…from the article Down to Business: Two Naperville Real Estate Brokers Offer Secrets to their Success by Naperville Sun.
Business: The Ville Team
Address: 101 N. Washington St, Naperville
Phone / Website: 630-420-8834; TheVilleTeam.com
Years in Business: 9
What does your business do? “We are a real estate team that focuses on the buying and selling of residential, commercial and rental properties in and around the Naperville area,” Burrell said.
“Everybody has their specialty within the team,” Salela said. “We’re under Coldwell Banker realty. We are a satellite office of that brokerage.”
Who thought of the company name? “It was my idea,” Salela said. “My kids are now older, but when they were teens they’d say, ‘Hey, let’s go hang out in The Ville.’ … We kind of played off of that because this is where our roots are planted, in Naperville.”
What are the roots of your partnership? “Walt and I used to be neighbors on Jackson Avenue so we’ve known each other for 30 years. That’s how we met,” Salela said.
You both worked in real estate before? “No. He used to own California Closets. … I owned a personal assistant business called URGo2Girl. I was working for high-end clients, managing their lives. I started buying and selling real estate for them. Walt sold California Closets. He got into real estate a year before I did.”
Can you describe working in real estate? “It’s a very cut-throat business. I wanted to trust someone so I begged Walt to be my business partner. And he finally caved and said yes,” Salela said.
“When you sell closets, you’re in clients’ homes,” Burrell said. “For me, it was a natural progression. We meet with homeowners and explain to them how our process is better than other agents out there.”
How are you better? “The first thing is we are hyper local,” he said. “We know the market extremely well. We are constantly analyzing the real estate market on all levels. We are very full time. Bridget and I are seven days a week and focused on trying to get the best dollar for our clients when they sell a property. We are great negotiators. Our media and advertising put us far above anybody else out there. We do a lot of luxury properties.
“It starts with photography. Our photographer will shoot 400 to 600 photos of a house. … We’ll shoot horizontal and vertical video. … We’re able to tell the story of a house.”
How is the housing market? “The market is still a seller’s market because there is very little inventory,” Burrell said. “As long as interest rates stay high, people get a little finnicky about moving. We’re the No. 1 team in Naperville by a landslide with respect to volume. We know the market and people rely on us to be their eyes and ears looking for homes and selling properties.”
What about luxury homes? “We sell a lot of them,” Salela said. “I sold 21 Forest recently. $3.86 million. Walt is closing on dirt for $2.5 million.”
“Not bad for dirt, eh? A little over an acre,” Burrell said. “A $4 million home is going in there.”
What sets you apart? “Our customer service stands out,” Salela said. “We’re not just going to list a property, put a sign out front and hope for the best…. When we get a listing, we show up at every showing. We know our client’s house as well as the client knows it.”
How’s the commercial market? “Naperville does extremely well because we have rail and we have Interstate 88,” Burrell said. “We’ve been voted the safest community. Businesses tend to gravitate toward that. We do a lot of big box. There are companies that need to store inventory.”
What do you like best? “I like that it’s different every day and I can make my own hours,” Salela said. “I love the first-time buyer, walking them through it.”
“I love building an experience for sellers and buyers,” Burrell said. “That we did everything we can do on their behalf. I’m looking for an extremely happy client who refers friends, family, neighbors to us. Referral is huge, probably 80% of our business.”
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