City Living 

Home may be sweet, but buying or selling yours can be a real challenge. As a longtime resident of the north side of Chicago and a certified Realtor® with the established company @properties, I have the resources, expertise, and passion to help my clients meet their city living goals.

Hassle-free Selling

I know how difficult it can be to conquer clutter even on normal days—not to mention getting your home in “showroom” condition when it’s on the market. I’ll provide you with tips and tricks to keep rooms neat, organized, and in prime selling shape. As an experienced home staging professional, I’ll even show up early to appointments and help prepare your house for each showing. With my seasoned negotiating skills, I’ll work hard to get you the best possible price in the least possible amount of time—all while working around your schedule.

Through my relationship with @properties, Chicago’s leading real estate brokerage firm, your listing will get maximum exposure, ensuring the chances of a quick, profitable sale.

Buy with Confidence

The north side of Chicago offers families a wealth of amenities and opportunities, from up and coming restaurants to scenic parks to high-quality school districts. One of the best parts of my job is helping clients discover new neighborhoods and find the ones that best meet their unique needs and interests.

As a member of the @properties team, I have access to hundreds of insider previews for new listings not yet on the market, so you’ll be among the first to see them.  I’ll work with you before, during, and well after the purchase of your new home, serving as your personal advisor for all aspects of Chicago city life. Whether you need help finding a lender, a painter, or a handyman, I can help.

Why Kelli?

For me, real estate isn't just a job it's a delight. I love nothing more than helping people find the homes to house their dreams and get quick, lucrative offers for selling properties. I strive to offer the personalized, results-oriented attention you'll be hard-pressed to get from bigger, commercialized agents.

Insider Experience: A full-time Realtor since 2003, I'm a resident of Lincoln Square with an intimate knowledge of the local neighborhoods and market trends.

Education: To stay abreast of the ever-changing industry trends and technologies, I invest in continuing self-education and training, and also keep up with the latest trade publications and market reports.

Credentials: I'm proud to have earned the status of Accredited Buyer Representative(ABR). Awarded by the National Association of Realtors, this designation is the benchmark of excellence in buyer representation. I'm also a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), a prestigious ranking given to only 5% of the most rigorously trained, highly ethical, and top-performing Realtors in the United States. In addition, I'm an Accredited Staging Professional(ASP), making me uniquely qualified to get your home aesthetically primed to sell.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS:

"Chris and I knew at the time we put the condo up for sale that it was going to be a hard sell owing to market conditions. I have to say, it was purely your determination, hard work and knowledge of the market and key drivers that sold the condo within the right timeframe for us to buy our target home. Your advice regarding the staging of our condo was extremely effective and we were not short of compliments regarding the show home condition. Thanks for everything - we look forward to using you again in the future!" ¨-Julie and Chris, Lincoln Park

"Kelli did an amazing job in the staging, marketing and selling efforts of our condo. Her efforts and energy are a main reason we got our asking price in a very saturated market!"
-Jeff and Penny, Lakeview

"Thank you for selling our house in just five days! We are very grateful for your dedication to selling our house and helping us find our new home. Your professionalism, attention to detail, and endless energy proved to be the real success of both transactions. You were a true pleasure to work with - Thank you!"
Kathleen and Steve, North Center

"Kelli was great. She sold my condo in two months andgot an excellent price. She gave me many simple suggestions that made my condo show better. She alsodid an excellent job of explaining every step of the process. Communication was excellent. She gave me manyupdates and useful feedback after each showing. She also was really considerate of my schedule, which is difficult, and did a great job of scheduling showings at times that were convenient for me. Overall, it was a great experience and I look forward to working with her again!"
-Shelly, Lakeview

"My wife Bridget and I highly recommend Kelli as a Realtor in the city of Chicago. Bridget and I were lucky to have found Kelli at an Open House in February of 2005. We had been walking through Open Houses as we prepared to buy our first condo in the city when we met Kelli. Immediately, Kelli was friendly, professional and really went the "extra mile" to gain our trust and confidence. This ultimately "won" our business in finding our first condo.

Kelli worked diligently with us as we made our way through the buying process really consulting with us every step of the way. Kelli was above all else honest. She knew as soon as we walked into a condo whether or not it was "the one" for us. Once we had found our condo Kelli's dedication didnt end. She worked with us right up through the close making sure she answered any and all of our questions. Her follow up was truly stellar!

For all of the reasons above, we called Kelli immediately when we knew we would be relocating out of the state and had to sell our condo 2 years later in May of 2007. Once again, Kelli's professionalism came shining through. She had a detailed and comprehensive plan on selling our condo. Kellis attention to detail and recommendations on staging our condo for sale were really invaluable. So invaluable, that Im happy to say we sold our condo in 14 days! We give 100% of the credit to this quick sale to Kellis focus, fast pace, and understanding of the real estate market.

In summary, we highly recommend Kelli Johannesen as a realtor in the city of Chicago. Her professionalism, honesty, market knowledge, and overall great attitude will really make the home buying or selling process a great experience!"

-Matt & Bridget, Lakeview

Kelli was a joy to work with and very motivated to not only fine me a home but to make sure it fit the criteria that I was looking for. She was also very helpful throughout the process. This was my first home so every step of the way was new to me.  She provided information, suggestions and advice every step of the way. Kelli was very patient with me and understood that being my first home I wanted to be 100% comfortable with my purchase. I've already passed Kelli's information to friends that may be looking soon. She's great.

Jeff H, Andersonville

We dealt with a number of realtors in our home buying process, and Kelli really stood out in how hard she worked for us.  She did a great job selling our place (suggesting ways to get our place ready to show, lots of open houses and following up with people who came by, answering all of questions).  Give her a call!

Kim and Aaron, South Loop

Kelli did a great job making me feel comfortable with the whole first time home buying experience.  I was doing this process on my own and she gave me a lot of support!

Heidi, Lakeview

Kelli was absolutely fantastic!  We were first time buyers and she could not have made the process any easier for us.

Jed and Angela, Lakeview

Kelli was incredibly helpful in both selling our loft and helping with the purchase of our new house.  She was very considerate of our situation in dealing with our six month old son.  She always showed up a bit early to make sure there were no dishes out and toys were put away.  She also called immediately to let us know when the appointment was done and we were free to return home.

We were living in the West Loop and didn’t know a lot about the north side.  Kelli drove us through every neighborhood.  She showed us schools, parks, grocery stores, etc.  Her knowledge made us much more comfortable in such a big move.  We eventually found a wonderful house in a neighborhood we love.

We have told many friends about Kelli, I highly recommend working with her.

Todd and Sara, Lincoln Square

Thank you so much for making our home buying process so great.  We really appreciate all of the time you spent with us and your patience!  We are so happy with our choice of building and neighborhood.  Your expertise and advise was invaluable!

Amy and Jason, Ravenswood 

Kelli was absolutely wonderful throughout the entire sale process. I first approached her over a year ago, and at that time, she provided sobering advice - honest and true. This year, when my job transfer came up, Kelli was my first call. 

She had better news for me. She gave some tough-love about things I needed to do before we could go to market. But her attention to detail and excellent aesthetic sense was exactly what I needed. 

Once we went to market - on the day she picked - we had 3 offers at the end of the 3rd day on market - all over asking price. She handled the negotiations smoothly and helped make everything go without a glitch. 

I would wholeheartedly recommend Kelli to anyone who is looking to sell. And I'd recommend listening to her advice - she knows what she's doing.

Brian, West Loop 

Kelli is an absolutely outstanding person. She did an excellent job selling our place during a very tough market and when we hit hiccups along the road she was always there for us.

Very professional, diligent, honest, upstanding, hard working and good humored, always on the ball and consistently follows through on the myriad details that are required to put together a successful transaction.

She absolutely will not quit until the job is done. I would not hesitate to work with her again.

Justin, Wicker Park 

Kelli was great; we would highly recommend her to any of our friends. She is very approachable and easy to work with. You work with her and only her. Some agents have a team in which you never know who will be doing your showings/etc, but Kelli will be the only one with you from start to finish. When it is time for the inspection, lawyer, and mortgage to come into play, use her recommendations/referrals. They are some of the best in their industry. Kelli definitely knows what she is doing. 

Mark and Riane, River North 

What I love about Kelli is I knew that she always had my back and best interest at heart at all times. She is so passionate about what she does. Although my offer on the property was a very respectable offer and in line with the market, I was ready to walk away because the sellers were looking for more than I was willing to offer. Kelli knew how much I wanted the Condo and continued to negotiate hard with the sellers broker completely driven to bring this to a successful close. They ultimately accepted my final offer. If it wasn't for Kelli fighting for me, I would have lost the Condo.

Gina, Ravenswood