Welcome to newly launched blog!

This has been something that has been on my mind for awhile now and I just recently got the courage to do it. For several years now, I have been telling stories each month to a handful of people (some via letters and other via videos) of different ways that I am not necessarily a “Real Estate Agent” but instead someone that gets people what they want and has the joy of adding selling or helping someone buy a home to that list. This VLOG and BLOG will be a combination of what I see and do in real estate but also my stories and thoughts of following the simple, yet profound question, “How can I serve you today?” Watch below for an introduction to this.

Thanking My way through Vacation
(July 20th, 2022)

errands with man's best friend
(July 6th, 2022)

Moving on
(June 1st, 2022)

It is inevitable that in life people move. Look at me. I moved in the middle of the pandemic. I hopped the border from Illinois to Indiana where mask mandates are more loose, gas is cheaper (Remember in June 2020 when gas was $1.67), people drive slower, snow is cleared slower, people play soccer more dirty, taxes are cheaper, Greek food isn’t as good, less climbing gyms, 1/100,000 of a Chicago down-town, more people that wave, etc. Not sure why I went on a tangent here but everybody moves. Some of you move within a town, county, state, country, or within the globe. 

 

I realize that when you move, I might not be able to help you find your new house or you may know someone that is selling in a different state and unless it is IL, IN, or MI (Recently licensed in Michigan) you would think I would have NOTHING to do with it.

 

One of my first connections was with a mortgage broker just starting out recommended to me by Chaz Black at Baked Apple breakfast in Downers Grove. He has helped several of my clients, helped us get into our current house with a lot of information (we had to figure out which of the 4 of us would be best to be on the mortgage) and then refinance our loan as well. He decided to move to Charleston, SC with his new wife. We sat down a while ago and he told me about this and he said he would love for me to help him if I could. When it became time to start looking, I looked around for the perfect fit for him and googled, researched, and then eventually called.

I called Nelson Lundberg first off because of his website profile:

 

As an agent, Nelson prides himself on being thorough, precise, and eager for the journey as he and others will embark on through their buying/selling experience. Outside of the office, you may see Nelson running on the beach/Ravenel Bridge, spending time with his pets, or finding the best coffee in Charleston.

 

He answered the phone (which in my opinion, is very important, and if he did not answer, calling me back would have been just as important which is what I want for anyone I am going to trust with a referral) and then we chatted for about 10 minutes. Topics ranged from life, his real estate business, hobbies, etc and generally because I have interacted with so many agents, I can see through a lot of what they are selling. Nelson was genuine, cared about his clients, and was super knowledgeable of all things real estate. Also, one thing I was trying to find for Kobe was someone that he would be able to talk about different books with because ever since I knew Kobe, he loved to go to a coffee shop and read. Enter Nelson trying to find the best coffee, I thought it was a match made in heaven. (If you want to contact him, look at his website for more information https://dunesproperties.com/agent/nelson-lundberg/)

 

Flash forward several months of searching, they are under contract in a very difficult and stressful market for buyers in their price range where they were looking. Kobe and his wife and Nelson seem very happy with their future home which means SO AM I!

 

I appreciate all of you for even considering referring me to family, friends, or acquaintances that you have that I can personally serve! One aspect of this I am trying to grow is to find agents that I trust that are going to operate at a high-level like me (similar to other referrals I try to send your way) that will be able to help those same family or friends or acquaintances that are moving all the way from California to New York and anywhere in between. So next time I ask you the question, “Do you know of anyone buying or selling that I may be able to serve?” I also mean people not in Illinois, Indiana, or Michigan that I would be able to help find a perfect match for their real estate needs like Kobe and Nelson.

 

Stephen Seitz

THe squeaky wheel gets the oil
May 1st, 2022

So you know how I constantly send letters, thank you cards, calls, texts, emails, Bomb Bomb’s, etc every month to each of you? One such person that I had done this for recently started renovating homes and flipping them. We met together three months ago and he told me that no one in his life has been as consistent in doing this so he would pay me “Whatever I would charge” because he said I deserved it. Nothing makes me happier than hearing those words because although you can always shop around for real estate professionals or could even sell on your own, it always feels good to hear that you have worth (in a professional sense).

 

I know that it is a market where you could put a shoe on the side of the road and list it for $300,000.00 as a 1 bedroom luxurious home and get $30,000.00 over asking price but I was very blessed to be chosen to help him through the process. Professional pictures were taken and within 6 days we had 19 showings and were able to pick an offer that was going to work best for him. We even listed it higher than we thought when we first talked. In this market, it does not stop there as I spent time making sure that the above anticipated purchase price that we received would match the appraisal.  In this market, it is a huge concern. Without fail, we were able to receive an appraisal for the purchase price (which if I am being honest, always makes me a bit nervous and I told him that) but it worked out! Here is to hoping that all of our future deals go as swimmingly and hassle free as this one moving forward along with anyone that you introduce me to in the near future 🙂

 

If you would like to see the full listing, check out Zillow (Everybody already does at the below link) Click Here


Stephen Seitz

first all-virtual client = procrastination
APril 1st, 2022

So, this year the plan was to send these out every month on the first of the month…That or at least have them printed and addressed the first week of the month. Here we are, the second/third week of April and I am writing this so it is not the best New Year’s Resolution. At least I made it to April. Did you guys have any New Year’s Resolutions this year? Would love to hear what they are/were/aspired to be back in December? 🙂

 

Another reason for the delay is I fortunately was introduced to a couple that are moving to the area from Colorado Springs both going into their residency at two different hospitals! If you think that you are stressed out, imagine graduating from medical school, getting married, moving across the country, trying to find a home, and then starting a new residency program working 80+ hours a week. In writing all this, I don’t think that trying to find them a home is much of an excuse for the tardiness of this. Because the market is very much a seller’s market and they were virtual, every home that I thought would be a good fit, I was out the door scheduling a showing and recording it to show them. We fortunately have only had to write three offers but the first one was the one that got away. Currently, we are a back-up offer for that home with the possibility of being able to sneak into the home of their dreams. It has been much of a roller-coaster ride but as I write this, we are still waiting.

 

Flash forward to the second day of me writing this letter and WE GOT IT! What a wild ride it has been! They are beyond excited to be able to get into their dream home. This was their description that they sent the listing agent when we first submitted the offer:

Your house is the perfect place for us and our two dogs to call home for many years to come. Our dogs are the most important part of our little family, and we see your house as the perfect living space for them to finally have their own backyard! Having three bedrooms allows us to use one of the extra rooms as an office and one of them as an “on-call” or “night shift” room for whichever of the two of us has the opposite schedule at the time, and maybe even the opportunity to expand our family with a baby in the coming years. The unfinished basement affords us plenty of storage space, a home gym, and many opportunities for finishing it down the road to mold it into our idea of a dream home.

 

It is moments like this where I love my job. The moment when someone’s dreams come to fruition. I know I tell people when they ask me what I do, I tell them, “I basically get people what they want, I just so happen to get paid for it when it is the purchase or sale of a home. That’s how I support serving people for the time being. That is the reality. It is people like this couple that entrusted me with making a big decision in their life (even more so buying it without even seeing it). I finish every initial consultation the same way saying “Bottom line, I am going to get the job done properly for you and not let you down, Period.” That is always my intention and although we are pretty early in the process, that is my goal for this wonderful couple.

P.S. Did I mention that I may have secured them as two potential subs for our Co-ed soccer team next session if they have time between the 80+ hour work weeks? Not sure which one I am more excited about. Finding them a home or finding them a soccer team on Dad’s Sawmill and Woodshop. Although the more and more I think about it, I think Stone House Group, LLC might start sponsoring our soccer team. Text me, email me, or call me with your opinion

PPS. As of today, June 30th, 2022 we actually won our CO-ED championship because of these two athletes that joined the team!

Stephen Seitz

how can i connect you today?
(March 1st, 2022)

For the first time in a while, I have writer’s block in thinking of what to say in this letter which is the third edition of the year. I know a lot of you are going to be upset that I am saying this, but can you believe it is already March!? For some of us, that means unpredictable warm days with even more unpredictable cold days. We are actually going to the Ice Castles at Lake Geneva for the first time. Nothing says wrapping up this year’s winter with checking out some frozen castles in the land of the cheese. Have any of you had any highlights this winter that were firsts for you or that you enjoyed? A couple of mine were handful of trips to the local golf course to go sledding, using my EGO Snowblower (thanks Dan Cleveland for the recommendation) for lots of snow thrown, gas and oil free, (NOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT), and the 5 or so camping trips we had booked in preparation for the spring and summer this year. If you have not yet camped at Platte River Campground at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, I highly recommend it.


These last couple of days I have felt something that I have strived to feel in serving everyone but for whatever reason, I have come more alive recently. One of those instances was with someone that I just reconnected with after I had not seen them since we graduated college. We tried to connect over the last month and they finally called me explaining how their job wasn’t the greatest. He mentioned that he was potentially interested in changing career paths and thought about real estate. I immediately felt compelled to see how I could help him and reached out to several of you in real estate to see if you knew of anyone in Asheville, NC. Nelson Lundberg who is an INCREDIBLE person I met doing something very similar connected me with someone that I then forwarded along. I was surprised how I dove into finding someone to connect him with. I think that was it. Connecting two people is what really drives me. Finding two people that normally would never cross paths and helping them get together. Another instance was another person I chatted with was looking for a new job for their husband as they recently was let go from their job. I immediately messaged one of my good friends who runs 5 Dominoes as I thought maybe there could be a good connection there. It did not work out but my mind was instantly racing for ways I could connect them again. I asked them if they had thought about applying to Costco and reached out to a previous client who gave me a bunch of great intell in the application process. She then asked me some questions in regards to commercial properties and if I had any insight. As much as I LOVE and ADORE this client, sometimes I feel like I am doing a disservice to them by attempting to work on something that is not in my wheelhouse. So I reached out to this boss of a woman in the industry at Meridian Title to see who she knew. 


I know I constantly ask each one of you how I can serve you and I would be lying if I ALWAYS feel passionate about the tasks you ask me to embark on. I need to be! Finding someone to get the job done for you, whether it is finding a landscaper to grade your yard or build a pergola, or find a commercial broker to connect with to see if a new business venture might work for you should drive me as much as connecting two individuals does. I am going to work on that! In other news, anyone that you know looking at buying or selling that I might be able to help serve this month?