Find your
Perfect Home
AT PREMIER LIVING PROPERTIES, IT’S ABOUT ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO FIT CLIENTS’ NEEDS By Diane Krieger Spivak | Photos provided by Premier Living Properties
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hen it comes to real estate sales, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Just ask Tamara O’Connor, owner and broker at St. Charles-based Premier Living Properties. O’Connor runs the family-owned real estate firm with her daughter Amanda. They consistently rank in the top tier of Realtors. “People think you have to be part of a national franchise. That’s not true,” she says. “You just have to be serviceminded, work by referral and give your clients an amazing experience.”
A big part of that experience is that O’Connor explains the selling process from beginning to end, so clients know what to expect. The numbers speak for themselves: • Tamara O’Connor is in the top 100 Realtors out of 60,000+ Realtors in Midwest Real Estate Data’s Multiple Listing Services (MRED MLS). • O’Connor has handled 3,500 real estate transactions since 1989. The vast majority of her clients come from referrals. So, what sets Premier Living apart from other real estate firms? “I think it’s our level of service. We’re not trying to hire a hundred agents,” says O’Connor. “We only have 30 between our two offices, and at the end of the day, if you want to sell your house or find a house, we’re going to make the experience so good you’re going to refer your friends. We’re relationship-based. Not transactionalbased.” While she is in the business of buying and selling homes, it’s not a hard sell as far as O’Connor is concerned. “We want
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to find people the perfect house they’re looking for,” she says. “We don’t rush people when we feel there is something better out there that fits your needs. Some agents just want to make the sale.” Premier Living also prides itself on its attention to detail and thorough services. “We do every single thing that needs to get done to sell a house, whether it’s photographs, descriptions or exposure or marketing,” says O’Connor. “We do it on a very high level as if it were our own home. We’re pretty passionate.” Another key to her success is that she enjoys what she’s doing. “I like being involved with people and helping them find the perfect home. I just love meeting all the different people and helping them on their journey to find the house that helps them have their best life.” Finding a perfect match involves digging deeper than the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. “They might be into cooking or want
a finished basement for a sports collection, or a craft room. It’s about asking the right questions about how they’re going to live in the house. That involves being a good listener. They may not know what they want until they start talking.” O’Connor’s definition of a good Realtor is one who is local, knows the market and is connected. She finds homes through peers and thousands of past clients. An avid reader, she is always learning her craft and has earned all her real estate designations. As a top agent, O’Connor is also able to mentor and train other agents. Premier Living Properties not only helps families find homes locally. “Our slogan is we’re local, we’re global. When people move out of state, we find the person that can help them in their local destination city,” says O’Connor.
PREMIER LIVING PROPERTIES 612 W. Main St., St. Charles 630-377-1646 www.plproperties.com
