For John Pembroke, being a Chicago Realtor® and serving the professional needs of his community are a family tradition that goes back nearly a century. His grandfather, who graduated from law school in 1920, sold real estate and insurance for over 60 years, principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. John’s father worked in various areas of real estate and construction, first as a salesman of woodwork, then selling glass to architects, serving as a real estate appraiser during the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway, and ultimately representing McDonalds Corporation as an in-house mortgage broker.

As a Sebastian Realtor®, John Pembroke brings not only his proud background and a deep passion for meeting his clients’ needs but also years of experience and training in multiple fields, including law, finance, and insurance as well as real estate. Brought up in Blue Island, Illinois, some of his first jobs were with Jewel Food Stores. He acquired his CPA license and joined Coopers and Lybrand in 1976 and later worked at Arthur Young, CPAs. He also studied law and joined the law firm of Schuyler, Roche & Zwirner before establishing his own law firm in 1992.

John has lived in Park Ridge since 1986. (“For all that time,” he observes, “the universal comment I've gotten about Park Ridge is that it is ‘nice.’ I couldn't agree more.”) He has closed numerous residential properties and some commercial properties. Early on, he tried obtaining an $80 million dollar loan to finance McDonald's store locations, but the "older and wiser" heads that presented the idea overreached, and caused the deal to fail. It was a great learning experienced though. He also structured several Section 1031 transactions for tax-savings on commercial or investment properties.

As a professional, he has always been more interested in the personal aspects of legal and financial transactions, and he enjoys serving people moreso than businesses. His principal area of work is in the practice of law, and as an extension of his law practice, he has expanded into being a licensed Realtor®. He also continues to do tax returns -- traditionally CPA work (he keeps his CPA license current). In 2002, he added an Illinois Insurance Producer license and became an Illinois Investment Advisor Representative in order to join the financial services industry and gain further expertise.

John finds great satisfaction in solving his clients’ financial and legal issues and making their journey through the real estate process positive and successful. While he has always had a talent for numbers, he considers his ability to relate to his clients to be his greatest attribute. John is interested in what their needs, goals and aspirations are, and with those uppermost in his mind he sets about to find the right house in the neighborhood that will best meet those needs.

Married for 32 years, John is the proud father of two kids -- a daughter, age 21, who works at Starbucks and is in line for store manager, and a son, age 16, who is a junior at Maine South. When he can find the time, travel, reading, and socializing with family and friends are his favorite pastimes.

Contact:
Phone: 847-696-0060