In the glacial chill of a Chicago winter, Mara Morris stands out as a warm presence in the often cold world of real estate. Armed with a blowtorch for frozen lockboxes and shoe covers for pristine white carpets, Morris embodies a brand of preparedness that has become her signature in the competitive Chicago market.
“Even if you don’t have a dollar, even if you don’t know anything, you can give me a call,” says Morris, a real estate broker in Chicago and Executive Assistant at the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce. “That seed that’s growing in your head needs to be watered.”
In a recent interview, Morris shared insights that reveal why she’s become a sought-after guide for both first-time homebuyers and seasoned investors navigating Chicago’s complex real estate landscape.
Know your numbers, before you pick up the phone
For first-time homebuyers, Morris emphasizes understanding financial fundamentals as the essential first step in the homebuying journey. She advises clients to review their budget and credit thoroughly while ensuring they have cash readily available for earnest money, inspections, and closing costs. Starting the relationship with a lender early helps buyers understand what they can afford, and connecting with tax and credit professionals when needed can improve their financial position. Morris stresses that homeownership costs extend far beyond the mortgage payment, a reality many first-time buyers fail to consider.
Unlike investors who “know their numbers backwards and forwards,” first-time buyers often need guidance through this preliminary phase. Morris doesn’t turn away clients who haven’t done their financial homework. Instead, she sees herself as a connector to the resources they need. “If I can get my hands on you, we can start working with you, even if your goal of homeownership might not be today, even if it’s maybe a year or two from now,” she explains.
Winning offers without the biggest budget
In a market where cash offers from investors often dominate, Morris has developed strategies to help regular homebuyers compete. “An educated buyer is going to be an easy buyer,” Morris says. She ensures her clients understand exactly what they’re looking for before they ever set foot in a property. This preparation allows them to make decisive moves when they find the right home.
Perhaps her most unconventional tactic is building rapport with listing agents, what she calls “a cheat code that most agents don’t know.” “I’ve always been able to call an agent and say, ‘Hey, my name’s Mara,'” she explains. “Sometimes I start the call off with, ‘How’s your day?’ And not just looking for a ‘that’s good.’ No, no, no, no, you’re in real estate, honey, how is your day? I’m pretty sure you’re stressed.”
This relationship-building approach has given her clients an edge even when they can’t offer the highest price. Morris recalls an instance where her offer was accepted over higher bids simply because she had helped a new agent with a frozen lockbox during an ice storm and provided shoe covers to protect white carpets during showings. “My offer was not the highest, and she still accepted my offer just off the sheer fact that I was prepared, I was kind, and she knew this is a person I want to be on the deal with, this is somebody that can get it done,” Morris recounts.
Multifamily evaluation metrics that matter
When helping clients evaluate multifamily properties, Morris focuses on key metrics that paint a complete financial picture. She prioritizes net operating income, the property’s annual income after deducting all operating expenses, as it provides clarity on profitability before debt consideration. She also emphasizes cap rate, which reveals the potential return on investment based on the property’s net operating income and purchase price. The third critical metric she considers is gross rent multiplier, which assesses the property’s value by comparing the purchase price to its gross rental income.
These metrics differ significantly from single-family home evaluations, which typically focus more on livability than income potential. “Multifamily properties are looked at as a producing asset, versus an asset that’s going to be lived in by a family,” she explains.
The reality check for would-be landlords
Morris doesn’t sugarcoat the responsibilities of property management. Before taking clients shopping for multifamily properties, she provides extensive coaching on what property management entails. Her candid conversations cover self-sufficiency tests for multifamily financing, the higher down payments and closing costs involved, and the complex tenant issues that may already exist or develop later. She thoroughly discusses options between self-management versus hiring property management companies and provides resources for tenant assistance programs. She also offers referrals to eviction attorneys, “just in case,” she adds with knowing practicality.
“The second you’re a landlord, it comes fast, and it is responsibility. It’s almost like when a baby, you own this property. There are people under your roof, and it is your responsibility to keep them safe and care for them,” she emphasizes. This sobering perspective helps prepare her clients for the realities of property ownership beyond the financial calculations.
The unsexy reality of real estate as a career
For those considering real estate as a profession, Morris offers a reality check that contrasts sharply with the glamorous portrayal often seen on social media. “Real estate school teaches you legal, and it teaches you ethics. It doesn’t teach you how to sell real estate,” she says, recalling her panic after her first clients wanted to buy a home she showed them. “I don’t know how to sell a house!” she remembers telling her managing broker through tears.
Morris debunks the common misconception that agents set their own schedules. “While we have a lot of flexibility in our schedules, our clients set our schedule. We need to be available when they need us,” she explains. The qualities that separate successful agents from those who struggle include building strong relationships, mastering local market knowledge, continuously educating themselves, prioritizing integrity, developing organizational systems, and honing communication skills.
“Successful agents don’t just sell homes. We’re a crucial part of community building,” Morris says. “Being an agent is more than just selling homes, you become a staple of these communities, you become a staple of your city.” Her final advice cuts through the glamorous façade sometimes associated with the profession: “We’re in dirty basements and moldy situations, and falling off ladders… It’s not as pretty as social media might make it. A lot of times it’s dirty, and it’s having hard conversations.”
This grounded perspective exemplifies Morris’s approach to real estate, a profession that, in her hands, becomes less about transactions and more about transformation, both for her clients and the communities they will call home.
