RE/MAX NEXT
Mike Opyd, along with his partner Rafay Qamar, created RE/MAX NEXT in 2017 to provide agents with the resources to maximize their success without the limitations of a traditional brokerage. As managing broker and owner, Opyd ensures that RE/MAX NEXT agents earn the commissions they deserve by allowing them to choose their own commission split. Additionally, he encourages agents to market properties with their own names front and center — not the brokerage’s. While mentoring and supporting his agents, Opyd also tends to the needs of his own clients. He utilizes his in-depth knowledge gained after many years of experience and research, and specializes in working with millennials, first-time homebuyers, luxury buyers and sellers.
Before entering the real estate industry more than 10 years ago, Opyd worked in the partnership tax accounting division at State Street Corporation in Boston. It was here that his first recognized his dream of starting a company where employees could run their business as they wanted. After two years of corporate life, he moved back to Chicago and made the transition to real estate. Now he runs one of the fastest-growing offices in the Chicago.
Opyd cites his organizational skills as integral to his success. “Over the years in the industry, I have developed systems that help structure my schedule and streamline the process for my clients. This has helped me balance running our first office, mentoring agents in our office, selling real estate, raising newborn twin boys and spending quality time with my wife.”
As a certified e-Pro Realtor, Opyd is an early adopter of the industry’s technological advancements, relying on social media, 3-D walkthroughs and HD photos to market his properties. He uses any means necessary to make the process as easy for his clients as possible. “I am always available to help them with whatever they need and answer any questions they have,” he says, adding that he has a vast network of real estate, construction, and design professionals whom he can call on to assist with projects.
Opyd is an avid reader and enthusiastic learner. “I typically read around 15 books or more a year, anything that I think might help make me a better manager, agent, owner, and more importantly, a better person.”
