Jim Barclay – Dream Town

This review is well overdo! We worked with Jim and bought our first home in June of 2015. Jim was recommended to us by our friends who worked with him to buy and sell their previous home and we could’t have asked for a better real estate agent. Jim worked around our schedules, put up with last minute cancellations and was always willing to answer the thousands of questions that we had in regards to the home buying process. He was always open and honest about the properties that he showed us and was never shy about telling us if the property was not a good fit for our budget, expectations or due to the overall craftsmanship of the home. His main goal was to find us a home that fit our price range, lifestyle and our laundry list of demands and was not just in it to make the sale. We knew the home we purchased was the right fit from the moment we set foot in the door and Jim ensured we were able to get the best price for the home and the neighborhood we purchased in. From the first phone call with Jim, right down to the final closing, we were never disappointed with the level of service he provided. I would highly recommend Jim Barclay to anyone looking to buy or sell a home.

I recently purchased my first home and it’s all thanks Jim Barclay. I got a place in North Park that came with everything I was looking for. My family is very happy and I’m still soaking it all in as well. Now that the good part is out of the way, let me give you the low down on what an adventure this whole process was. I’m actually not from this area and so I had no friends to refer me to an agent. So I decided to give Unilocal a try. I’ve heard stories about Unilocal and how some people post bogus reviews so I was a bit skeptical. Anywho! I saw all the great things people had to say about Jim and decided to give him a shot. And man am I glad I did! Right from the beginning there were issues with the type of loan I was using and then with the lenders. Then some of the places we saw weren’t so great looking and had trouble finding something that met our needs. Jim kept me on track when I would vear of the road. He always communicated and kept it real and did not sugar coat anything. I actually ended up dumping my lender and went with one he recommended who made things so much easier and really worked with me. We started looking at properties in February of 15 I believe and did not find a place until almost 6 months later. Jim’s patience are truly commendable. The issues that arose with the whole purchasing process actually pushed me to the point that I decided not to go forward with a purchase. It was Jim who called me and reassured me that everything would work out in the end. And it did! BIG thanks to Jim. I now have a realtor I can count on and will refer to anyone who’s looking to buy property.

Jim was a great realtor for us to work with. As first time buyers, we had tons of questions and needed a bit of hand holding to help us realize our dream home that was within our budget. Jim was always willing to answer our questions, explain something a different way, and encouraged us to look at a selection of houses to get a feel for what we really wanted. Jim is also very personable, positive and energetic, and just a great guy to hash things out with! Because of Jim, we were able to get a home within our budget, and something bigger than we thought we could afford!

I wanted to sell my condo 2 years ago and I contacted Jim, he suggested we sit on it for awhile. I rented it for 2 years. I asked Jim again if it was a good idea to list our condo and he said yes. Fast forward 1 month and we took care of a few repairs and Jim sold our condo in less than a week. Jim is a no nonsense realtor I say that as a compliment. He tells you what you need to do to sell, list it for a fair price, shows you comps and holds your hand if needed. I felt very comfortable with the entire process. Jim answered messages texts and emails promptly.
If selling or buying JM has the experience and gift of making you feel comfortable with the entire potential stressful process of buying or selling a home. You might not buy or sell in a week but Jim will do his darnedest to get the job done.

We just sold our old house and bought a new one with the help of Jim Barclay again and I absolutely can’t say enough good things about him. Both the sale and the purchase went very smoothly as Jim has mastered both the art calming nerves and navigating through the inspection/​negotiation process. When shopping for a new home, Jim is never pushy but is willing to offer his honest opinion. He listens to your needs and wants and makes suggestions based on your input. He’s truly dedicated to helping you find the perfect home. When selling, he offers beautiful photography and marketing materials to help attract attention to your home. Our house sold fast — and when I say fast, I mean really fast.
After the purchase on the new house, we had a major plumbing issue come up that was caused by shoddy workmanship from the plumber that the developer hired. Even though the sale had already closed, Jim was still there for us and he helped us recoup the entire cost of the repair by contacting the selling agent and helping to get us in touch with the developer. After we had initiated contact with the developer, he maintained regular contact with us to see if he could help in any way. Now that’s what I call dedication!
The bottom line is that Jim is reliable, honest and, over all, he’s a really nice guy. As long as we are both in Chicago, he will definitely be my go-​to guy for all things real estate.

Jim helped my wife and I sell our condo in about a week! He’s responsive and really knows the Lakeview market. He exceeded our expectations in every way.

Recently my wife and I decided to buy our first property. After working with a terrible first realtor, we very happily found Jim and his co-​worker Jaymee on Unilocal.
Living in New York at the time, we had limited time in Chicago and were only able to make a few trips before deciding which property to buy. Jim and Jaymee were incredibly helpful, patient and understanding of our situation. They went out of their way to meet with us when we were available, and made sure that our visits to Chicago were packed with visits. They also really made an effort to learn exactly what we were looking for so we didn’t waste time seeing the wrong properties and they could help guide us to the place that we would be happiest in. Thanks to them, we purchased an apartment that we not only like, but feels like the best investment for us in terms of reselling value and potential growth.
We were very satisfied with the service they provided and would definitely use them in the future for selling or buying property.

My wife and I decided to make the leap from long-​time renters to condo owners and were trying to figure out all the intricacies of the process. After an afternoon of researching, my wife set up an appointment with Jim. We met with him one evening to talk about our goals and what we were looking for. He asked the right questions and was genuinely interested in learning about us, what we were looking for and where we wanted to live. He did a lot of listening and didn’t roll his eyes when we asked naïve (or even stupid) questions. Within an hour, we felt comfortable, more confident and prepared to begin our search.
Jim gave us great advice while we were looking at places, pointing out the goods, bads and uglies. He would always ask what we liked and didn’t like and would tailor searches based on that information. He never forced us into seeing a condo that was out of our price range or didn’t meet the criteria we established. This made the process efficient and meaningful… and A LOT less stressful.
Not only did he help us find a condo we love in a neighborhood we love, but he still follows up with emails and drops by to see how we are doing. So, listen to these Unilocalers – they know what they are talking about. I will always recommend Jim to anyone who is looking for someone to guide them through this process.

My partner and I began working with Jim back in March, looking for our first new home. From the onset, he was down-​to-​Earth, friendly, knowledgeable, listened and gave great advice. He made us feel comfortable, and guided us through the process. At the same time, he gave us an appropriate amount of space to consider all of our options and make the best decision. We relied on Unilocal reviews to find Jim and am SO glad that we did. I would and will recommend him to friends and family!

Oh, Jim. Our relationship was a bit like how the one with my husband began. «I’m interested… sort of. But maybe it’s not a good time. I’m scared. Nevermind, don’t call me and I’ll maybe call you in a few months, maybe in a year. Actually, let’s go out tomorrow, because I know I want it forever.» Well, after a similar introductory discourse with my now-​husband, the results have been fantastic and regret-​free. Same for working with Jim and the incredible home he found for us. I’m so glad I didn’t chicken out, either time.
The home shopping experience was fraught with emotion for us, as we ended up in a position to buy after my mother passed away and left me enough for a down payment. So the situation was already a bit overwhelming. Knowing we couldn’t make what we paid for our current home, we thought we’d try to rent it if we could find a great deal on a bigger place.
And we did. Jim rocks.
When we first met with him, he was very thorough and listened to our inane chatter about urban farming and canning (not many people find this interesting) and he kept this in mind while we searched. We wanted a lot for our price point, hoping we could find something in this crazy market. Jim admitted that it was a bit of a tall order, finding everything we wanted. But then he did it. Several times. And we had plenty to see on our first time out.
Of course, one stood out, and it was also one of the cheaper options. We made an offer that first day of seeing places and I’m writing this surrounded by boxes in our new home. It has everything we wanted, and more. Throughout the search and the subsequent offer through closing, Jim was great. Always available, always friendly, and very knowledgeable. He donated money in our name to the charity of our choice at closing, and showed up with a bottle of champaign. He then offered to come sit at our house to wait for Comcast, People’s Gas, or other companies that give you that impossible 4 hour window during the work week. He is a class act. It’s too bad home buying isn’t something you do more often, because I would love to work with Jim again, and soon. I’ll be recommending him to all of my friends beginning the process.

Jim was and has been a great agent. My partner and I purchased our first home a year ago. Jim was accommodating and patient as we kept searching through all of the homes that were not quite right. We finally found the right home though and have enjoyed it since.
Jim recommended and excellent attorney and inspector. He has great judgement in these support professionals. The lender who Jim referred us to was also great, but we needed to use another lender because of some student loan issues. Jim was also patient through what turned out to be complicated closing process, with the sellers taking a long time to get us documents and Bank of America being nearly incompetent.
Over the past year Jim has maintained contact with us to make sure that we have been happy with the purchase process and our home. We even receive free coffee every month.

Jim is a great realtor. We’re sheduled to close on our first house this week and Jim has made the whole process go smoothly. He is very easy to schedule appointments with and very responsive by email. He also has a lot of great references for the lawyers, home inspectors, etc that you’ll need during the process. If you need to buy or sell a house I’d definitely recommend Jim!

Jim is as good as it gets when it comes to purchasing your first home. He carefully listened to my husband and I, and was able to provide insight and advice that we found invaluable. After hearing what we were looking for, Jim took us to properties that met our criteria, but also showed us some properties that we may or may not have considered on our own. We ended up purchasing one such property (a townhome) and truly now have the best of both worlds between a single family home and a condo.
The most important thing I would let you know about Jim is that I TRUST him COMPLETELY. He will not lead you astray. If you’re looking for a experienced, likable and consultative agent JIM IS THE MAN!

I recently found and closed on a condo with Jim’s help, and I would highly recommend working with him. He was great at helping me identify exactly what I was looking for, providing honest opinions on what we saw, and answering any questions I had (which were numerous). As a first time home buyer, I found the process to be clearer and less intimidating with his help.
I would also check out his first time home buyer’s workshops that are given periodically, it was an excellent overview to the process as a whole.
If you are in the market for a home, I would strongly recommend contacting Jim.

My fiancé and I are fanatics about doing our homework, so trust us when we say Jim is one of the best out there. After sending out a lengthy questionnaire on a Sunday night to a number of agents, Jim promptly wrote back to let us know he was on vacation and would respond when he got back in town the next day. Sure enough, before we even woke up there was an email answering each of our questions in great length and an invitation to meet up.
Our first meeting was great, more questions were answered. As first time home buyers the questions never seem to end! More importantly, Jim’s laid-​back, no BS, demeanor meshed well with our personalities. Do keep that in mind… if you are looking for a stuffy agent with no sense of humor… keep looking! We were never pressured to go with one place or another, but were given good advise when there was something out of the ordinary about a condo that may later become an issue. Helpful!
My only advise while working with Jim is to be honest about your time line. He is also an actor, and his schedule can be limited at times. He will be honest about his schedule, and we never had a problem with getting showings in. If Jim can’t show you a place, he will find someone to show you. Again, be vocal about your needs. Never hurts to do some searching yourself, and having some background on the process. Jim is a great teacher, and just a great guy!
Oh AND remember when I said Jim got back to us right away after we sent the questions to him, that never changed throughout the whole process. Always a call, email, or text right back.
The inspector (Roger) and attorney (Andrea) that Jim recommended were both awesome as well.
PS If he invites you to a show, do go! The last one was amazingly good.

Like the other reviews have said, Jim gets the job done. He is a genuinely honest person that really does have his clients’ best interest in mind. He recommended a lawyer as well as an inspector that were both awesome.
If you are here checking up on Jim, know that he is excellent at what he does, and fun too! You can stop looking for other agents, because you have found the right one! Woot!

When my husband & I decided it was the right time to buy our first place, we were absolutely clueless about how to get the whole process started. Since we couldn’t turn to our local friends for advice (they all rent), I turned to the next best thing: Unilocal!So, I sent Jim an email… and he wrote back promptly with a personal email addressing all of my initial concerns, making me feel like he cared from the very start. When we met later that week in person, he seriously spent practically 2 hours going over the home-​buying process and then specifically discussing what we were looking for. Once again, showing he really cared about us.
(And even if you are just *thinking* of buying, you can attend one of his first-​time home buyer meetings that explain all the logistics in a totally laid-​back/​no pressure setting! And hey, there was even free pizza at the one we went to!)
The one thing Jim promised us from the very beginning was that he would not let us pay more than fair-​market value for a place– good to know that he would be watching our backs making sure we weren’t going to ripped off. Talk about peace of mind. He also helped steer us on the path of narrowing down what we really wanted/​needed at this point of our lives.
When we did go out to look at places, it was laid back & fun yet Jim was still professional. He helped us realistically evaluate each place when we got back in the car after each showing and even recapped with us at the end, and gave his professional real estate opinions, too.
We found a place quite quickly, and thanks to the contacts Jim gave us, the whole process went down ever so smoothly. He was always a phone call/​e-​mail away. We closed 3 weeks ago and we couldn’t be happier with our new place & Jim!

Jim just helped us purchase our first home and we honestly could not be happier.
First off, he’s just a cool dude. Riding around and checking out houses with him is pretty much just like hanging out with a good friend. It’s been about 2 months since our closing and we still talk on a regular basis. Currently, we are planning on checking out one of the musicals he is in (that’s right ladies, he’s not JUST a real estate agent).
Secondly, he is extremely helpful. If i EVER had a question, I could either give him a call or shoot him an email and he would always respond within the day. I even recall a very important question I sent to him where he responded in 15 minutes! I really believe he just cares about the people he works with and he wants to help them in any way he can. He also knows other great people in the real estate industry. Since this was our first home, we were looking to him to refer us a mortgage broker, attorney and home inspector. He didn’t disappoint. All of the people he referred us to were great people to work with and were very professional.
Thirdly, he really helped us nail down what we were looking for in our first home and kept us on track while we were looking. I found that after looking at a few places that didn’t quite have all of the qualities we were looking for, I began to compromise. Jim gave us a friendly nudge and reminded us of what we had initally said we wanted in our first home. He was able to keep us focused on what we were really looking for and was able to get us into a place that we love!
If you’re looking for a real estate agent, and especially if you’re a first time home buyer, I highly recommend working with Jim Barclay.

I’m going to have to jump on the bandwagon and give Jim 5 stars as well — I swear, he’s not paying us to do this — he’s really that great!
I found Jim on Unilocal and I was not disappointed. He is very professional yet personable. He listens carefully to his client’s needs and follows through based on his client’s best interests. He worked really hard to help me find the perfect condo to suit my needs — showing me several properties a day, being reachable by phone, and answering all of my questions since I was new to this. And, he answered a lot of questions about Chicago in general since I’m new to the area, even volunteering a lot of great information.
He recommended a great mortgage broker, home inspector, and attorney — making things easy for us since we are from out-​of-​state.
When it came to negotiations, we were able to reach a deal that both the buyer (us) and the seller were quite happy with.
Now, I’m looking forward to moving into my great new place and going to one of Jim’s shows sometime!

Not your average Realtor, he ROCKS, literally. Take a listen at

Jim is the type of Realtor I wish I had found 10 years ago when I first started investing in real estate. He listens to your needs, concerns and goals, then works towards providing the properties that fit with your criteria.
I would also recommend any first time home buyers to attend one of his seminars. He breaks down the home buying process and takes away the fear of the unknown. I have recommended several people and they have all gained from his experience.