James is the founder and team leader of Moda Group at Compass. Hailing from the world of fine dining, hospitality is the foundation upon which James has built a thriving real estate career over the last decade. Spend an hour with him and you'll understand why his clients and peers rave about his authenticity, knowledge and dedication to making the process of buying or selling a home as seamless as possible. Spend two hours with him and you’ll walk away with a list of where to get the best dishes in the best restaurants in Chicago.
James’ success as an agent is rooted in his commitment to providing each of his clients - from the first time homebuyer to the seasoned real estate investor - with the highest level of service and attention to detail at every step in the process. By taking the time to listen to his clients and truly understand what they want and need, James is able to apply his deep knowledge of the Chicago real estate market to get them the best results possible.
James knows that it takes more than just experience to provide his clients with the highest level of service for which he has become known. And that is why he founded the Moda Group, a full-service real estate team dedicated to continually improving the client experience while leveraging the industry’s best tools to maximize the value of every real estate transaction - an approach he likes to call housepitality.
James received his BA in Marketing & Advertising from Columbia College Chicago and was recently recognized as a top producer by the Chicago Association of REALTORS® in 2018.
James lives with his wife, Agnes, and their cat, Wrigley, in Chicago’s Noble Square neighborhood. When he’s not meeting with clients or mentoring his talented team, he’s off on a culinary adventure somewhere in Chicago or halfway around the world.
Agnes brings a unique combination of academic and real world experience to Moda Group that positions her perfectly for her role as the team’s listing and showing specialist.
Before entering the world of real estate, Agnes earned a BA in marketing from St. Xavier University. She spent years in Chicago’s top fine dining establishments and as a spokesperson representing clients like PepsiCo, Hershey’s, KitchenAid and ESPN at trade shows. A natural communicator, Agnes loves the listing process and the opportunity to support her clients during a pivotal moment in their lives.
After a decade in the industry, Agnes has the experience to successfully guide our clients through the stressful process of staging and selling their homes. With a keen eye for detail and breadth of market experience, Agnes ensures that the preparations her clients make will garner the greatest return on investment for their sale. When she bought her first home, she had no idea what she was doing, and it felt like a soulless transaction. At Moda Group, Agnes is dedicated to making sure her clients never have the same experience!
Born in Krakow, Poland, Agnes has lived and worked in Chicago for more than 25 years and lives with her husband, James, in Noble Square. When she’s not flexing her marketing muscle, Agnes is an excellent guide for all things luxury travel and dining. Whether you’re looking for an al fresco dinner in Chicago or a great place to grab a glass of wine with a view of the Tuscan countryside, Agnes has got you covered.
Patrick joins Moda Group after a stint in Chicago’s fine dining scene as a certified sommelier. While he once helped diners navigate long and overwhelming wine lists, he now brings his focus, attention and know-how to helping his clients navigate the equally long and overwhelming real estate process (though he always has time to recommend that perfect bottle for milestones along the way).
Real estate can often feel intimidating but not when Patrick is involved. Whether touring neighborhoods with buyers to find that perfect place in the city or recommending home updates for sellers to maximize the sale, Patrick is committed to advising clients on all aspects of the process so they walk away with the best possible results. Setting people up for long-term financial success is what drives Patrick and he’s dedicated to the cause. If he’s not meeting with clients, Patrick is on the phone single-handedly sourcing off-market properties or deep-diving into a new topic so he can be a better advisor for his clients and the team.
Originally from Michigan, it’s no surprise that Patrick has a thing for cars and lakes (but not cars in lakes). After a long day on the hunt searching for that perfect property, you can often find him cruising Lake Shore Drive with his wife, Gillian, and their dog, Jameson, in tow.
What do you get when you combine a teacher, a comedian and a COO? Either the start of a really bad joke or an attentive, knowledgeable, detail-oriented, and entertaining real estate agent. In this case, we’ve got the latter.
Lauren Herskovic, founding member of Moda Group at Compass and creator of the popular “Who Wants to be a Homebuyer” Trivia Night, specializes in helping first time homebuyers in Chicago. The home-buying process is opaque, and the investment is huge, making it scary and overwhelming for first time homebuyers. But Lauren’s focus on educating her clients, constant communication, and utilizing tried and true systems, make for a seamless and (dare we say it?!) fun experience for her clients.
“Lauren was hands down the best resource we could have asked for in looking for our first condo. Not only did she guide us through the whole process smoothly, but every other resource she recommended, from inspectors to lenders to attorneys, was incredible.” - Kelly, First Time Homebuyer in Chicago
“As first time homebuyers, we really enjoyed working with Lauren. She guided us through each step of the process seamlessly, and ensured that we were comfortable and knowledgeable all along the way. Lauren was always available to answer our (many) questions and give great advice. She was also proactive in reaching out to us, rather than waiting for us to come to her, which we really appreciated.” - Kimmie, First Time Homebuyer in Chicago
Background:
Lauren grew up in suburban Detroit and now lives in Logan Square. She got a BA in English and Secondary Education from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). She then served as Editor in Chief for an online women’s magazine in NYC before working as COO for a consulting company based in Chicago, taking the company from a 3-person operation to a team of 100+ with offices in the US and China.
In her free time, she plays tennis, takes pictures of her food and binge-watches Bravo with her Toy Poodle, Harvey. If you’re looking for help in finding your next home - whether you’re a first time homebuyer in Chicago or a seasoned real estate investor - call/text/email/send an owl and Lauren will help get you set on that home-buying journey!
Liz is an operational powerhouse and the reason our agents are able to provide the top-level service that has become synonymous with Moda Group. With a decade of operations experience under her belt, most recently at a boutique software consultancy, Liz has an uncanny ability to keep the team’s many processes and transactions running, while also fielding whatever surprises pop up along the way. The result? A stress-free and seamless process for everyone involved.
The client experience is Liz’s driving force at Moda Group and she works tirelessly with the rest of the team to ensure that every client gets the best possible support along the way.
A lifelong Chicagoan, Liz grew up in the West Ridge neighborhood on the city’s far north side and now resides in Bucktown. She holds a BS in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University and an MS in Leadership Policy Studies from DePaul University. In her free time, you can find her cooking with her fiance Erik (a chef by trade), binge watching the latest Netflix original series or enjoying a craft cocktail at her favorite bar.
Greg grew up on the North Shore of Chicago before heading off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he graduated with a BS in Financial Planning and minors in Business and Spanish. Upon graduating Greg moved to the city and began his career in commercial real estate, working for one of the top multifamily teams in the country. After learning the nitty gritty investment side of real estate, Greg realized he derived the most joy from working with clients face-to-face and helping them on a more personal level so he said goodbye to his desk job and “Oh hey!” to residential Real Estate.Greg has since represented buyers, sellers, investors, and more landlords and tenants than he can begin to count. He combines his love of real estate and relationship-building to make the home-buying or selling process as simple and enjoyable for his clients as possible. By being highly organized, communicative, and ambitious, Greg adapts to his clients’ needs and tailors the process to each individual client. Whether you are a first-time home buyer or a seasoned investor looking for the best return on your investment, Greg has the experience and the skills to get you from A to B as seamlessly as possible, while getting you the best deal (and a few stops to his favorite restaurants and bars) along the way.When Greg isn’t eating his way through Chicago’s always-growing food scene or sipping on an espresso martini on one Chicago’s many patios (for those few weeks of good weather we get), you can find him walking his corgi Biscuit on the lakeshore path or binge watching Bravo (even though he’s already seen everything...twice).