Today we’d like to introduce you to Collin Walker.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend Bradley University on a baseball scholarship and also to briefly continue my career after college in the professional ranks. Attending college and being parts of numerous different teams prepared me in life for being able to easily adapt to different situations and to different types and personalities of people. I love meeting and helping new and interesting people so real estate was a natural fit for me as every day is a different set of challenges and interactions.
After spending 3 years building a successful individual real estate career I decided I wanted to start my own brokerage in 2010 with Chicagoland Property Group. I had spent a great deal of time with clients in both residential leasing and residential sales and wanted to bring a company with a very client forward approach that allowed agents to grow an individual business that they felt was truly their own. By providing a great deal of support with a very appealing commission structure we have been able to grow our company to over 25 current agents and growing. In 2014 we added my business partner Matthew Singley and grew into another company called Pinnacle Furnished Suites.
Upon working with numerous clients over the years we started to see an increase in the number for people looking for shorter term leases and out of that need Pinnacle Furnished Suites was born. We provide minimum 30 day fully furnished options for a variety of people from professional athletes, Broadway actors and actresses, corporate clients, people remodeling their existing homes, and much much more. We currently manage over 150 units in 23 buildings throughout downtown Chicago.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
We have really been involved in all aspects of real estate from personally investing, flipping and renovating units, residential leasing, residential sales, commercial transactions, and corporate housing. Because of this I believe we have an advantage in that we are better able to ride the waves of the ups and downs that real estate markets inevitably bring your way. The main challenge in our companies is to be able to see the trends in the market coming so we can constantly be pivoting to best position our clients, employees, and ultimately our companies to be most successful.
Please tell us about Chicagoland Property Group and Pinnacle Furnished Suites.
Chicagoland Property Group is a full service residential brokerage. I believe from the very beginning my prior experience as an individual real estate broker helped to fuel a culture that allows our brokers and leasing agents to build their own brand within our overall company culture. I want our agents to feel like that the can be creative in building what ultimately helps them to be successful within our company and in best utilizing their strengths to help their clients find the perfect home. Also, within the company my business partner and I personally invest, flip, and renovate units throughout Chicago and love being a part of the rejuvenation of individual units and buildings while providing the eventual client a beautiful home that meets today’s standards.
Pinnacle Furnished Suites is an all-encompassing corporate housing company. We specialize in minimum 30 day stays that provide our clients with fully furnished apartments ranging from furnishings, housewares, kitchenware, and even linens so that they can be comfortable in knowing everything is taken care of before they arrive. Our clientele is among the busiest and most successful in their individual fields so anything we can do to allow them to not worry about housing and focus on why they are in Chicago we try to accomplish. By utilizing technology we believe we have changed our industry to give our clients more ease and access to completing their housing needs on a timely basis.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m not saying that there weren’t any bumps in the road, but I believe those issues and the way that you and your team handles them is what builds a fantastic company culture. Both of our companies are a tight knit group of employees that work closely together and have truly built a brand that is our very own. By starting both companies organically and growing naturally we have been able to mold our company into something to be very proud of and make ourselves distinct from our competition. I still wake up every day excited for what is to come as we continue to grow and the world of real estate throws new obstacles at you every day.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1327 West Washington Boulevard Suite 106
Chicago, IL 60607 - Website: www.cpgchicago.com, www.pfsuites.com
- Phone: 815-342-7253
- Email: cwalker@cpgchicago.com, inquiries@pfsuites.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cpgchicago/, https://www.instagram.com/pfsuites/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cpgchicago/, https://www.facebook.com/pfsuites/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cpgchicago21, https://twitter.com/pfsuites
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chicagoland-property-group-chicago, https://www.yelp.com/biz/pinnacle-furnished-suites-chicago?osq=pinnacle+furnishes+suites
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