A native of Chicago, Kim has been a real estate agent since 1997. “But my real estate education really began while I was a teenager. My mother, an architect, developed a small condominium project in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. She acted as architect, developer and construction manager and my sister and I helped with the open houses each weekend. This was in the late 1970's when interest rates were in the high teens. It was a tough market, but we prevailed. In fact, many of the original buyers still live there!”
"I have worked with a broad range of clients - from first time buyers to sophisticated sellers - and I enjoy the variety. Each client is unique, just as every property is unique. I believe that my talent is in finding the perfect match between buyer and seller."
With a background in educational administration, Kim is organized, methodical, and thorough, yet retains a creative edge. "What I bring to the table as a real estate agent is my sincere desire to inform and educate my clients about marketplace trends, neighborhoods and specific properties. An educated client is better able to make an informed decision in what can be a very emotional process. When my husband and I renovated a 4-unit apartment building, I got a great education about costs and issues in rehabbing which I immediately shared with my clients who were considering a similar investment."
Kim loves what she does and her enthusiasm is obvious. "Many of my friends became my clients, and many of my clients have become friends. They know that I have their best interests in mind and they trust me. That's one of the best parts of my job and a great gift."
Kim is committed to being a great agent. She has been a Chicago Association of Realtors “top producer” since 1998. In 2005 she received @properties’ prestigious Road to Rolex Award, and she stays at the top of her game by investing in her professional education. She is among a small number of agents to retain a broker’s license. She holds CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) and GRI (Graduate, Realtor Institute) designations, which are awarded to fewer than 4% of agents nationwide. In 2009 Kim added a new designation by becoming a Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE). She is also proud to be an @ properties founders club member.
Professional, ethical conduct is especially important to Kim. She was the 2007-2008 chair of the Chicago Association of Realtor’s Ethics & Grievance Committee and served on the committee from 2005-2010. Since 2010 she has been serving on CAR’s Professional Standards Committee. Beginning in 2005, and at the request of @properties, kim teaches and mentors new agents on how to best work with and serve buyer-clients.
Kim has also lived and worked in Los Angeles and Denver, and holds licenses in both those states. “If someone is considering diversifying their real estate portfolio, I can refer them to some great agents.”
Since growing up in Lincoln Park, Kim has lived in almost every neighborhood on the north side of Chicago (“before there was a Starbucks on every corner”) and currently resides in North Center. She is a graduate of Chicago’s Francis W. Parker School and is vice-president of its Alumni Association. Kim has a bachelor’s degree in English from The University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master’s Degree in Film Studies from The University of Iowa. Kim’s personal interests include cinema, art, architecture, photography, surrealism, psychoanalytic thought, road-tripping & tennis.
