"When getting help with money, whether it is insurance, real estate or investments, you should always look for someone with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman." Dave Ramsey
ABOUT IVONA:
Ivona specializes in residential Real Estate in Evanston, Northshore and Chicagoland area. Thanks to her focus, knowledge, experience, and commitment, Ivona had her best years in business during the downturn of Real Estate market, guiding her seller and buyer clients through selling and purchase cycle. She continues to thrive during the market recovery. Due to her foreign roots as well as still having family and life-long friends overseas, Ivona successfully splits her time between Chicago and Europe. Thanks to cutting edge technology, a team of colleagues, logistically well designed plan, and her understanding clients, she is able to serve them remotely while in Europe and lead the life she's always wanted. She believes it takes courage and commitment to be an unconventional Realtor, but it can be done as proven by her satisfied clients and many successful transactions conducted from across the Ocean. She is a dynamic sales and communications professional with a consistently successful career, focused on building long-lasting relationship with her clients.
As a multimillion dollar producer, a certified Relocation Specialist, and a North Shore resident for 17 years, Ivona is experienced in the North Shore and Chicagoland area real estate markets. She is committed to solving the challenges that arise during the real estate transaction. She takes pride in the assurance her clients feel. Her ability to relate to others, to listen and understand her clients' needs inspires confidence and satisfaction. She specializes in staging vacant properties in order to generate the highest offer possible for her clients, as well as fighting low appraisals often resulting in setting record prices in the condo buildings or single family homes neighborhoods where she represents her listings. Ivona has been recognized for top achievements in the Real Estate industry by executives, clients and peers. She possesses excellent planning, organizational, presentation, and negotiations skills. She is a highly ethical professional exercising tact and good business judgment. Ivona emigrated to the U.S from Poland in 1990. After living in New York City and Chicago, she moved to Evanston in 1994. These relocations have given her the ability to empathize with the uprooting involved in the moving process and enabled her to respond to her clients needs in a caring and understanding manner. Prior to her Real Estate career, she was in sales and marketing in the printing industry.
During her spare time, Ivona translates subtitles for TV shows and feature films into Polish and volunteers her translation skills for Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation. She is actively involved in Evanston Small Business Association and Evanston Chamber of Commerce. She speaks both English and Polish fluently. Ivona combines her love for travel with visiting her friends and family in Europe and United States. She also enjoys horseback riding, fine dining, watching movies, and spending time on the beach.
Ivona's previous work experience, her community involvement, and high profile volunteer work has provided her with sound negotiation skills, attention to detail, and communication skills necessary to excel as a Real Estate professional. She invites you to join her group of very satisfied clients and making her your "Realtor and teacher for
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT:
I choose to work with limited number of buyers and sellers at a time. This is the only way to ensure that every one is receiving appropriate time and attention needed during one of the most important transactions most of us will face during our lifetime.
If you hire me, I will be your primary point of contact – no assistants or middlemen involved, therefore eliminating misunderstandings or facts "lost in translation". Your phone calls and emails will be returned promptly and courteously. There will be no finger-pointing involved, since I will be the only one accountable for the services I provide for you, the consumer. I will be your trusted guide, advisor, teacher and advocate, informing you about the most significant data about the market place, supply and demand trends, mortgage industry changes, and taking the time to help you make the best decision for you and yoru family.
My greatest satisfaction comes from helping people realize their dreams and achieve their goals. I am not content until my clients' expectations are exceeded. I believe quality, integrity, and total commitment are the keys to ensuring the highest level of service. The feedback I receive most often from my clients is that I made their journey through the selling and/or buying experience a seamless transition.
FAVORITE QUOTES:
"Once commitment happens, the forces of the universe conspire to help you" - Friedrich Nietzsche
"If you can dream it, you can do it" - Walt Disney
"Success is not an accident" - Tommy Newberry
"Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity" - Seneca
"We are what we repeatedly do" - Aristotle
"In heaven all the interesting people are missing" - Friedrich Nietzsche
"You don't fail when you fall; you fail when you refuse to get up" - Anonymous
BOOKS I OFTEN RETURN TO:
"The Road Less Traveled" - By M. Scott Peck
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" - By Stephen R. Covey
"How to Win Friends and Influence People" - By Dale Carnegie
"The Four Agreements" - By Don Miguel Ruiz
"Little Prince" - By Antoine de Saint Exupery
McCORMICK/MARTIN
The McCormick & Martin Group specializes in residential real estate in Chicago, Evanston and many other Northshore communities. Due to their focus, knowledge, experience, and commitment, Suzannah and Ivona both grew their businesses dramatically during the downturn and subsequent recession of the Real Estate Market, guiding their seller and buyer clients through ever-changing selling and purchase cycles. As the market has begun to recover, the skills learned and experience gained during those challenging times set Suzannah and Ivona far apart from their colleagues, many of whom gave up on the business altogether.
Both Suzannah and Ivona are multimillion dollar producers and repeatedly qualify as Top Producers, but to them, sales volume represents not their personal or professional value but the satisfaction of their past and current clients who return to them for their ongoing real estate needs as well as refer them enthusiastically to friends and loved ones. Their success by the numbers is a reflection of the assurance their clients feel. Their ability to relate to others, to listen, and understand their clients' needs inspires confidence and trust that lead to lifetime relationships.
Ivona emigrated to the United States from Poland in 1990. After living in New York City and Chicago, she settled in Evanston in 1994. These relocations allow her to empathize with the uprooting involved in the moving process and enable her to respond to her clients' needs in a caring and understanding manner. Prior to her real estate career, Ivona was in sales and marketing in the printing industry, and her skill set has expanded to include the staging of properties to guarantee the highest possible offer, successfully fighting low appraisals that ultimately result in setting record prices in the buildings and neighborhoods where she represents her listings. She is also a certified Relocation and Negotiations Specialist.
Suzannah graduated with a BA from the University of Chicago in 1992, after which she co-founded a wildly successful computer consulting company in Chicago. Bootstrapping a business from one person to 50 employees within a year was an exciting challenge and forced Suzannah to juggle many balls at all times. There she learned flexibility, out-of-the-box thinking, strategic negotiation, contract development and presentation, and how to provide top-notch customer service with humor and grace. During her years in real estate, she has leaned a tremendous amount about common inspection and appraisal issues and has built a team of resources to protect her buyer and seller clients from the resolvable problems, leading to safer homes and worry-free clients.
Ivona and Suzannah are true complements to one another; highly similar in style, experience and personality but with some important differences that allow us to provide our clients with an exceptional array of talents as a team. Currently, Ivona is splitting her time between Poland and the US, which allows the team to capitalize on an extended work day due to the time difference. Suzannah provides ground coverage, Ivona provides marketing, research, and negotiations support and everybody wins. Thanks to cutting-edge technology, focus, and determination, the team easily manages unconventional business model which we believe takes courage and high level of commitment. We are thrilled to report that a proof-of-concept trial period went beyond our wildest hopes.
We look forward to working with you and proving to you how dedicated we are to advocating for you through the process of purchasing and/or selling.