Raising the Bar in Real Estate RE/MAX Northern Illinois JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 NEWSLETTER
Please join us for the
Annual Awards th Ceremony Northern Illinois
Friday, February 19, 2016 4pm Cocktails | 5:30pm Ceremony Begins 7pm Dinner | 8:30pm Musical Entertainment
Register Here before Friday, February 12th
Space is Limited!
Single tickets: $90 Table of 10 tickets: $900
Includes dinner, two drinks, two professional photos and musical entertainment For planning purposes, we can not accept registration after the cut off date.
Hyatt Regency Chicago * 151 East Wacker Drive * Chicago, IL 60601 Special RE/MAX room rate is $109.
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RE/MAX Northern thern Illinois Sales Advisory r Council Presents Back by Popular Demand!
Tuesday, y March 8, 2016
Café La Cave (N (New Venue) V e) 2777 Mannheim Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018 (847) 827-7818
1:00pm Registration Table Opens 1:30pm SAC Rep. Meeting Each E ach breakout breakout topic tto opic will wililll repeat repeat 3 times ttiimes the 4 breakouts to attend You choose 3 off the
Driving Leads to your Website
1:45pm Jim Merrion, Regional Business Update 2:30pm Round 1 Breakouts 3:10pm Round 2 Breakouts
Building Business with Social Media Winning Listing Strategies
3:50pm Round 3 Breakouts 4:30pm Networking Cocktail Reception with Live Entertainment (Includes appetizers & 2 free drinks)
Building a Team
6:00pm Conclude Event
$30 Early Bird Price—February 26th $40 Regular Price: February 27th—March 5th
Follow the link to register for the event:
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RE/MAX Northern Shores Opens Its Doors
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The Pioneer Club Award
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RE/MAX Northern Illinois Momentum Program
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RE/MAX Named Top Real Estate Franchise in 2016 Franchise 500 RE/MAX Agents Take Front Cover of Top Agent Magazine RE/MAX Northern Illinois Sales Advisory Council’s Sizzling SAC Event
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Money Raised for Children’s Miracle Network
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In Memoriam
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Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
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RE/MAX Loyalty Celebrates Their First Year
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Office Events
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RE/MAX Northern Shores Opens Its Doors in Skokie The Chicago area’s newest RE/MAX franchise, RE/MAX Northern Shores, opened its doors on Jan. 12 in the heart of Skokie, Ill. At a grand opening celebration three days later, its ownership team said their brokerage is committed to offering a full range of real estate services while maintaining a sharp focus on both the local and global real estate markets. The new office is located at 8814 Niles Center Road, adjacent to the intersection of Niles Center, Dempster Street and Skokie Boulevard. The 3,500 square-foot facility provides ample room for its initial staff of 17 brokers but also space for future growth. Its debut was celebrated on Jan. 15 with an open house and ribbon cutting that attracted more than 200 guests and was hosted by co-founders Manuel Waldo, Rafay Qamar and Shaheen Pervaiz. Their vision is for RE/MAX Northern Shores to offer not only real estate brokerage, but also in-house access to a range of complementary services, including title insurance, mortgage lending, property management and an experienced real estate attorney. They also view their new enterprise as a bridge between the North Shore real estate market and investors from around the world who find the area attractive. Waldo, 52, will serve as managing broker of RE/MAX Northern Shores, and he anticipates that a good deal of the firm’s growth will come
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from the international investors with whom they have been working for the last decade during which he and Pervaiz were co-owners of Legent WP Realty, based in Lincolnwood, Ill. “Those investors were drawn to North Shore residential properties during the recession of 2007-2008, and this area continues to attract them. I have active clients from 15 nations who are investing here,” said Waldo, a Chicago native who earned degrees from Loyola University of Chicago and Heriot-Watt University of Scotland.
“One reason we wanted to affiliate with RE/MAX is that it is a global brand, and that makes it easier for us to service investors from many nations,” he said.
Pervaiz, 60, enjoyed a long career in IT consulting before turning his attention to real estate 12 years ago and partnering with Waldo. He works primarily with investors seeking either commercial or residential properties. Adding another dimension to the new brokerage is Qamar, 28, a highly successful real estate sales producer in the North Shore market. He is moving to RE/MAX from Coldwell Banker, where he was named Illinois Rookie of the Year in 2014. Qamar came to the United States from Pakistan to attend DePaul University in Chicago and stayed to pursue a career in banking at BMO Harris Bank before shifting his focus to real estate.
“Our long-term vision for RE/MAX Northern Shores is to expand our presence in the North Shore market, ideally by opening several offices to serve this area,” said Qamar. “Beyond that, we also would like to take advantage of our international contacts and the global stature of RE/MAX to explore overseas opportunities.”
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RE/MAX Northern Illinois Regional President Brian Reagan Awarded the Pioneer Club Award he served concurrently as Vice President/Zone Director and Vice President/Commercial Division. As Zone Director, he was the corporate officer in charge of 50 percent of the United States operations of RE/MAX. He also managed the initial international expansion of RE/MAX into Mexico, the Caribbean Basin, Central America and South America. In his role as leader of the RE/MAX Commercial Division, Reagan headed a corporate initiative to develop a full-service global commercial and investment division. He led the RE/MAX expansion of the Commercial Division into 825 cities and 11 countries with growth from 850 to 2,357 affiliates in three years.
RE/MAX Northern Illinois Region President Brian Reagan has been presented with the RE/MAX Pioneer Club award recognizing his 25th anniversary with RE/MAX. Before taking on his current role, Reagan spent over 10 years as a key executive with RE/MAX International, starting in 1990. Most recently,
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Prior to joining RE/MAX, Reagan was a Partner and Senior Vice President of Portfolio Research Corporation, a Denver-based venture capital firm. Earlier positions included account manager for asset management clients at Boettcher & Company, Denver, and a series of financerelated positions with Forest Oil Corporation of Denver. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Congratulations to Graduates of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois Momentum Program The first RE/MAX Northern Illinois Broker/Owners and Staff to complete the Momentum Program are; Rob Schaid, RE/MAX Plaza, Basel Tarabein, RE/MAX At Home, Dennis White, RE/MAX Unlimited Northwest, Rich Bassford, RE/MAX Elite Homes, Tom Humpal, RE/MAX Property Source, Kathy Jansen, RE/MAX Central, Pradeep Shukla, RE/MAX Renaissance, Mark Zipperer, RE/MAX Edge, Ben Broughton, RE/MAX Connections II, Connie Burnett, RE/MAX Professionals, Augustina Campos, RE/MAX Loyalty, Luigui Corral, RE/MAX United, Paul Wells, RE/MAX of Barrington, Laurence Biscarrat, RE/MAX Synergy, Gary Jacklin and Brian Ernst, RE/MAX Action, John Wassinger, RE/MAX 1st. Momentum is a proprietary system designed by David Scott exclusively for RE/MAX Offices. The purpose of the Momentum Program is to help Broker/Owners make the strategic decisions necessary to run a successful business. Basic business principles have been tied into a program designed for RE/MAX only. Momentum is made up of 4 Modules, Planning, Value, Recruiting and Teams. These Modules are designed to help you take a proactive approach to your business. When you take the momentum course you can expect to learn a proven method for creating a thriving office, honest discussions, and life changing concepts when implemented.
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RE/MAX Named Top Real Estate Franchise in 2016 Franchise 500 For the fourth consecutive year, RE/MAX holds the lead among real estate brands in the 37th annual 2016 Franchise 500 survey by Entrepreneur magazine. RE/MAX has held the top spot for 13 of the last 17 years. In addition to the ranking as the leading real estate brand, RE/MAX was also ranked #21 among all franchises. This represents a significant jump from last year’s position at #75. Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Franchise 500 is the oldest and most comprehensive franchise ranking in the world. All companies are judged on quantifiable methods, including financial strength, stability, size, and growth rate. This year, top ranked franchises included well-known companies such as Jimmy John’s #1, Subway #5, McDonald’s #6, 7-Eleven #7 and Pizza Hut #11. In October, RE/MAX was honored for the seventh consecutive year as the leading real estate franchise in another respected survey, the Franchise Times Top 200.
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Two RE/MAX Agents Take Front Cover of Top Agent Magazine
Scott Collins of RE/MAX Showcase in Long Grove and Dawn Dause of RE/MAX Ultimate Professionals in Shorewood and Plainfield were featured as Top Agent Magazine: Illinois Edition’s cover stories for December 2015 and January 2016 respectively. Top Agent Magazine is the premier real estate magazine featuring the best real estate agents and mortgage professionals in the USA, Europe, Canada and Australia. Top Agent Magazine features top-producing and highly accomplished professionals in the real estate industry, offering an in-depth look at their careers and providing a blueprint for their success.
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RE/MAX Northern Illinois Sales Advisory Council’s Sizzling SAC Event Wows Crowd The RE/MAX Northern Illinois Sales Advisory Council’s Sizzling S.A.C. event took place Tuesday December 15 at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace with a day full of events ranging from continuing education classes to an appearance by NBC Today Show contributor and host of Housesmarts TV, Lou Manfredini. Kicking off the event was a selection of continuing education classes for agents of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network of offices taught by Marki Lemons and Annette Akey. Following those sessions, Manfredini spoke with the crowd of more than 150, fielding questions from agents while sharing his tips on what every agent should know about home improvements. Other topics covered by Manfredini included home remodeling suggestions for buyers, avoiding top home improvement mistakes when selling a home, and the Realtors’ guide to ballparking cost estimates on common remodeling projects. After hearing tips from the Housesmarts TV host, RE/MAX agents from across the region shared their own tips during a roundtable networking session covering how to do self-promotion, creating competitive listing presentations, helping your business for iPhone and iPad users and much more.
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As a part of the event, agents were encouraged to bring a toy to donate to children staying at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. A raffle was also held to help raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network which Lurie is a part of. Prizes up for grabs included Chicago Bulls tickets, a gift certificate to Gibson’s Steakhouse and tickets to the 39th Annual RE/MAX Northern Illinois Awards Ceremony. The 2016 SAC Board of Directors was also introduced during the big event. The new SAC Board of Directors is: President, Terri Swiderski, RE/MAX Professionals Select, Naperville
Treasurer, Tom Humpal, RE/MAX Property Source, Rockford and Belvidere
Vice President, Angie Lotz, RE/MAX All Pro, Bloomingdale
Secretary, Connie Burnette, RE/MAX Professionals, Bolingbrook
2nd Vice President, Dale Taylor, RE/MAX “10”, New Lenox
Past President, Melissa Somone-Graham, RE/MAX 1st, Elmhurst
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Over $156,000 raised by RE/MAX Northern Illinois’ Network of Offices for Children’s Miracle Network in 2015 The RE/MAX network in northern Illinois reports that its 2,250 sales associates raised $156,796.42 for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) and Lurie’s Children’s Hospital of Chicago in 2015. RE/MAX is the official real estate sponsor of CMN.
“Once again, our sales associates have made an extra effort to assist CMN and Lurie Children’s with the great work they do helping children and their families who are facing serious medical challenges,” said Jim Merrion, regional director of the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network. “Since 1992, our network has donated nearly $2.9 million to CMN, and we expect to reach the $3 million mark this year.”
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The donations to CMN are generated in a number of ways, with nearly all of the funds coming directly from RE/MAX sales associates, most in the form of either a single annual gift or a contribution made each time the associate closes a real estate transaction. In 2015, 57 Miracle Offices and 1 Gift of Love in the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, more than half the total, achieved Miracle Office status.
The 2015 gift to CMN was augment by a new program developed in cooperation with CBS Radio and the Chicago Bears Radio Network. Each time the Bears scored a touchdown, participating RE/MAX offices made a donation to Touchdowns for Charity, with all proceeds benefitting CMN.
In Memoriam - Our Heartfelt Condolences Go Out To:
Laura Murphy
Esther Stob
The friends, family and colleagues of Laura Murphy, RE/MAX Properties of Western Springs, who recently passed. Laura was with RE/MAX since 1987. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are appreciated.
Esther Stob – wife of Randy Stob, B/O of RE/MAX Achievers passed away January 3rd. She will be forever remembered by her family and friends.
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RE/MAX Northern Illinois Showcases Soaring Home in Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day Parade For the first time ever, RE/MAX Northern Illinois brought the Soaring Home balloon to the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in downtown Chicago. The event which was attended by more than 400,000 parade-goers and watched by an additional 3.1 million people on television saw Soaring Home march along the route accompanied by agents and broker/owners from the RE/MAX Northern Illinois network. Offices represented along the route as well as the VIP section included RE/MAX “10”, RE/MAX Center, RE/MAX Cornerstone, RE/MAX Exclusive Properties, RE/MAX Professionals Select, RE/MAX Suburban, RE/MAX Villager and RE/MAX Vision 212.
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RE/MAX Loyalty Celebrates Their First Year in Business, with Millennial Outlook Towards Future
RE/MAX Loyalty in Chicago’s Logan Square recently celebrated their first year anniversary celebrating their millennial roots and ambition moving into 2016. In their inaugural year of operations, RE/MAX Loyalty surpassed their first year goal of 13 agents and finished off the year strong by increasing their Loyalty family to 16 agents. To close out the year, the Loyalty agents and staff celebrated their one year anniversary with a photo shoot. “RE/MAX was the perfect fit for what we wanted to be,” said broker/owner Mark Santoyo, “it offers the history, experience, mark of excellence with the latest and greatest real estate opportunities available”. With new construction on the up and up in the Logan Square neighborhood, adding to the vibrant community, broker/owner and managing broker Augustina Campos and her sister Ashley Campos, both millennials themselves, aim to keep infusing a millennial approach into the office’s agent and staff to help grow the business.
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Office Events RE/MAX Signature Hosts Fundraiser for Lurie Children’s Hospital RE/MAX Signature Homes held their 10th annual fundraiser to benefit Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago on Thursday November 12. In total, $3,700 was raised at the event that was attended by more than 100 people, including 29 members of the Signature Homes office in Hinsdale. In addition to the enjoyment of food and drinks, the raffle prizes available for attendees to win included Chicago Bulls tickets, wine, gift baskets and jewelry from local designers.
RE/MAX All Pro and RE/MAX Great American North Celebrate Christmas by Giving Back to the Community RE/MAX All Pro of Bloomingdale and Sugar Grove and RE/MAX Great American North of Wasco/ St. Charles held their annual Christmas Party at Riverside Banquets in Geneva on December 8, celebrating with good food, games and giving back to the community. A raffle was held to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network with over $1,100 raised. In addition, agents from the three offices donated enough money to the Bloomingdale VFW to send 51 care packages to troops overseas.
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Office Events RE/MAX Professionals Select Holds Toys for Tots Fundraiser RE/MAX Professionals Select in Naperville held an office holiday event on December 5th in an effort to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network and donate toys to the local Toys for Tots chapter. Kids were able to meet Santa and take photos with the Minions from the movie, Despicable Me. RE/MAX agent Jennifer Slown collected the donations on behalf of the Fox Valley Marine Corps League to bring to children in need during the holiday season.
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RE/MAX Valley, Realtors Participates in Christmas Tree Food Drive RE/MAX Valley, Realtors of Roscoe participated in the Tree Lighting and Parade held by the Village of Roscoe and Roscoe Area Chamber of Commerce in December. Businesses in the area, including RE/MAX Valley, Realtors competed in a tree decoration contest. Local residents voted for their favorite tree by donating canned goods in bins in front of each tree. The tree decorated by RE/MAX Valley, Realtors came in 2nd place. All of the food donated was given to the HarlemRoscoe Fire Department to be used for local families during the holiday season.
RE/MAX All Pro and RE/MAX Great American North Hold Client Appreciation Event On Saturday December 5th, RE/MAX All Pro & RE/MAX Great American North hosted their annual Client Appreciation Movie Event at Charlestowne Mall Theatre. 570 clients, agents and staff were in attendance. Clients feasted on donuts, juice, coffee, popcorn & pop, took pictures with Santa and watched “The Good Dinosaur�.
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