Oak Park: Meet Jessica & Mike
Why did you choose this neighborhood?
We went back and forth over the city and suburbs for years before narrowing it down to bordering suburbs. As our search went on we found ourselves at more and more showings in Oak Park before one stuck. We love the residential semi-suburban feeling while being so close to the city. It's the best of both worlds.
What are you most excited about in your new home?
The space! We upgraded from a 2 bedroom condo with a tiny balcony to a 5 bedroom house with a backyard knowing that this would be over "forever home." It was important to us to find a place that would be difficult to outgrow. We moved in 6 months ago, so half of the house is still half empty, but the extra space has been especially helpful with the COVID world we're living in now.
How did you decide on this place?
Mike had a long list of "must haves" and this house checked all of the boxes. Mike's parents also showed up to the open house (which was a surprise to us) and loved it too. In the end another offer was picked over us, but Meg kept in touch with the realtor and told him to let her know if anything changed. A few weeks later she got the call that the first offer fell through and that they'd be willing to insert us in their place at a price lower than our original offer. It was a no brainer!
Do you plan to do any other updates on your place?
Our house is new construction so luckily there aren't any big renovations , but we plan to upgrade the backyard. The yard is pretty small, but we'd love to add a hot tub, outdoor TV, and better entertainment layout, so we're hoping to add that to our 2021 "to do" list.
What was a must-have in your home?
We had a long list of "must haves" but the biggest one was a big kitchen with a large island. We both love to cook and entertain, so we've spent countless hours around the kitchen island at our condo and figured it'd be the same in this house. We also got to the point where every cabinet was packed so opening a door could lead to an avalanche of pots and pans. We're loving the flow of our new kitchen plus the counter top space and cabinets have been a lifesaver.
What was the best part about working with Meg?
Meg was great! She did a really great job helping us to navigate all sorts of places during our search. On the buy side she was especially helpful with reading the market while helping to pinpoint an ideal price and strategy for each place. On the sell side she basically did everything to get our place ready and listed quickly. She gave us a focused list of cosmetic upgrades and helped to get it all done. In the end it paid off-we got it on the market in 2 weeks and received 2 offers within 4 days!