Page 5 - Letters of Reference

May 14, 2020

Janet Owen, is simply the best of the best. Janet represented me in the recent sale ($1,850,000)
of my single family home in Lincoln Park, Chicago. There is a reason she is considered the top
real estate broker in the city – she consistently goes above and beyond in her representation of
clients. Prior to retaining Janet, I had met her only once and had no personal or professional
relationship with her, so please consider my comments unbiased.

Outstanding Customer Service and Market Knowledge. Janet took on my listing in what is and
was a very difficult market for high end single family homes. She hired a professional photog-
rapher and spent hours writing and editing a spectacular printed brochure and developing a
sales strategy, including a realistic price – not overly optimistic but not too low so as to assure
herself a quick sale. Janet is a walking encyclopedia of the real estate market. Her extensive
knowledge enabled her to quickly contact the most likely brokers, developers and potential
buyers for my home. Mine was not a “cookie cutter” home – the house is 150 years old with
unique charms but also with all the issues associated with older properties, which made the sale
more difficult. She walked through my home and recommended which fixes were needed and
would be worth the expense. Janet knows all the players – not only brokers and buyers, but
also appraisers, surveyors, real estate attorneys both on the buy and sell side, packers, movers,
storage managers, “transitional consultants,” piano movers, in addition to contractors, painters,
etc. She knows everyone integral to the process, and, more importantly, they all know and
respect her.

Integrity. I would wager that no one in real estate possesses more integrity than Janet. She
never once put her own interests above mine. She has boundless energy and worked tirelessly
on my behalf. She maintained constant Communication, as evidenced by literally hundreds of
emails, phone calls and texts.

Negotiation and Closing. Due to her innate intelligence, perception and experience, Janet is a
superb judge of character. She was able to read the intentions and level of interest of potential
buyers and brokers – she knew which were likely to be serious; which were serious but
questionable financially and which were just curious. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Janet stayed
with me through two contracts that fell through. When a full-priced buyer backed out at the
very last minute, another broker might have given up. Janet never missed a beat or let me get
down or depressed. She was back at it with even more energy and in no time produced the
perfect buyer and closed the transaction. I owe her a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid
and that is why I am writing this testimonial.

This excerpt is from a thank you note I wrote her after the sale: “Janet, I will never be able to
thank you enough for all you’ve done toward the sale of my house. Your skill, enthusiasm, pa-
tience, perseverance and hard work will always be appreciated more than you know. I thank
you with my whole heart for never giving up. It just all feels right -- right broker, right buyers
and right timing. Many thanks and God bless you!”

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to recommend Janet Owen.

Sincerely,

Gaile Beaurline Leahy