Three years ago, Wan-Lan Cai, a real estate broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, took the plunge into her real estate career after investing in the Chicago market with her husband and realizing real estate was her true passion. Growing up in Chicago after her family immigrated to the U.S., multilingual Cai graduated from Northern Illinois University with a science in accountancy degree and worked as an auditor for Deloitte & Touche, while achieving her certified public accountant license.

“We were landlords and investing in properties first,” she says of her career’s beginning. “As we built our portfolio, I fell in love with learning and meeting new people and genuinely building relationships in Chicago real estate.” Now that she’s building her brand, Cai says she loves helping clients make their own dreams of homeownership come true. “It’s so rewarding to see them thrilled with homeownership and starting that new journey.”

Clients describe Cai as a detail-oriented multitasker but also appreciate her hands-on, thorough and responsive communication style. Brokers she works with herald her patient spirit and deep knowledge of the market, no matter how quickly things are changing.

One big takeaway many brokers and mortgage professionals have noted about Cai is her ability to work respectfully and professionally with anyone on the other side of the table — building relationships and keeping the transaction running smoothly. This approach has helped Cai earn the BHHS Chicago Leading Edge Society Sales Award in 2020 and achieve Top 10 Percent of Network. Cai’s clients are quick to refer her to friends and appreciate her “all-business” approach to closing deals.

“I’m a tough negotiator but a good friend,” she says of how she’s built a referral-based business. “My commitment to excellent client service is my top value,” she says. “That’s where I stand out.”