This is the third consecutive time Helen Sobel has appeared in Chicago Agent’s Who’s Who in Residential Real Estate. A real estate advisor with Baird & Warner, she has been selling homes in the city and its suburbs for 32 years. Professional, available and knowledgeable about property values, she walks buyers and sellers through the transaction process while keeping them informed along the way.

Sobel is easygoing but firm when she needs to be, and she always gives other agents the benefit of the doubt. “Even though we may be on different sides, it’s important to be courteous and friendly because the goal is to the help the buyer and seller come to terms,” she explains. “It’s not about us and our egos.”

When assisting buyers, Sobel goes at their pace and insists “I’m not the agent who will hound them.” With sellers, she’s more process driven but patient — especially if it’s a tough move for them.

Prior to entering the real estate industry, Sobel was a litigation paralegal, which gives her a basic understanding of the legal process and how it applies to real estate. But it’s her experience working for the family construction business and alongside a top-producing agent in Chicago in 1997 that informs the elevated level of service she provides for every buyer and seller she represents.

“My most helpful skill is the fact that I am very responsive,” Sobel says. “People appreciate that I will get back to them as quickly as possible.”

Sobel truly enjoys her job, and it shows in the thoughtful conversations she has with clients to identify their needs and in her refusal to give up until she meets those needs.

“I feel strongly about having integrity and doing what I say I’m going to do,” Sobel shares. “I will go to battle for my clients when needed — but always with respect.”