Chicago Condo Expo Will Be Bigger, Better, Bolder!
TWO LOCATIONS NEEDED FOR OCTOBER 20 AND 21 EVENT!Â
  
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Chicago’s sweltering summer is definitely behind us, but autumn is sure to heat up with the arrival of OwnACondo.com’s Condo Expo next month.  This incredible event will include 20 developments featuring hundreds and hundreds of condos for sale with substantial incentives and/or discounts. It will literally dwarf the Condo Expo held last February, which we so enthusiastically reported on in the previous entry of our blog.  Buyers from all over Chicagoland will flock to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare on Saturday, October 20 and the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place on Sunday, October 21. A fantastic program will include video presentations of each of the 20 developments, live theater entertainment, prizes, food, refreshments and the opportunity to reserve condos with the heavy discounts and incentives only on the days of the Expo. Â
“The Expo will truly be the biggest event of its kind in the Chicagoland area, ever,†says OwnACondo.com Founder Brian Kuzdas. “Our marketing efforts are so huge that we anticipate as many as 500-1,000 condo reservations, resulting in 300-500 contracts and 300 closings. People everywhere are realizing that today’s market is actually a very good opportunity to buy, and there is really nothing else in the marketplace today that provides consumers with this kind of choice and these kinds of discounts.â€Â Â
For those unable to attend the Expo, a live webcast will be offered in which participants will have the opportunity to take advantage of the same incentives and discounts. In-person attendance is still recommended, however, because webcast participants will miss out on the prizes, investor networking and the ability to meet with the OwnACondo.com sales associates to learn more about each property. Â
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Click here to register.
Chicago Condo Expo is Coming October 20 & 21
EXTRAORDINARY DISCOUNTS!
RENT PAID ON INVESTOR CONDOS FOR TWO YEARS AND MORE!*
These And More Great Incentives Are Available Only At The Two-Day Condo Buying Expo!
Choose From Hundreds And Hundreds Of Condos For Sale From Many Developers!
¦lt;br /> The music swells, the lights dim and the emcee takes the stage as a full-house crowd waits in anticipation.
“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to an event that will educate you, entertain you, help you build wealth and change the way you think about the real estate market!â€Â  In one exciting evening earlier this year, hundreds of condominium buyers filled a convention hall to listen and learn. By closing time, hundreds of reservations and deposits had been taken for heavily-discounted condominiums all over Chicagoland.  That same excitement and opportunity returns October 20 and 21, 2007, as OwnACondo.com presents The Condo Expo, a multimedia event featuring 20 developers, hundreds and hundreds of condos and—most importantly—unprecedented savings.  The Condo Expo is a must-attend event for residential buyers, investors and anyone interested in the real estate market. Registration is fast and easy, but hurry! The Condo Expo is sure to be a hit! Don’t miss this unprecedented event! Join OwnACondo.com and a variety of developers for the opportunity to own these condos with incredible incentives available only on the days of the event!  FREE EVENT FOR INVESTORS AND RESIDENTIAL BUYERS!  Hors d’oeuvres, Refreshments and Sweets Table!  Live Theater Entertainment!  Raffle Prizes During The Event! Win Up To $2,500 in Goods and/or Services From Our Sponsors!  Live Webcast Also Available! (Sorry, webcast participants are not eligible for on-site prizes)  Be On The Air With The Host of Our Radio Program “Condo Talk Live!â€Â on WIND 560 AM  Get These Discounts Only At The Expo!  Bring Your Checkbook! VISA and MASTER CARD Also Accepted!
Register Online Early For Guaranteed Seating.
Tell Your Friends And Business Associates To Register, Too.
These Two Great Locations Will Fill Up Fast!
Outside Brokers Welcome!  Â
Chicago Condo Company Owner
OwnACondo.com has gone through a number of changes over the years, but nothing in comparison to the last four or five months. Â
We’ve moved our corporate headquarters to Oak Brook, Illinois recently to be more centrally located for our Realtors® and customers. We had been located on the southwest side of Chicago, across the street from Midway Airport for more than five years. It was the right time for us. The space served its purpose, but with our growth and upcoming planned expansion, it was necessary to facilitate everything that is soon to come within the doors of OwnACondo.com. Â
Simultaneously, we are starting a financing company, FinanceACondo.com. Our sole purpose for starting this company is to have more control over the real estate transaction. So many times you hear the phrase, “If you want it done right, do it yourself.†That is what we’ve done. We no longer will have to worry about when the loan officer will get to our customer’s file. We will be in control.
We’ve used several lenders in the past to our satisfaction, but too many times we’ve also had terrible experiences. At least with this new venture, if we have a bad experience, we have only ourselves to blame. We’ve recently signed contracts with Comcast to kick off TV commercial advertising for the first time in our company’s history. Starting September 24, we will be airing more than 2,000 commercials weekly. This, coupled with our 2nd Condo Expo in mid October, has the company buzzing right now. The Expo will be an event like no other with twenty plus developments showcased the weekend of the 20th and 21st of October, 2007. We wrote 313 reservations at our very first condo expo in February of this year, having never previously held an event like this. Now, with a little experience behind us, we’re expecting the number of reservations to be in the heavy hundreds, if not over a thousand when it’s all said and done. Â
Lastly, I can’t say enough about the inner workings of OwnACondo.com. We have an absolutely tremendous office staff that fuels the entire company. Headed by Vicki Donnowitz, Executive Vice President, the company has more than 15 employees who do not sell. These people are the backbone of the company and why, as we end 2007, we’ll have another record year for condo sales. I want to thank each and every one of you for caring and bringing your passion to this company each and every day. You are the reason we will never stop growing and making OwnACondo.com “The best place to buy and sell condos.â€Â Â
Warmest Regards,Â
Brian Kuzdas
Chicago condo employee
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Rejoining the OwnACondo.com staff after an almost five-year absence is someone very familiar to many of our investors and long-standing associates.
Annamarie Vodicka-Blaha, the very first employee hired by Founder Brian Kuzdas almost 10 years ago, is back to help the company grow well into the future.
Annamarie returns to a new role as Executive Administrator for Mr. Kuzdas and Vicki Donnowitz, OwnACondo.com’s Executive Vice President. In addition, Annamarie will handle investor relations and she will also be responsible for documenting and formalizing all the company’s systems, with an eventual goal to bring the winning formula to other markets nationwide.
As with many of the best moves in business, Annamarie’s return was sparked by sheer coincidence and good fortune. A question she and her husband had about an aspect of home construction led her to call Mr. Kuzdas, and a rapport was quickly rekindled. Always with an eye on expansion, Mr. Kuzdas asked if she would consider coming back to the company. In a matter of days, she had made her decision and she officially rejoined OwnACondo.com on September 19, 2007.
“It’s great to have Annamarie back,†says Mr. Kuzdas. “She has the ability to take any condo project and get it done, no questions asked, almost better than you would do it yourself. She performed very strongly for the company in the past and I have every expectation of an even stronger working relationship now.â€
Annamarie had joined Mr. Kuzdas in 1998 at the second of his condo projects, which now number 36 and growing. Typical of many employees in a relatively new venture, Annamarie wore many hats in those early years.
“I handled office organization and management, virtually all aspects of condo conversion, even accounting,†she recalls. “I also did open houses with Mr. Kuzdas. I went to closings of new properties, worked with buyers and set up model units, too.â€
But her proudest legacy is undoubtedly the actual OwnACondo.com name, which she created. The company’s original name of Brookshire Investments was not easily remembered by the condo-buying public, and with the company’s first-ever website on the horizon, Mr. Kuzdas and his former partner Brian Basic were looking for something different.
“They wanted something that was easy to remember for that time when—not if, but when—it would be up on a giant billboard,†she says. “There’s part of my heart that will always belong to the company because of that.â€
Annamarie also created the stylized company logo and colors that have endured to this day, with slight revisions.
During her time away from OwnACondo.com, Annamarie held other office and administrative positions but watched the company as it grew.
“The name recognition has come quite a way,†she says. “I see the billboards almost everywhere I go, and I’m glad to see the company is moving and getting closer to the overall goal of going nationwide.â€
Financing Condos
OwnACondo.com Welcomes a New Service to Its Family
Consumers Can Now Get Financing
After many years of hearing “why don’t you finance condos as well as sell themâ€, the time has finally come. OwnACondo.com has now opened a division that does nothing but finances condos. We’d like to introduce “FinanceACondo.com†to you.
FinanceACondo.com will open its doors right across the hall from OwnACondo.com October 15, 2007. We are putting the final touches on the offices as of this writing and will be prepared to start writing loans within a few weeks.
FinanceACondo.com’s main objective is to provide a service that is unmatched in the industry when it comes to closing loans. “We are going to find a way to close loans no one else can, offer counseling service like no other and be faster and more efficient than any other mortgage broker that has ever existedâ€, states Brian Kuzdas, founder of OwnACondo.com.
For more information about using FinanceACondo.com’s services after October 15th, please visit our new, dedicated website at FinanceACondo.com or call us at 877-211-3100.
Condo Company In Oak Brook, Illinois
Expanded offices mean more business, better service, higher visibility. It’s often tough to leave a familiar, happy place.¦lt;br /> The memories…the accomplishments…the rooms where some of the best ideas were hatched. But business has little time for nostalgia, and when the need comes for bigger and better, it’s time to act.
Beginning October 1, 2007, OwnACondo.com will have a brand new home at 2001 Midwest Road, Oak Book, Illinois. The company will be headquartered in Suite 209, more than 3,600 square feet of custom-designed space. Just down the hall in Suite 202, FinanceACondo.com will open on October 15, 2007 in more than 2,000 square feet of space. On the first floor, in Suite 100, will be Brookshire Investments LLC, the commercial division of the company.Â
Already looking beyond the move, Founder Brian Kuzdas recently took office staff on a tour of the building. “The ultimate goal is to occupy the entire second, first and lower levels,†he said. “We’ll have our agent training facility in the lower level; OwnACondo. com and Brookshire on the entire main level and FinanceACondo.com on the entire second level.â€
The move was necessitated by several factors, said Executive Vice President Vicki Donnowitz. “We’ve outgrown the Central Avenue office in Chicago,†she explained, “and our new location makes it easier for the majority of our clients and staff to reach. Plus, our new Oak Brook address helps us attract developers from all over Chicagoland, the Midwest and even beyond.â€Â¦lt;br /> Passersby and visitors will notice the large OwnACondo.com signage on the front of the building, soon to be installed facing Midwest Road. There is no other tenant of the building that has exterior signage. An open house is being planned. Please watch for our invitation.
Chicago Condo Talk
DYNAMIC RADIO SHOW IS A MUST-LISTEN It’s one thing to advertise on the radio, and quite another to host an entire show.
OwnACondo.com, no longer satisfied to only run commercials, has taken the plunge into broadcasting with its own original programming called Condo Talk Live! The show airs every Saturday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on WIND, 560 AM. It features valuable information along with—to borrow a phrase from the late, great Chicago journalist Irv Kupcinet—the lively art of conversation.
Hosted by real estate veterans Cheryl Rabin and Geoff Pinkus, Condo Talk Live! leaps from the radio speakers each week with topics important to condo buyers and sellers, featuring informative guests and a healthy serving of laughter. Guests so far have included a professional stager (who helps properties sell faster by dressing them down or sprucing them up); a mortgage lender; the director of a suburban affordable housing program, and more. Call-ins are welcomed, and it is already apparent the show has a growing group of dedicated listeners. Cheryl and Geoff are both members of the OwnACondo.com sales team. Cheryl is a Broker Associate who currently serves as the company trainer and Director of Business Development. Geoff is a Sales Associate who has previous radio program hosting experience.
Condo Talk Live! is yet another wonderful marketing and information outreach that includes billboards, special events, cable TV commercials, a full-service interactive website and more. “We’re in the very beginning of what could be a tremendous marketing avenue for us,†says Founder Brian Kuzdas. “With this show, we’re able to recruit Realtors®, feature our developments and our individual condos, drive people to our open houses and attract new developers. And of course, provide our listeners with the kind of information that will help them buy and sell.â€
Mr. Kuzdas envisions an eventual syndication beyond the Chicagoland market, but for now is helping his two new radio stars at the start of only their second month on the air. “We’ll keep fine tuning and perfecting week after week until we have a show like nothing else in the industry,†he says.
Remember to listen to Condo Talk Live! Each Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. on WIND, 560 AM.
Some show times may be altered slightly due to University of Illinois sports programming. Please check the OwnACondo.com website for more details.
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