Sharon Gonwa came highly recommended by my mortgage broker who said of her, "Sharon is as honest as the day is long.  She will never try to sell you anything you don't want."  Sharon proved that much and more on the first day we met and continued to work hard for us throughout the buying process.  She was always available for calls and to go looking at houses.  She made it clear that she was on our side.  Sharon was alert for potential problems with each house that we viewed, not only for our enjoyment of the house, but for potential resale issues.  Things really kicked into high gear when, due to issues with my current landlord, it became necessary to find and close on a house ASAP if not sooner.  We ended up finding the perfect house and closing in record time (under 30 days), largely thanks to Sharon's hard work.  Additionally, my lawyer cancelled out at the last minute, so Sharon handled much of the negotiations while I frantically searched for a new lawyer.  Overall, I was very surprised with how smoothly the buying process went.  I am very grateful and would enthusiastically recommend Sharon's services.  If you are looking for a house in the western suburbs, Sharon Gonwa is the woman you want in your corner.

Dienne Anum, home buyer, October 2005

Boy, am I glad I did! I did a little research and I found out that Sharon employs her daughter, Pamela, who not only has clients of her own but who backs Sharon up when necessary, so there's always someone available to help. I also found out that Sharon won numerous awards at the large real estate brokerage firms where she worked over the years. She sold millions of dollars of real estate before going out on her own. So I apparently had the very best of the best working with me!

I quickly learned one of the best parts of working with Sharon -- her internet savvy. Sharon let me do my own searching on-line through her connection to MLS, and replied quickly to my (frequent) emails asking for more information about different listings. Since I have a young baby at home, it was very helpful to me to look for homes on the internet rather than poring over the newspapers. Sharon's flexibility allowed me to virtually "tour" tons of houses, and helped me refine my needs, without taking a step out of the house. 

Her flexibility extended into the actual home-viewing process, too. The first time we went looking at houses together, Sharon was so organized -- she had everything printed out for me and arranged in a logical order. Even when I needed to take a break to feed the baby, she was happy to stand outside in the shade and wait for me to feed my son. Sharon was always flexible about when she could meet me, and was often available on short notice. She worked with my husband and me for over 5 months, and we saw about 50 houses together. She was unfailingly patient with us as we determined through the search process what our needs really were.

Sharon is very honest. Sometimes I would see a house I thought would be right for me -- but Sharon was always on top of the little things (and sometimes big things) that I might have missed. One time she found a bowed-out area of a basement wall, which the sellers had hidden very well behind a bunch of boards. I know we probably would have found the problem during the inspection, but it was great that Sharon could notice something important like that and save us the heartache of going through the purchase process for a home that just wasn't right for us.

When we saw the house that we did ultimately buy, Sharon was as excited as we were. Even so, Sharon drove a very hard bargain with our sellers, and got us a price that we recently found out was $4000 UNDER the estimated value of the house. She gave us excellent technical advice about how the different contracts and conditions would work. She went over each element very carefully with us to make sure we understood what we were signing. I felt there were no surprises with Sharon. She is incredibly knowledgeable and thorough.

We were so happy with the buying process with Sharon, we decided to list our house with her too. We quickly found out that not only is Sharon a joy to work with, she gets RESULTS. Sharon listed our house just after Thanksgiving last year, and sold it before the first week of the new year was up. Even through the holidays she was dedicated and helpful. We got a great price for our home and were able to negotiate the terms to our satisfaction.

Sharon followed up on every little detail of the purchase and selling process, and made sure my husband and I were totally prepared, in advance, every step of the way. She made it so easy and pleasant, I have recommended her to everyone I know. Hire this woman! She's amazing!"

Erin O'Neil Doppke, Home Seller and Home Buyer

Mr. & Mrs. Otto May, Home Seller