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Chaz Walters

"Hot Property"
  • 30 Listings
Broker at Sudler Sothebys Realty

Experience

Experience:
Broker Associate/Owner for Sudler Sothebys August 1993—present
CHAZ WALTERS is synonymous with Chicago real estate. He and his HOT PROPERTY brand are…
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Specialties:
Scott Delevitt - Agent
I worked at Bear Kaufman Realty, a small independent real estate company. Hot Property/ Sudler Sothebys(Chaz Walters) has the greatest marketing, advertising and a lot of exposure. That is what I like the most. There is a camaraderie in the office. There are a lot of resources behind you when you work at Hot Property. I am able to take my career to the next level at this office. I have had my best year in this business this year as part of Hot Property. As a client, you want to work with someone who is going to represent you well. That seems to be the culture that is reinforced at Hot Property. The benefit to being in an office that Chaz Walters owns is that everyone knows him. That is a great ice breaker when you meet people. I took a billboard out and I think it is really exciting and impressive. I want to reinforce my awareness.

Adjectives: Innovative, Growing, Dynamic, Because of the marketing and exposure, it is a great office to list your property with
Certifications
& Awards:
2004 Chicagoland Sales Superstars
From Chicago Agent Magazine

Chaz Walters
Hot Property, Lakeview
$55,000,000

"Motivation, to me, comes from closing the deal, and from seeing other agents in the Hot Property offi ce closing deals. Their energy takes me to the next level. Opening my own offices in 2004 gave me the freedom to go to the next step as an agent. It’s exciting to see both newer and experienced agents joining the company and using the same tools that have made me successful. My continued success, as well as the successes of the agents around me, will keep me motivated for a long time. If there is a day I am not motivating myself, Janice Corley, my managing broker, makes sure I get back on track."

About

I’ve heard the buzz around various water coolers; because of his unorthodox ad campaign, some people in the business believe that Walters is a vain egotist. Well, I hate to kill your buzz, folks, but he is just the opposite – humble, polite, self-effacing. He is also keenly observant; more than his casual, down-to earth demeanor lets on. He discovered at a fairly young age that exposure (in any business) works, and that it takes money to make money, also, that marching to a different drummer gets you noticed.

“If you’re with a group of five thousand people walking north on a sidewalk, how are they going to distinguish you? The only way is if you walk in the opposite direction,” says Walters. “When I started working in Chicago, I thought ‘how can I possibly compete with five thousand agents?’ You have to do something pretty outlandish to get somebody’s attention. So I came up with the billboard campaign. I talked to everybody, even my old manager at Coldwell Banker, he’s the first one I told all about it, and he said I was nuts. I was going to be the laughing stock. But in the beginning, when you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, that’s when you take those kinds of chances.”

Walters took a big chance and convinced a media company to let him do something unusual for the billboard biz: he got them to let him have his billboard in a different location each month for 12 months. The account rep told him it took her 25 phone calls to get the approval.

The response was not immediate, and his first calls were mostly from people he knew, some calling to say “how could you do that?!” He can laugh about it now. The billboards got him some press; he was interviewed for the Lakeview neighborhood paper, and even The Chicago Reader.

The billboards, he says, were the catalyst that started getting him noticed by the people that count: the potential clients. And he stresses “potential clients,” asserting that the billboards don’t get him business; they just get him air time. “It’s just a way of getting you in front of them,” he says. “You still have to sell yourself, still have to know what you’re doing, still have to be good at sales, still have to make them trust you.”

Testimonials

"There are definite advantages to working with a cutting edge boutique firm like Hot Property. Before Chaz started Hot Property, I always wondered why he would work for someone else when he has all the talent, ideas, follow-through and marketing. Everyone in the Chicago area knows Chaz and Hot Property. My family worked with Chaz to sell their property 10 years ago and we've been committed to working with him ever since. At that time, they had their property listed with another agent (on the market for 8 months) and the agent wanted my parents to sell their house at a low price. My dad knew how much he had invested so he was skeptical. I introduced Chaz to my parents and my dad immediately felt comfortable. Chaz was really ambitious but realistic about what the market could bring them and where they should list their house. Basically he did his homework and was sharp. He instilled a lot of confidence in my parents and in me. Chaz is not just a sales person he is a well rounded business man. He sold my parents' house in two months; he does whatever it takes to get the job done. Since that initial sale our family and friends have all dealt with Chaz many times and have had consistent satisfaction. He is a go getter, and if you want to sell your house, he is the person to go to. You don’t see the same level of passion in other agents. You are just another customer to most agents and you don't see the added value. For example, I recently listed and sold my condo with Chaz. I first sat down with other agents to see what they had to say; they did not even try to get my business. It confirmed my suspicion; other agents lack the same level of smarts, persistence and follow through. How are they going to sell my home if they do not have the persistence and necessary follow through to get my listing? During the 2 1/2 weeks it took to sell my condo, Chaz proactively found my new property. He knew exactly what I wanted and what to ask to fully represent and protect me. It is easy to give your trust to Chaz, he has an incredible understanding of all aspects of his business. When you see all of the marketing and advertising Hot Property offers, sellers know that it’s a bonus that you don’t get from other real estate firms. Coldwell Banker told me they do not believe in doing newspaper ads, when they list your house they only make it available through the listing system. When you hire someone, you want to feel that they are the best in terms of their passion, commitment (100%) and personal investment for your home. A lot of people may think because Chaz is famous, he is not accessible – Nothing is further from the truth. When Chaz takes your home and lists it, you feel like it is the only property in the City, like it is the most important home he has listed. He is also always at the forefront of technology and communications – he's fully wired. He probably gets 3 hours sleep a night because he is so pumped about what he does. That’s the agent you want behind you. I would recommend him to anyone, and would never use anyone else. I considered by owner, but feel it is well worth the value to work with Chaz. The value of listing with Hot Property is tremendous, from advertising to follow up calls to proper notice on open houses to valuable market information and a high level of contact throughout the process from the company. Hot Property also has credible contacts in every area from moving to mortgages. I could not say enough about Chaz Walters and Hot Property for any aspect you are doing in Real Estate"
Dawn Grana Sat Aug 16, 2008

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