RE/MAX Office in Skokie Gets New Name, Ownership and Mission

Elgin, IL – August 25, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The RE/MAX office in Skokie, Ill., has been purchased by Mark Feyman and Ivana Shudnow, both real estate veterans. The office, which was purchased in late July, will remain for the time being at 3947 Dempster St. Formerly called RE/MAX 1st Class Realty, its name has been shortened to RE/MAX 1st Class. The focus will continue to be on providing top service to customers — but in more than just the residential real estate sector.

Both owners are currently working on transforming the office into one of the busiest brokerages in the Chicago suburbs, with an emphasis on commercial real estate, foreclosures and short sales.

“We intend to become the largest commercial RE/MAX brokerage outside of downtown Chicago,” said Mark Shudnow, husband of co-owner Ivana and managing broker of RE/MAX 1st Class. “We also expect to be a very strong residential real estate company in short sales, foreclosures and regular deals. We are well positioned to grow, and we are eager to expand and serve the buyers and sellers of our market.”

RE/MAX 1st Class currently has a roster of 16 real estate agents serving Skokie and surrounding areas.
These agents will benefit from the many years of experience their brokerage’s new owners and management bring to the table. Feyman has worked in the real estate business for 27 years. During this time, he’s bought and sold more than 1,000 properties. He has also built homes and worked as a commercial real estate broker.

Ivana and Marc Shudnow have each worked in real estate for more than 10 years. Both have been top producers and will continue to sell real estate even as they take on their expanded ownership and management roles.

“We each have extensive industry experience,” Feyman said. “We are committed to building the strongest brokerage we can. Our goal is to make this office one of the strongest in the Chicago area.”

Feyman has big plans for the Skokie office. He hopes to offer customers mortgage-lending services, title services and insurance options, creating a one-stop real estate shop, while picking up as many talented real estate agents as possible to add to the office roster.

Although they realize the housing market remains a challenging one today, Feyman and both Shudnows are realistic. They know that the top real estate professionals, and offices, will thrive even if the housing market is slumping.

“I’ve averaged more than 15 listings a month during the last four years,” Marc Shudnow said. “I know how to get the business in the door. Agents today need to focus on getting listings. The more listings they have, the more money they’ll make. Our job is to give our agents all the tools they need to get these listings.”

RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network consists of 2,300 sales associates and 110 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of brokerage services throughout the northern one-third of Illinois. Its www.illinoisproperty.com and www.remax.com websites are leaders in consumer visits among real estate franchise brands. Its mobile search, m.illinoisproperty.com, allows users to conduct real estate searches on any mobile device with Internet access. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX LLC, a global real estate organization with 90,000 sales associates in 84 nations.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: RE/MAX® is a registered trademark. Please spell in all caps. Thank you. This release is posted at blog.illinoisproperty.com.