Most listing agents require an exclusive right to sell, so you can only pick one. There are thousands of licensed REALTORS in Chicago — many of them inexperienced, with little track record of success, and more loyal to their brokerage (or their own bottom line) than the customer.

The best listing agent for your home sale will have:

A track record of success, having closed sales for numerous homes like yours.

Local experience, with a finger on the pulse not only of the real estate market as a whole but also your local market.

Market knowledge, so they can perform the crucial step of setting the right price and the right sales strategy.

Marketing expertise, so they can get your listing in front of as many qualified buyers as possible, as quickly as possible.

A reliable support team, so you always have access to support and insight into your listing whenever you want it.

A commitment to the client, the willingness to put your needs above their own, with an understanding that when the client is happy, everyone wins.

Chris DeWilde is one of the top listing agents in the city, with a track record of dozens of successful listings across North Side, River North, Northside Suburbs, and Northside Downtown Chicago.

We put our clients first, offering 24/7 service and unlimited personalized attention. Additionally, we offer every listing client state-of-the-art targeted digital marketing services — and we absorb the cost of that marketing ourselves, so the risk is entirely on us.

This makes our interests uniquely aligned with yours — we’re motivated to sell your property as quickly as possible, at the highest price possible!

Based in Chicago, Chris DeWilde is an experienced, local realtor with extensive, boots-on-the-ground experience in residential real estate. We have sold numerous properties across North Side, River North, Northside Suburbs, and Northside Downtown Chicago, with a near-perfect record of quick sales at or above asking.

In addition to the MLS and traditional channels of real estate marketing, Chris DeWilde distinguishes himself with a second-to-none commitment to digital marketing. Every other industry uses it — why not real estate? Many realtors don’t like change and don’t like learning new things. We take the opposite approach to give our clients an edge in the market.

If this sounds like we’re going to hand you a big bill for digital advertising expenses, we won’t. We absorb all those costs ourselves, passing none of them on to you. We want the decision to be a no-brainer… and then prove to you the power of our digital approach with a quick, top-dollar sale.

Absolutely. First impressions are everything, and we want your listing to pop. We provide expert guidance and execution staging and presentation of every listing we take on, as well as offering consultative services for homeowners who want to list their own homes for sale.

This involves attention to curb appeal (the impression your home leaves from the street) and interior staging, with elegant and tasteful furniture to inspire the imagination, appeal to the broadest audience, and put your best foot forward.

There are many things you can do to enhance the curb appeal of your home, including:

Landscaping. Clean up the lawn, trim the trees, add flowers and stone accents. It can be easy and affordable to add tasteful color and serenity to your front landscaping.

Paint the Front Door. It’s amazing how much a fresh coat of paint can enhance the presentation of your home when people first pull up.

Clean the Exterior. Power wash the siding, windows, and walkways.

Paint the Exterior. If the paint on the siding is looking a little worse for wear, consider a new coat of paint to make the house pop.

Fix Exterior Damage. Anything that is noticeable should be corrected so as not to make a bad impression right off the bat.

Repair Walkways and Driveways. Consider having any obvious cracks and leveling issues corrected.

Fix Your Roof and Gutters. Clear away any debris, replace broken shingles, and reattach or replace any gutters that have come unfixed.

Upgrade Your House Numbers. Repaint or install new house numbers in a prominent place, so your house is not only inviting but easy to find.

Absolutely. We’re a local Chicago business, and we’ve been building our contractor and vendor relationships for years. We can recommend a trusted expert for almost any home service or repair you might need. Remember, our goal is to build lifelong client relationships, and the performance of the people we recommend to you reflects on us, so we’re very picky about who we refer our valued clients to. When we recommend someone, you know you can count on them.

Yes. Many potential buyers will decide whether or not to visit your home at all based on the photos, and high-quality photography makes a big difference. Good photos do more than just show what your home looks like. Images create feelings. Let’s make them positive feelings.

We bring in professional photographers with cutting-edge capture and editing tools to present your home in the best possible light. If possible, we photograph both staged and unstaged, and for select clients we may be able to include drone photography, video tours, and 3D virtual tours.

Documents your listing agent will need or find useful when putting your home on the market (if available) include:

The original sales contract that you used to buy the home.

A professional appraisal if a recent one is available. If not, an appraisal will be ordered if the buyer intends to finance the purchase.

Current mortgage statement if there is an outstanding mortgage against the property.

Homeowner’s insurance records, including declarations and any updates or claims.

Homeowner’s Association (HOA) documents to disclose fees and regulations.

Past utility bills to give buyers an idea of the historic costs.

Warranty information for any structures and appliances still under warranty.

Chicago home listings must abide by the stipulations of the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act. This act requires that certain disclosures be made about known or potential defects or issues with the property. Examples include:

Leakage or flooding in a crawlspace or basement

Structural defects in the foundation, chimney, windows, doors, or walls

Plumbing, electrical, or HVAC issues

Presence of unsafe materials — for example, asbestos, radon gas, and lead

Termite or wood-boring insect infestations

Any disputes on the lot boundaries

History of methamphetamine manufacturing on the premises

Failure to disclose according to the requirements could make the homeowner liable for legal expenses and fines. This does not necessarily apply to conditions that get discovered that the homeowner did not know of.

In 2022, the average time to close a sale — from listing to closing — was 79 days, including 44 days to go under contract and 35 days to close.

However, various factors can contribute to a shorter — or longer — sale cycle. Some buyers may be able to close more quickly. This is especially true of all-cash buyers who don’t need traditional mortgage financing.

If the property is in high demand, multiple offers may come in and the seller may be in a position to choose between a higher offer and a faster closing.

Getting the price right contributes greatly to the speed of the sale. Pricing the property to get top dollar can result in a longer sale cycle, while pricing it low can result in a quick sale. 

If you price the home significantly above the market, it could scare away interested buyers and result in the property sitting on the market for months, looking more and more like a loser to the real estate community by the day, so it’s very important to not overprice the property, right from the get-go.

If your home doesn’t sell quickly, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Top-dollar offers don’t necessarily come in right away unless the property is in extremely high demand. Sometimes the market is just slow, and patience is all that is needed for the right buyer to emerge. However, if your home has sat on the market for a while, there are several steps we could consider, including:

Reassess the Price. It’s possible that you overpriced your listing. This is something to avoid at all costs if possible, as the price will possibly have to be below the market value to make up for the property sitting on the market too long.

Get Feedback. Reach out to prospects to get their feedback on your listing. See if there’s any feedback you can use to improve the listing, correct errors, and boost the appeal of your listing.

Step Up the Marketing. If you didn’t do much outside of putting the house on the MLS, consider a stronger marketing press — especially one that leverages inbound and outbound digital outreach.

Fix Any Issues. If any maintenance issues are left outstanding, it might be scaring buyers away. Consider fixing them.

Offer Incentives. Sometimes you can sweeten the deal with extras like paying certain closing costs or offering an extra home warranty.

Negotiation services is one of the key value offerings of Chris DeWilde. We start by representing you in all transactions so you don’t get surprised, cornered, or rattled by any unexpected move on the other side of the table. Our team is rock-solid — we have seen it all, nothing surprises us, and we know how to respond to anything that the other party could come up with.

We start by assessing our “strike price” — the bare minimum combination of price and terms we’re willing to accept. Then we determine our initial bargaining position, asking for much more than the strike price. We’re asking for things that we would like, but that we’re more than willing to negotiate away. Sometimes, all it takes is to make a few concessions that we didn’t actually care about to make the other party feel like they’re getting a great deal… even at a higher price!

Through it all, we maintain our poker face. We don’t tip our cards and show the other party what really matters to us. All the time, we ask friendly but leading questions to try and get their poker face to break — to try and find out what they really care about and don’t care about so we can craft a deal they can’t refuse.

Real estate agencies vary wildly in their communication with their clients. Chris DeWilde is dedicated to 24/7 access. You get as much personal attention as you need from anyone on the team by whichever channel you prefer — phone, email, text chat, etc. Plus, we have someone on call 24/7 for any emergencies that may arise.

When you sell a home with Chris DeWilde as your listing agent, the process looks like this:

1. Strategy Meeting. Before any commitments are made, we meet to discuss goals and expectations for the listing to ensure we’re on the same page and pulling in the same direction.
   
   
2. Home Evaluation. We evaluate the home, perform a preliminary market analysis, and suggest a listing price.
   
   
3. Listing Agreement. If we agree that Chris DeWilde is the right listing agent for your home, we move forward with an Exclusive Right To Sell agreement, and we’re working for you now!
   
   
4. Preparing the Home For Sale. This might include repairs, staging, and curb appeal improvements — all done with our expert guidance and suggestions.
   
   
5. Listing the Home. This includes an MLS listing and, in our case, a full digital marketing push where we take on all the costs.
   
   
6. Showings. This might include individual showings and open houses. Whether you still live in the home or you have already moved, we strive to make this stage as short and minimally disruptive as possible.
   
   
7. Offers And Negotiation. We receive all offers for you, present them, give our opinion on the strength of each offer, and negotiate terms for you.
   
   
8. Contingency Period. Once we accept an offer, the contingency period begins, usually involving a home inspection and appraisal.
   
   
9. Closing. Once all contingency periods expire and the title work is done, we close the deal and distribute the proceeds!