Ratings include all 121 reviews. Reviews collected directly from clients are shown only with their permission.
We truly cannot say enough good things about Shelly! As first-time homebuyers, we had a million questions, and she was there for us every step of the way. She was incredibly responsive, patient, and proactive, always making sure we understood what was happening and what to expect next.
We had a few unexpected hurdles along the way, and Shelly went above and beyond to help us navigate them. She genuinely cared about getting us to the finish line, and we always felt like we were in great hands.
Buying your first home can be overwhelming, but having Shelly in our corner made all the difference. We are so grateful for her and couldn't recommend her more highly!
Response from Owner
Oh, you two! 🥹 It was such an honor to be part of your first-home journey! Buying your first home comes with a lot of questions, and a few plot twists (LOL). My favorite part of what I do is helping you feel confident, informed, and supported every step of the way.
Thank you for trusting me with such a BIG milestone in your lives. I hope your new home is filled with laughter, love and big memories for years to come. And remember, I’m always just a call or text away! 🏡
I had an excellent experience working with Shelly at Rate during my home buying process. She made what could have been a stressful experience feel easy and manageable from start to finish. Shelly was incredibly encouraging, knowledgeable, and always willing to step in and take care of any roadblocks that came up along the way.
I truly appreciated how responsive and supportive she was throughout the entire process. Her expertise and dedication gave me confidence every step of the way. I would recommend Shelly over and over again. She is absolutely wonderful to work with!
Response from Owner
Rachel, this makes me so happy! Buying a home is a big deal, and knowing you felt supported, encouraged, and confident throughout the journey means a lot to me. Every homebuying journey has its own sense of humor (ha!), but you never have to navigate it alone!
Thank you for trusting me to be part of such an exciting chapter in your life. I’m cheering you on as you make your new house a home, and I’m always here if you need me. 🏡
Shelly was incredibly knowledgeable and so helpful throughout the entire home purchasing process- she walked us through every question we had and provided us with a few helpful options we didn’t even know to ask for. Would work with Shelly and her team again in a heart beat!
Response from Owner
Thank you so much Jonathan! It was my pleasure to guide you into your new place! I hope you have settled in and have been spending your time making your new place a home! Wishing you so many wonderful years and will always be here for the next adventure!
Shelly made this process easy and low stress. She provided clear and consistent communication. Very appreciative of her.
JJordan W.
Shelly Ave is the best and easiest to work with.
JJames J.
I almost don't know where to begin with this review, because words truly cannot do justice to how incredible Shelly and her team at Rate are. They are, without a doubt, the ultimate dream team!
We presented them with an incredibly complex scenario for our home purchase, but where others might have seen roadblocks, Shelly and her team only saw solutions. They simply found a way. Their attention to detail was flawless, they never missed a single deadline, and they were so deeply in tune with the shifting financial markets that they locked us in at a fantastic rate.
I honestly do not believe anyone else in the industry could have achieved what Shelly and her team did for us. Beyond their unmatched professional expertise, they were a constant source of positivity, strength, and support throughout the entire process.
Why would you ever trust anyone else with your home loan? We certainly never will. Shelly and her team have earned our loyalty for life!
Response from Owner
Gary, coming from you, this means A LOT!! Yours was definitely not a “plug in the numbers and call it a day” kind of deal! 😂 But finding a way through the complicated stuff, grinding through the details, and making the pieces come together is exactly what I love to do. I’m incredibly proud of what our team accomplished, and even more grateful that you trusted us with something so important to your family.
Loyalty for life? Careful… we’re going to hold you to that. 😉 You and your family were an absolute pleasure to work with!
Shelly Ave is incredible! She went above and beyond to not only to ensure that I understood every step of the process, but was readily available to provide information. For example, when I was looking at my current condo and was attending an open house during the weekend, Shelly quickly sent over loan estimates that helped me determine my offer. She's easy to talk to and a great communicator I highly recommend her! Thanks to my friend that referred me.
AAdrienne T.
Shelly made the process super transparent and easy.
CClay C.
Shelly is the best! Her and her team made the process really simple. I cannot stress that enough. Shellys effort, consistent communication in-between searches, during close, and availability was unmatched. The rest (as in, dealing with traditional banks and their system) was mediocre. IF IT WAS NOT FOR SHELLY AND HER HARD WORK - I would have went with private lenders.
PPeter C.
We recently purchased our first home in Irving Park, and we truly could not have done it without the guidance, expertise and trust of Shelly. From our very first conversations, to the final signatures at closing, she was an absolute powerhouse. Particularly in a competitive market with a quick timeline for closing, there was not a moment of hesitation or concern from her and the team. The sheer number of hours spent to make sure ever 'i' was dotted and 't' was crossed was beyond impressive! She has such a unique gift of being able to make complex, stressful processes feel manageable and transparent, and we cannot thank her enough for all of the constant support and guidance she offered us. She was a real advocate through every hurdle, and if you're wanting someone to go to bat for you, I cannot recommend Shelly enough!
Shelly was an amazing resource for my husband and I as we navigated buying our fist home. She is kind, knowledgeable, and very responsive. Shelly helped us feel good every step of the way!
Because the person I worked with, Shelly Ave, was wonderful! She made the process super easy and I felt supported every step of the way.
MMaria M.
Shelly was absolutely fantastic to work with! As first time homebuyers, my wife and I came into the process with many questions - all of which were answered by Shelly, promptly and thoroughly. Shelly is very friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. We would absolutely recommend her services to anyone looking to buy a home!
Shelly was absolutely amazing. There are so many ups and downs with the home buying/lending process, and Shelly was our rock through all of it. When things went wrong, even after our purchase, she worked tirelessly to ease my stress and get things figured out. She is kind, patient, understanding, and fierce. You will not regret doing business with her.
There is not enough bold, all-caps, and punctuation on this keyboard to express how critical Shelly was in making our home-buying process low stress and clear from the start: a) we knew the line by line costs before we put an offer in for every property we were looking at, b) once our offer was accepted, signing paperwork was straightforward and expertly project managed, and c) Shelly and her team were responsive to all of our questions throughout. Thank you, Shelly!
Extremely reliable, professional, great communication through entire process.!
EElise L.
Team was very responsive and friendly.
MMartin P.
Absolutely incredible team and they were thorough and easy to work with
EEmese B.
Shelly Avé took perfect care of me!
MMary E.
Shelly was amazing, very quick to respond and explained everything along the way
MMichelle W.
Contacted Rate for a VA loan, had a loan estimate immediately. The process was extremely easy as I uploaded all needed documentation. Communication was fantastic, anytime I had questions they were answered immediately. With the lender credit, and no cost lender fee for the VA loan, I actually received money back at closing. The interest rate was very competitive. In fact to get the same interest rate with another lender I would have had to purchase points and come up with $20,000 for closing! Highly, highly recommend Rate! Do yourself a favor and at least give them the opportunity to provide you with a loan estimate. I was able to close in 15 days as well, which I believe gave my offer on the home I purchased an edge.
Shelly is amazing. She’s patient caring and kind. It’s like having a best friend who knows all of the ends and outs of homebuying and take you through the process step-by-step so that there are no worries along the process.
Shelly is amazing. She’s patient caring and kind. It’s like having a best friend who knows all of the ends and outs of homebuying and take you through the process step-by-step so that there are no worries along the process.
It was such a pleasure working with Shelly. She is very approachable, extremely knowledgeable and patient which were all qualities I needed as a first time home buyer. She made it her mission to make me feel confident and empowered in my decisions and she succeeded. Thank you Shelly!
Shelly was amazing to work with for buying our first home. She took the time to explain every part of the process and answered all of our questions quickly and thoroughly. We were able to get a great deal really quickly and are truly grateful! I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy a home in Chicago!
Shelly Avé is one amazing person to work with. She is always a step ahead, gives exactly what's wanted, desired & needed,while making g you feel great about everything involved. Her team is pretty dynamic as well. I know you'll be super impressed with her awesome talents & ability. Shelly really delivers wholeheartedly!
I worked with Shelly over the past few months in securing a loan for a real estate purchase. She was consistently professional, has superb communication skills, and was kind and supportive when I shared an issue I was concerned about. I will wholeheartedly recommend Shelly to my family and friends who are in need of the services she provides. She is absolutely top-notch!
Shelly was very helpful in my home-buying process. As a first time homeowner, I had tons of questions & concerns. Shelly provided answers to all of my questions, was very thorough, & had quick follow through & response times. I recommend her!
Shelly was absolutely incredible. She guided us through every financing option with patience and expertise, turning what felt overwhelming into a process we could actually enjoy. At every step, she had our back—making sure we felt confident in each decision. She always picked up my calls on the first ring, genuinely excited to help and ready to break down complicated details into simple terms I could understand. Thanks to her, we were able to bring one of our biggest dreams to life. I truly can’t recommend her enough.
Great service and moving quickly to help us close fast!
DDaniel B.
Shelly is the best. She guided us through our first homebuying process with ease and made us feel confident in all the decisions we made. She made it incredibly easy!
This was my second time working with Shelly Ave as my mortgage broker, and I can confidently say I’ll continue to work with her for any future home financing needs.
Shelly is not only incredibly knowledgeable and professional, but she also genuinely cares about you as a person. From start to finish, she had my best interests at heart and made what can be a stressful process feel smooth and manageable. She’s the kind of person who goes above and beyond—working around the clock, staying on top of every detail, and making herself available to answer questions at any time, big or small.
Shelly is exactly who you want in your corner during a home purchase or refinance. She’s trustworthy, responsive, and truly exceptional at what she does. I’ve had nothing but great experiences with her and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for a top-tier mortgage broker in Chicago.
I worked with Shelly recently on my first home purchase. She was gret every step of the way. While looking at places, she was able to quickly help me understand my options for down payments and monthly mortgage. She had super fast turn around for offers. Shelly made sure I understand each step, answered all my questions, and saw me through to close. I appreciate all the support!
I cannot say enough good stuff about Shelly and her team at Rate. They made the purchase process for my first home seamless and stress-free. Everyone was incredibly communicative, responsive, and always provided clear and easy to follow instructions every single step of the way. This was the easiest (albeit largest) purchase I have ever made.
ZZoe L.
Shelly was very helpful during our whole process. She's extremely personable and direct about everything you'd need to know when going through the mortgage process. Because of her we were able to do a quick closing on our house!
Excellent service from all staff. They stayed on task and got the job done. They were patient and knowledgeable. They always followed up with me when I had questions.
JJody H.
Felt so supported through the entire process
RRena H.
Shelly is absolutely amazing at what she does! I highly recommend her!!!
Shelly was so enthusiastic and full of knowledge. She was easy to get ahold of when we had questions and always happy to jump on a phone call to explain the details of the mortgage process. I wouls recommend Shelly to anyone and especially first-time home buyers who are looking for someone to walk them through the ins and outs with clarity and care.
Shelly Ave is everything you want in a lender. She is professional, responsive, and put care and thought into helping us find the right loan. Pleasant and seamless experience from start to close.
Response from Owner
Thank you so much Phil for the kind words. I am so happy you had a great experience... that is always the goal! I am so happy for you, Ashley and the kids ... wishing you all the best years to come in your new place and hopefully a bit of relaxation now that the process is over! :-)
Shelly was great through the entire loan process. She was always available to answer any questions we had from the start of the loan application, all the way to the closing. Highly recommended!
Response from Owner
Thank you so much Juan Pablo for the review! It was my pleasure to help guide you and Lucia into this beautiful home! I know you and your family will spend many happy years there! Cheers to you!
