Whether at work or at home, award-winning real estate agents Chuck and Diana Ivas have been a team for more than 48 years. (Jim Slonoff photo)
Diana Ivas wasn't looking for an escape when she left her teaching career after 17 years.
"I loved teaching," Diana said.
But not long after dipping her toe into the real estate business in 1988, she discovered she loved that world even more.
Now decades into her real estate career, Diana said those years in the classroom still impact her ability to do her job.
"To be a teacher, you have to be very organized," said Diana, who also listed good listening skills and the ability to work with many kinds of people among the qualities that she believes are important to both vocations.
Diana said she always has a plan for how she will sell a home or find a home for her client. An integral part of every plan is her husband, Chuck.
An interior design contractor, Chuck said he's managed nearly every type of home project.
"There's not much about a house I don't know," said Chuck, who earned his real estate license and joined his wife's business in 1993.
The two work as a pair, with Diana often taking on the showings and other tasks at the front end of a transaction and Chuck helping with inspections, closings and serving as the liaison between the client and the attorneys.
"We each bring our strengths to the table," Chuck said.
For Chuck, that includes his experience and expertise regarding remodels and repairs. With no extra cost to the client, Chuck often coordinates and oversees the work needed to prepare a home for sale or make it the perfect home for its new owner.
The Ivases, both brokers with Berkshire Hathaway in Hinsdale, moved into the Graue Mill condominiums in 1980 and built their current home in Hinsdale in 1998. As longtime residents of the village, Diana and Chuck said they can answer a buyer's questions about the village's schools, parks and neighborhoods. Diana noted their familiarity with the area doesn't stop with Hinsdale, or even the suburbs. They sell homes and represent clients all over the Chicago area, including in the city.
Today's Hinsdale market is different than it was just a few months ago, Diana said. Agents are no longer seeing bidding wars, with homes selling for far above their list price. But homes in Hinsdale are still finding buyers. Diana said that's especially true of homes with large primary bedrooms and updated kitchens and baths.
Diana said bedrooms with private bathrooms, open-concept floor plans and detached garages often show up on the wish lists of today's buyers. She and Chuck said it's their job to help buyers realize that no home has everything, and to help them see the positives and the potential in a home that they like, but that doesn't check every box.
Sometimes, Chuck said, it's his job to steer a client away in another direction.
"I want to protect my client from making any bad decisions," said Chuck, who added that every transaction should be about the client, and never simply about making a sale.
Now in their 70s, the Ivases have no plans to retire.
"I like putting real estate deals together," Chuck said of why he chooses to keep working. And of course, both of them like the people they work with.
"It's really been wonderful working with my wife in this business," Chuck said.
- story by Sandy Illian Bosch
