Real estate agent Suzy Marcus combines her skills in design, staging and real estate into a successful business that keeps her busy and her customers happy.
While her mother was building a career helping people buy and sell houses in and around Hinsdale, Suzy Marcus was helping owners turn those houses into homes. Five years ago, the two came together to offer buyers and sellers the best they both have to offer.
“I’ve been in the design business for over 25 years,” said Marcus, daughter of real estate agent Suzy Styfer. Styfer has been selling homes for 25 years.
“She’s the seasoned professional,” Marcus said. Combined with Marcus’ background in digital marketing and her eye for design, she said the two make a great pair.
“It’s great for a seller to have the extra boost of professional designing advice,” said Marcus, who not only helps homeowners see what needs to be done to sell their property, but helps them to get it done. In addition to her real estate business, Marcus maintains a design business as well as a staging service, all of which are part of her services to sellers. She helps sellers store things, sell things and find new things that will appeal to buyers and help their home to sell quickly.
Marcus said she and Styfer sell everything from high-end estates to small condo units. No matter the size of the home or the price of the sale, Marcus said every customer gets the same level of service.
“Luxury is not a price point, but a level of service,” she said, quoting a mantra followed by all agents at Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty.
While it’s not imperative to live in the town where you’re selling homes, Marcus said the 21 years she has spent in Hinsdale give her insight that she can share with buyers and sellers alike. She knows the neighborhoods and the schools and can help new Hinsdaleans feel at home.
The bidding wars that drove the market this spring have subsided, Marcus said, but the real estate market in Hinsdale is never slow.
“We have a very vibrant town here,” said Marcus, adding that any time is a good time to sell because there are always people looking for homes.
Of course, to get the top price for a property, that property has to have what buyers are looking for. Marcus said she helps sellers prepare their homes for the market by helping them to see through a buyer’s eyes.
“You have to come out of the gate strong,” she said. At the minimum that means getting rid of clutter, tidying up the landscaping and cleaning top-to-bottom, inside and out. Using her staging business, she will replace sellers’ outdated furniture with items that are more attractive to buyers.
“Buyers want everything done,” said Marcus, who will sometimes advise homeowners to update kitchens and baths or paint walls before hitting the market.
“The list is always changing,” Marcus said of the must-haves on buyers’ wish lists. Finding a house that has it all can be difficult, if not impossible. Part of her job is to help buyers see how a house that doesn’t quite check all of the boxes can become the home they’ve been looking for.
“I like to give them the vision,” she said.
— by Sandy Illian Bosch
