Chris Puszynski has always had an eye for color and design, as well as an instinct and desire to “read between the lines.” As a little girl, she fondly remembers accompanying her mom on dress-shopping excursions. While sales associates popped into the dressing room to tell her mom how great she looked in every option, Chris, wanting the mom she so adored to buy the “best” dress, would honestly share which color and cut complemented her the most. Even today, Chris strives to look beyond the immediate when it comes to helping her clients buy real estate. Just as a dress should be the “right fit,” a home must also be the right fit for a buyer, and Chris prides herself on the many ways she strives to read between the wishes and desires of her clients and what will truly make their dreams come true.

For almost 40 years, Chris, a broker with @properties, has successfully navigated the waters of all types of markets, helping home buyers and sellers in the Lake Forest area find the right home or sell for top dollar. Sellers especially value her expertise in staging. In fact, she was staging homes on the North Shore long before staging was the norm. “You don’t present a home the way you live in it,” she explains.

With home buyers, she’s an expert guide, providing the most important input at the most important time.

“My job is not to tell them what they already know, but to dig deep, listen well and fill in the blanks between what they tell me and what I get to know about them firsthand,” Chris adds.

Chris’s discovery process with home buyers is second to none.

“I sit down and have a long conversation about dreams, goals, process, and expectations,” she explains. “I strive to understand what they love about their home now, what they want, and how I can help them get there.”

This thorough dialog often leads her to show properties that might not look like a fit on paper, but sometimes end up being the one.

“It’s not always easy for clients to articulate their ‘perfect home,’” adds Chris. “so it’s my job to peel away the layers of what that truly means to them.”

With a clear zest for her profession, she enthusiastically details the story of a couple with a 5-year old child who wanted to buy a larger home, but weren’t necessarily considering the importance of street and neighborhood. With a sincere, educational approach, Chris helped this young family find the perfect neighborhood, not just the perfect house. They stay in touch, and Chris cherishes the many friendships she’s formed with clients over the years. “I am not just here until closing,” she explains.

Chris has clients contact her after their home purchase for advice on remodeling and interior design, even reviewing architectural plans with new homeowners as well. From adding closets to converting a mudroom to a full addition, she is adept at both the financial and lifestyle value that remodeling can add to a home.

And you won’t find an agent who loves the area she’s selling more than Chris. “I think Lake Forest is nothing short of a jewel,” she says. “I grew up in Illinois, and I thought I died and went to heaven when I found Lake Forest. From a spectacular lakefront to a welcoming community to the lowest real estate taxes in Lake County, North Shore living doesn’t get any better than this.

Chris has learned a lot during her successful tenure in real estate.

“I know that the real estate process can be daunting and stressful. Our job is to make it as enjoyable and positive as possible. I am beyond grateful for the trust clients place in me and want them to look back at our partnership with much more meaning than just buying, selling, and moving. I hope the line I often use in my print advertising is what reverberates with them: Every deal is a big deal to me.”

Chris Puszynski can be reached at [email protected] or 847-812-7265.