Kropp and The Home Buyer Agents.  My wife and I relocated to the Chicagoland area from Columbus last spring.  We weren't sure about exactly which suburb to live in and whether to buy a townhome or house. Jeff provided us with some recommendations based on our price range, schools, and proximity to my office.

After selection a few areas to concentrate on, he drove us in his car to different homes on the North Shore of Chicago, including Highland Park, Glenview and Winnetka.  Driving with Jeff gave us a great feel for these areas (Jeff has lived in the Chicagoland area his whole life and knew all the different areas pretty well).  He was like a free guide of sorts.

Fast forward a few months, and we purchased a new construction home in Glenview.  He helped negotiate a deal we were happy with (in addition to lowering the price, the developer threw in some free upgrades). 

The process was intense (how can it not be in this economy and also when you are moving cities to make a big purchase), but it was also smooth because of Jeff. 

Both the inspector, Ron Niego of Cornerstone Inspection, and Peter Weil the attorney have worked with Jeff, so that helped the process go smoothly.  When we bought our home in Ohio, we had to research our own professionals, and the inspector turned out to be not so good (long story).    Overall,  Jeff was with us all the way, from selection a great town and house, to attending the inspection and closing.  We even got a follow up call to make sure we were all set, and a nice closing gift. 

Way to go Jeff, Thank You!

He managed the entire process, including the loan processing, attorney review and inspection, and because he managed it all, it was seamless and I didn't have to worry about getting the loan approved in time for the closing. He also negotiated a good deal and credit for closing costs.

He has a wealth of knowledge that was incredibly helpful. For example, while preparing to buy a condo, I did a lot of online research about the process and watched a few too many HGTV shows, which made me think I knew a few things about buying a condo, but some of the things I heard or read I learned wasn't be best advice. Jeff provided new strategies and recommendations that were based on his experience helping buyers in Chicago. Ultimately, the decisions (e.g. deciding the amount of the initial offer/bid) were mine as the homebuyer, but I couldn't ignore the recommendations based on his experience (not something I read), as well as the local market data he pulled that looked at the latest closing prices of condos near my condo.

If you're buying a place in the city or suburbs, I highly recommend working with the Home Buyer Agents of Chicagoland.

Highly recommended! We started looking at houses in early September 2009, and closed on our chosen one in early April 2010. Jeff was wonderful throughout the entire process, especially as my husband and I were first-time home buyers who were still figuring out what we wanted during the process. He stayed within our price range and community parameters, and pointed out positive and negative aspects of houses that we may not have considered. He answered all our questions honestly, even when the answer directly caused us to reject a house (making his job harder and longer to finish). Jeff is super responsive by email or phone. He even showed us houses in a snowstorm and when he was hobbling around in a walking boot with a messed up Achilles tendon! After seeing more than 15 houses (or was it 20? 25? more???), we chose a nice house in a great Oak Park neighborhood that was well within our price range. Jeff helped us to get some concessions from a reluctant seller, and gave recommendations as to home inspectors, mold inspectors, and a closing lawyer. His fee was paid by the seller. Jeff also served as our mortgage broker for a FHA loan, on which we got a great rate. We don't expect to be in the market for a new house any time soon, but if we are, we're calling Jeff! (NOTE: since we were looking at several short sales, he did ask us to sign and put down money for a retainer, due to the complexity of dealing with such properties. Once we signed a contract for a non-short sale house, he let us know that he would return the money to us at our closing -- with no prompting or reminding on our part. I suspect that the only consequence to not signing said retainer would be that you would have to refrain from looking at short sales -- but that is just speculation on my part.)

My experience with Jeff over all these years has been terrific! That is why I keep hiring him. Jeff digs deep to come up with the best properties for the buck that pr ovide cashflow, then expert analysis of the market values. We inspect these properties together and he tells me all the positives and negatives of each home in an unbiased way. He uses his advanced negotiation skills (he is an attorney also) to get me great deals. Not only does he provide competitive rates for purchase loans, he continues to notify me when rates drop so I can refinance (I have done this quite a bit over the years). I also like that he does not help sellers only buyers so I know there is no conflicts of interest (he does not show me his own listings first and such). Overall, Jeff is a real professional, fun to work with, and brings a wide level of skills to the table most don't have (as buyer agent, loan officer, and attorney all rolled into one). As soon as I can save more money, I will be going after my next apartment with Jeff by my side. Thanks Jeff! Oh and did I mention his services are free (the seller pays his commission).

Absolutely great. My wife and I came into the process really knowing very little about the process of buying a home. Jeff took care of everything for us, and did a great job finding properties that were within our price range and were still quite nice. He was very helpful in pointing out pros and cons of places that we might have otherwise missed. Ultimately, his advice was invaluable, and we got the place we wanted at the price we wanted. I can't recommend him highly enough!

Being a first time home buyer, I spent a great deal of time reading, researching and interviewing Realtors to work with and feel extremely fortunate to have found Jeff to work with. His guidance and thoughtfulness through the entire home buying process was crucial to my smooth and successful home purchase. Although I was a prepared home buyer I had very particular needs, both financially and esthetically (I am an artist), which Jeff was very sensitive too and respected. Absolutely no question went unanswered (and I had a lot of questions along the way) and he always prompt to respond. From qualifying to searching to negotiating and closing, Jeff was there and represented me and my interests. He was an absolute pleasure to work with!

I found this company during an internet search and I filled out a form. Within 20 minutes we were contacted by Jeff who explained what he did and how he could help us. We were so impressed by his quick response and explanation that we hired him the next day to help us find a home. At the time, we were living outside of Chicago. We arranged a day we could come to the city and look at homes. Jeff provided us with a website of homes on the market that fit our requirements. He had us pick out 6 homes we would like to visit and when we came to Chicago, he had arranged visits at all of them. We met him at his office and he then drove us to each house. We really liked one that we had visited but wanted time to think it over. The following week we wanted to return and take another look at the house. Jeff arranged to meet us and show it to us again. The house needed lots of work including a new roof, so Jeff arranged for a company to come do an estimate on the roof before we even made an offer. After which, we decided to make an offer on the house. He walked us through the entire process and helped us along the way. He helped us find an inspector, mold inspector, lawyer, and even a loan officer/lender. He was extremely helpful in making sure that we were always in the know about what was gong on. He made our first home buying experience as enjoyable as possible. I would recommend him to all my friends and family!