PULLMAN — A strange postcard showed up in my mailbox from a North Side real estate agent on a mission.
“BUYER LOOKING! PULLMAN HOME NEEDED,” read the screaming headline atop a photo of the peaked roofs of stately row houses on Arcade Row.
The postcard included a pitch from Baird & Warner broker Philip Schwartz that reads like a note from an excited dude with an exclamation point fetish who’s just trying to helping out a pal.
“I have a buyer who has been charmed by your neighborhood for several years who is ready to purchase! My buyer is a Chicago native with a penchant for historic homes, and is looking forward to joining your community. They are qualified, pre-approved, and can offer a 45 day closing — we just need the house!” Schwartz wrote.
“The current offerings on the market don’t quite fit their needs, so we’re reaching out to you directly. If you’d be interesting in selling to someone who aspires to set down long term roots in your community, please contact me today!”
Not all of the 455 families who got the same postcard bought the pitch, though.
“I think it's investors who want to buy cheaply [vs. individual or family buyer who wants to live here],” one person posted on a Pullman-centric Facebook page.
As things turn out, though, Schwartz actually has a 30-something professional lady, a born-and-bred North Sider no less — who became charmed by Pullman’s “small town feel” and has her heart set on living in our national monument neighborhood.
“You know, it is possible for people in Chicago to change neighborhoods if they find the right one,” said Schwartz, who brokers most of his deals on the Northwest Side.
I successfully stopped myself from laughing at what seemed to be an obvious punch line in a town so starkly divided by class, race and parish, among other things.
Turns out, Schwartz wasn’t joking. He said he’d ask his North Side client — who happens to work in his office — to give me a call to elaborate on her desire to become a Pullmanite.
Lisa Burback grew up in Albany Park and rents a cute little “lady pad” in Ukrainian Village for under $1,000 a month.
She told me her fondness for Pullman has grown over the years after flirting with our Far South Side patch during occasional visits at community events and hearing about neighborly parties from “friends of friends” who live here.
“I grew up on the North Side, and I’m looking to purchase a home. As a single woman, as far as the purchase price goes and being a place where you know your neighbors, there’s a strong, active community in Pullman,” Burback said. “I’m interested in being part of it.”
She assured me that despite her North Side upbringing, she’s not afraid to make a big move to the allegedly scary Far South Side.
“Pullman is a pretty good spot for people interested in being part of a community and having a family. Safe enough to let your kids play outside,” she said. “Ukrainian Village is fine, but there’s still a lot of crime here.”
Burback is in the market for a roomy row house with at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms that doesn’t need a gut-rehab, hopefully has a view of Arcade Park and has a garage — or at least off-street parking — that’s in her price range.
But she hasn’t had much luck finding a place that will appraise for the asking price, which is necessary for her to meet the terms of a preapproved mortgage.
Currently, sellers aren’t willing to budge on the asking price of two row houses that Burback might be interested in calling home.
That’s why Schwartz peppered Pullman with postcards with such a personal note at Burback’s request.
“I wanted to give a personal impression and didn’t want anyone [who got the postcard] to think I was an investor. I’m not looking to move anyone from the community. I want to come in and be part of it,” she said.
“Anyone interested in making a change, I just want them to know that I’m someone who wants to be invested and join the community.”
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