Meet a Mom: Team Steph & Beth! | Chicago North Shore Moms

Stephanie Maletsky and Beth Alberts are a real estate team with Baird & Warner and BFF’s!! The North Shore mamas have more energy than most of us would know what to do with, combined with a calm and collected nature so yeah, they’re pretty much perfect! Please meet Steph and Beth, this week’s Chicago North Shore Moms Meet a Mom feature!

 

 

 

 

You can’t have one without the other! Please introduce yourselves: Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in town? What brought you to your current town? How long have you known each other?

 

Steph – I am a Highland Park lifer. I grew up in West Highland Park, went away to Colorado for college and after living in the city and Evanston for a couple of years, moved back to HP when my first was 18 months.

 

Beth – I grew up in St. Joseph Michigan and have lived in Highland Park for 12 years. We chose Highland Park because we wanted to be close to the lake and we loved the downtown. We were also looking for a new construction home that we could afford.

 

We became business partners 4 years ago and didn’t know each other for long before that. Now we show up to work in the same clothes and finish each other’s sentences.

 

 

You’re both mamas! How many kiddos do you have and how old are they?

 

Steph – I have two, a son who is 9 and a daughter who is 6

 

 

Beth – I have two also, a daughter who is 13 and a son who is 10.

 

 

What’s your favorite thing about being a mom?

 

Steph – The crazy and funny that my kids bring to our everyday, otherwise pretty boring lives.

 

Beth – Watching my son play hockey & late night girl talks with my daughter.

 

 

Least favorite mom job? 

 

Steph – The constant schlepping and coordinating playdates, because if one has one, the other always wants one.

 

Beth – The endless amounts of laundry.

 

 

I can see you are both super busy! Do you have a particular mom “hack/tip” that makes your every day life a little easier… 

 

Steph – Waking up early, I literally can’t keep my eyes open past 9:00 at night so I get a lot done before my kids wake up in the morning.

 

Beth – Making my son give me a $1 every time he pees on the seat, knowing how to unplug the xbox so I can take it away, the Bark App so I can monitor their online activity.

 

 

One thing people would be surprised to know about you ladies…

 

The best part about answering this question is that we each came up with each other’s answers! Ha! That’s pretty awesome!

 

Steph – I’m addicted to gum, I chew it all day long, it’s a horrible habit. Beth’s is SO much better, I can’t beat it.

 

Beth – I was crowned Ms. St. Joseph 1994 and go back regularly wearing my sash to fulfill my float riding duties.

 

 

 

 

Families are always looking for fresh local jaunts. What are your favorite local things to do and places to go with the family?

 

Steph – I love Hidden Creek Aqua Park (Highland Park’s outdoor water park/splash pad), concerts at Ravinia Festival, and getting popsicles and ice cream at La Michoacana Ice Cream Parlor in Highwood.

 

 

Beth – Golfing at Sunset Valley Golf Course, Thursday nights at Ravinia Food Trucks, and going on Pokemon walks through the Botanic Gardens.

 

 

You both are true mompreneurs! Tell us about your business!

 

We run Alberts & Maletsky Real Estate. Lots of moms sell real estate on the North Shore. We take a different approach….for us it’s a business, not a hobby. We are full time, full service agents running our own business 24/7. We are managing nearly fifty transactions a year, we do all of our own marketing and lead generating. We are both passionate about houses and interior design so that makes it a lot of fun. We also take great satisfaction in truly helping people get through a very complicated process. After four years of working together as partners, we have broken through to become top tier producers in Highland Park, a very competitive market place. So far in 2019, we have sold more Highland Park homes than any other agent or team.

 

 

What was/is the inspiration and/or training involved behind your business? What is your background and how did your background help with getting involved in your business?

 

We both chose to affiliate ourselves with Baird & Warner, a local, family-owned real estate company, because of the training they offer and their reputation for having the highest level of integrity. Earning a real estate license, requires 60 hours of course work and passing the state exam. Continuing education classes are required yearly and we always take extras because we are such nerds and we really want to stay ahead of the curve. We both like contributing financially to support our families, raising kids on the North Shore is really expensive so our families inspire us every day to work hard. We are also inspired by helping other families fulfill their housing dreams. Our favorite part of the job is making the call to tell a family that they got the house!

 

Beth – I worked in advertising/sales for the Weather Channel and made the switch over to selling real estate because I wanted a job where I could stay close to home for more work/life balance.

 

Steph – I worked in the fundraising office at Children’s Memorial Hospital and have always stressed the importance of being involved in the community in my professional life. When I had kids, I really wanted to find a role where I could be involved in the community but also be available for my kids – selling real estate really does offer a great way to have this balance, especially because I have a true partner in Beth.

 

 

What is your favorite thing about each other?

 

Steph – Beth makes my job fun, we are always laughing and really enjoy each other’s company. I also love that Beth’s kids are older so she has had to experience many things before me, it has helped me navigate parenthood a lot.

 

Beth – I think we have the perfect partnership because we share the same worth ethic and we always support each other. What I love best about Steph is that I’m taller than her.

 

 

What are some of your proudest moments with your business where you said “wow, I/we did that”?

 

At the end of the first quarter of this year, we realized that we had sold the most units and had the highest sales volume for Highland Park real estate, this was the first time we ranked #1. We’ve also been hired to list several homes when competing against very seasoned veterans in the industry, this always makes us feel like the hard work is paying off.

 

 

Any real estate advice for us?

 

Keep you house in good shape. Home maintenance is a necessity, it is a must, you really can’t just let things go. Make changes to your home because you will enjoy them, stop obsessing about how it will affect your re-sale value, it’s your home, live in it!

 

 

How important is it for you to have a passion or profession outside of being a mother and why?

 

Steph – It keeps me sane. Working helps me keep balance in my life, exercise my brain and has improved my relationship with my husband because we have stuff to talk about other than the kids.

 

Beth – I honestly feel the same way. It’s one more way that helps me meet and relate to people. I’ve made so many friends through my job, I wouldn’t change it for anything.

 

 

When parenting gets hard, what’s something you tell yourself that gets you through?

 

Steph – It’s all a phase, this won’t last forever.

 

Beth – There’s alcohol in the fridge (for me, of course, lol).

 

 

What’s on the horizon for your business? Future aspirations, plans….

 

We plan to become the go-to realtors in Highland Park real estate. We want to see our signs everywhere but more importantly, we want to see those signs come down as the houses sell.

 

 

If you have any real estate questions at all, Steph & Beth would love to give you an answer.

Here’s how to reach out:

Alberts + Maletsky Real Estate

Beth Alberts and Stephanie Maletsky

847-951-2007 | [email protected]

**Also check out the super informative advice piece, “Listing Your Home: Don’t Kill the Deal” written by Alberts & Maletsky and published on Chicago North Shore Moms just last year!

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