Why We Started Lucid Realty

For years Gary Lucido had been perplexed by the residential real estate brokerage business. Many of the agents he had encountered over the years just weren't that impressive and the commissions were exorbitant. It was no surprise that the FTC had investigated the industry for anti-competitive practices going back to 1995. It just didn't seem right to have to pay 6% to an agent who was little more than an order taker and didn't do that much to sell your house. In fact, when it came time to leave Richmond, Virginia to return to Chicago his wife and he sold their home themselves (no agent on either side of the deal) and saved $18,000.

After several years of wondering aloud to everyone he knew, Gary decided to get to the bottom of the mystery himself. His curiosity wasn't totally motivated by altruism, though, because his business career had taught him that when something didn't make sense there was probably a business opportunity lurking somewhere. So he spent the next few months reading industry studies, reading articles, talking to industry insiders,studying the competition, and reading economic studies. In the end his conclusions surprised him. A good real estate agent really could provide real value to buyers and sellers. The problem was that there just weren't that many good agents out there. Even more surprising,Gary discovered that there was not a mass conspiracy in the industry but there was mass inefficiency. Therein lay the business opportunity.(If you are interested you can request a copy of our white papersummarizing our findings about the real estate industry.)

As the business opportunity began to emerge Gary began to discuss it with Sari Levy, whom he knew from his last job and whom he knew to be hard working, professional, smart, and customer service oriented. They both received their salesperson licenses, their broker licenses, and went to work for traditional brokers. Their work experiences reinforced and complemented the findings of Gary's research so they decided to build a business together.

Not Your Average Real Estate Company

Based upon what Gary and Sari learned they created a business model for their own brokerage, Lucid Realty, that distances it from traditional brokerages and provides a better value to the consumer:

• It is a full service broker,
• Offering substantial savings to both buyers and sellers,
• Providing services by employees not independent contractors,
• Working as a team instead of competing against one another,
• With professionalism and high standards of customer service.

Our Team

Gary Lucido, President and Co-Founder
glucido@lucidrealty.com

Gary brings over 20 years of experience in customer service, finance,operations, and information services, and has an obsessive passion forgetting the job done quickly and correctly. His corporate experience includes many multi-million dollar contract negotiations that resulted in wins for both parties. Prior to working with a well-known traditional real estate brokerage, Gary was President of a national concierge company, where he worked with Sari. He was also one of the founders of Shop Local, a leading provider of Web shopping services for retailers, where he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for client services, operations, and technology. His team built the company to more than 150 employees serving most of the top retailers in the country.

Gary's experience also includes 7 years at Circuit City Stores as Director of Inventory Productivity and Extended Service Plans, where he was responsible for the company's $500 million warranty program and led Circuit City's first supply chain initiatives. In addition, he was a Corporate Business Development Manager at General Electric, where he led a one-year customer service improvement study for GE Financial Services. Early in his career he worked in the strategy practice at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, and in corporate finance at Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Gary received a B.S. degree in math and physics from Duke University and an MBA from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management,where he concentrated in finance and management policy. He has lived in the Chicago area for over 19 years, including Evanston, Lakeview,Lincoln Park, and University Village.

Sari Levy, SFR Managing Broker, and Co-Founder
slevy@lucidrealty.com

Sari brings over 15 years experience in the service industry and a solid background in operations, account management, vendor relations, and customer service to her role as Managing Broker. Sari is customer obsessed and brings a "whatever it takes" attitude to her work each day. Prior to working with a well-known traditional real estate brokerage, she held the position of Vice President of Customer Service for a national concierge company. During her tenure, her team grew from 15 employees to over 100 and under her direction the company's operations grew from 6 locations in the tri-state area to over 35 nationally.

Prior to that, Sari served as the Customer Care Manager at Nicor Energy prior to her promotion to Contract Administration Manager. She spent two years as the Customer Service/Operations Manager for VirtualSellers.com, an Internet start up company. Additionally, she spent eight years with Waste Management where she held the positions of Customer Service Manager and Business Analyst.

Sari holds a B.A. in communications from Roosevelt University, where she graduated with honors in 2004. Sari is a Chicago native who has lived in Rogers Park, Uptown, Lakeview, Portage Park, Niles, Glenview, Wilmette, Lake Bluff, Lyons and Wauconda. For the past twelve years she has lived in Addison where she enjoys spending time with her long time boyfrend and as Gary affectionately calls it "her zoo" which is two dogs and cats.

Joe brings a variety of skills to his role as a real estate representative.  He grew up in a construction family and has 10 years of experience in the construction industry.  He worked in Alaska on a variety of projects, including custom homes and multi-story buildings.  His work in construction provided the financing for him to move on to the legal field.  He graduated from Willamette University College of Law and practiced law as a partner in an Anchorage, Alaska law firm and later in Tacoma, Washington. His legal experience includes real estate and environmental cases and he has successfully negotiated numerous settlements up to $1 MM. Not only has Joe been a homeowner for many years but he has also been an investor in multi-unit buildings.

 In 2008 his wife convinced him it was time to move to her hometown of Chicago. Since arriving in Chicago, Joe has lived and worked in River North and the South Loop. He has received the CHMS certification and completed course work for the ABR certification. 

Joe’s background uniquely qualifies him to effectively represent buyers and sellers of real estate, to analyze and solve real estate problems, to be alert to construction and environmental issues, and to be a strong negotiator on behalf of his clients.