Homes on Castlewood Terrace in Uptown. Photo: Alanscottwalker / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Ting-Ting Zhao moved from China to Chicago five years ago to teach Mandarin Chinese to children. The hours were long, and she eventually moved into real estate, where she could set her own schedule and follow her own interests.
She now works with Hansen Realty. She started in residential buying and selling and has since added commercial relocation, rentals and commercial sales. She also still uses her language skills, doing translation work for business owners and residents around the city.
Important parts of people’s lives
Her favorite part of the job, she says, is helping people with the biggest decisions they make, whether that is buying a home, opening or expanding a business, or investing in property. She has helped a friend open a spa in Lakeview, and has helped others buy and sell condos, manage buildings and relocate businesses.
Zhao acknowledges she is relatively new to the industry. She says she makes up for it with energy and hard work, showing properties through the week and on weekends and treating each case with care because of what is at stake for the client.
A team approach
She leans on the people around her. Zhao works with a team she trusts and says she doesn’t mind sharing commission if it means the client gets the best result. She likes working with a varied group of clients, something Chicago’s North Side gives her plenty of.
Away from work she travels when she can, with trips so far including Miami, New York and Boston.
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