Rita Neri was born in Italy and relocated to Chicago at a young age. At 25, she landed an opportunity with a global company: RE/MAX Premier Properties. Thirty-three years later, she finished her best year yet in 2018 with earnings just shy of $1 million.

Though sometimes it feels like she has to be a superwoman to do everything needed to ensure a transaction closes, she says she feels assistants are overrated. “Due to the time it takes to manage them, you might as well do it yourself,” she says, adding that it’s important to have the right tools in place. “You have to have a system that works. I never print anything; I use technology to get contracts done instantly. I handle everything right away.”

Neri believes that if there’s a problem, there is always a solution. “Real estate is a lifestyle for me,” she says. “My business grows every year because of my drive to become better at what I do every single day. That drive is my focus.”

Neri assists all categories of buyers and sellers, mainly in DuPage County but also in the Chicago neighborhoods of River North, Streeterville, Old Town and Lakeshore East.
Dedicated to serving the needs of each client, she does not concern herself with the money associated with any single transaction. Instead, she tries to ask probing questions, and then sits back and listens to the responses. “I often learn more about clients’ needs from what they don’t say,” she says. “I am able to differentiate needs from wants and focus on the really important issues through a perceptive listening skill that I developed over my lengthy career.”

Clients who have hired Neri to sell multiple properties for them often note how her love for the work shows in the way she handles each transaction. Neri has earned many accolades throughout her career, such as being among RE/MAX’s Top 20 Individual Brokers in Northern Illinois as well as in the Top 10 version of that list. She’s also been a member of RE/MAX’s Chairman’s Club and Titan Club.