Alan May

Alan was the selling realtor for our first house back in 2013. We were so impressed with him back then and made a mental note that if we ever sold our house, we would use Alan as our selling realtor. And that’s just what we did this year. Alan exceeded all expectations. He walked us through the entire process with suggestions along the way and made the selling process as easy as can be. We tasked Alan with listing and selling our house while we were away on a spring break vacation with our kids (1 week). Mission accomplished. We came home to Alan presenting us multiple offers over ask. Cannot recommend Alan enough; he knew the process and market so well and was always available. Five stars!

Alan was great in helping us find a new house. We were coming in from out of state and there were 3 traits which stood out while working together: 1) responsive, always answered/responded right away to our calls and text msgs, 2) excellent partner helping us negotiate with seller/selling broker, explaining what was reasonable vs. stretch in terms of making offer/purchase price and strategic while negotiating contract details and when to ask for certain things, and finally, 3) experienced having worked in industry for many years, resulting in strong knowledge of area he covers and efficient in helping us get through closing process smoothly.

I worked with Alan when I was considering purchasing a second home in the Evanston area (I live out of state.) He was great! He created an online search for properties that fit my parameters, and met with me when I came to town. He set up a number of showings, and a couple of short-notice showings the next day. He was honest in his appraisal of the properties we were looking at, and when I decided that the timing just wasn’t right for making a purchase, he was extremely gracious and professional. I would highly recommend Alan May, and when the time is right for me to make a purchase, I’ll be contacting him again.

Alan helped us purchase our first single family home in Evanston. We are eager young buyers and he spent more time talking us out of the WRONG house and encouraging us to wait for a better fit. And then we found it! So glad he talked us off a few ledges. . . :) While working with the mortgage company, the inspectors, the lawyers, I always CC'd Alan on emails because I trust his advice. Alan responds immediately to phone, email, and text. He patiently will walk me through all aspects of the home buying process, as many times as I need. Alan is also great company--laid back, friendly, and hospitable/attentive. My spouse said, "After our closing, it'll be sad not to hang out with Alan so much." I don't know who is going to answer our house questions AND listen to our ridiculous jokes all day. We'll definitely use him when its time to sell someday.

I am happy to recommend Alan as a realtor! He helped my partner and I purchase our first property and carefully walked us through many nuances of home ownership. He was very patient in answering our questions, and gave thoughtful feedback on each property we visited. He didn't simply agree with everything we said, he offered his thoughts ("that's a lot of stairs!"), but then dutifully executed whatever actions we asked of him. And, again, as a first time buyer, it was great to be able to ask Alan all sorts of questions during the process and get prompt replies that helped us understand everything that was going on. Top notch from Open House to Closing Day!

Fantastic. Hands down awesome experience. We had been working with a realtor for a couple of years and grown more frustrated with the lack of communication and increasingly contradictory explanations as to why we could not sell our condo. Alan was recommended to us and we reached out to him. Incredibly responsive, level-headed, analytical, clear thinking but also honest, personable, friendly: this is the realtor we needed. Really enjoyed working with Alan, if we were ever to purchase a property (or sell one) Alan would be our first choice every time.

Going with Alan turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Alan's extensive knowledge of the area and market was invaluable. He truly took the time to understand what was important to us and used that to drive the properties he suggested. Despite a long search with many viewings, at no time was there a hint of pressure or influence to try and wrap up a sale. Throughout the sometimes frustrating process, Alan was always a true advocate and gentleman. We cannot recommend him strongly enough.

We recently sold and bought a home in Evanston using Alan as our realtor and had a wonderful experience. He is very professional and willing to communicate frequently. He knows the market very well and priced our home accordingly and was savvy with the negotiation process. We had some bumps in the road with our sellers backing out after attorney review and Alan worked quickly to get our place back on the market and to get traffic through our place by having a broker and client open house that following weekend. We were able to get a new buyer within two weeks, which was fantastic! Alan also has many connections with great lenders, other agents, repair people, etc. in the area which was very helpful in closing quickly and buying our house. I would use Alan again to buy or sell a home and strongly recommend him to anyone looking for an agent to sell or buy in the area. Liz and Martin

It's been a while now, so all the details aren't fresh, but the sale went very well in what turned out to be a very tough time for the market.

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We fell in love with a house in Evanston and needed a realtor to assist us with the purchase. A family friend who is a realtor out of town recommended Alan May to us. I cannot say enough good things about our experience with Alan. First of all, we were using another realtor to sell our condo in the city and were stalled after two offers fell through. Although not our selling agent, Alan was instrumental in helping us strategize an aggressive reverse offer to the two potential buyers, which ultimately helped us sell our condo. The road to purchasing our new home was a rocky one, complete with bidding wars and other contracts falling through after inspection. Alan was there to advise us through every step of the process. When there was a question of mold from a previous inspection, he brought in his own specialist to evaluate the issue. When we needed contractors to evaluate other issues in the home, Alan would rearrange his schedule to accommodate us. Alan was extremely professional and a wealth of knowledge on real estate. As first time home-buyers, we valued Alan’s candid opinion and critical assessment of the homes we looked at. We always felt his first priority was to make sure we had found a good fit, not just to sell a house. I would recommend Alan May to anyone looking for a real estate agent in the Evanston area.

We had a wonderful experience with Alan May as our realtor. When we were looking for a home, Alan did an expert job of educating us on the neighborhood, and evaluating potential homes. He learned our preferences, and helped us identify houses that could be a fit for us. He completely respected the budget we set out and never tried to push us into something more expensive. Once we identified the house we wanted, Alan shone even more. He was absolutely invaluable in the negotiation process. He did not pressure us to make an offer immediately, but instead helped us time it to put us in the best negotiating position. He is an extremely talented negotiator, and helped us save thousands of dollars, even beyond what our (independent) attorney thought was possible. His skill and knowledge were a tremendous asset. Even after we purchased our home, we have tapped Alan's expertise on everything from what renovations to do on the home, to landscaping. He is helpful, knowledgeable, and accessible. We recommend him enthusiastically.

He was incredibly customer focused. He was recommended to us by USAA and he did amazing job working with me, a first time homebuyer. I would use him again in a heartbeat.

Alan is calm, sane, and very knowledgeable. He has been working in Evanston for years and knows the market inside and out. He had been in most of the condo buildings I looked at. Alan can talk through the pros and cons of each unit. He was very patient and kind with me, always ready to answer any question. We started looking in July 2008 and I bid on something in August 2008. The inspection revealed something I wasn't ready to live with and Alan walked me through the refusal process. He emailed handpicked listings with comments every week. In October, after a showing, we sat in his car and he went over fifteen internet listings I had printed - for over two hours. His calm, and expertise, during the rocky negotiation and closing process was invaluable. He knew the other Evanston agents and lawyers. The painter and inspector he recommended were exceptional. After the closing he helped me navigate the painting and floor refinishing process. Alan May was respectful, considerate, and very knowledgeable about Evanston real estate.