Buying Process

Welcome, you’re in the right place to review how to buy a Chicago home. The first step in the Chicago home buying process is to review our Buyer Services and decide which program fits your needs. Should you decide to move forward, the next step will be to review and sign the Buyer’s Broker Agreement which clearly outlines the services and fees you can expect. If you’ve selected our Express Program, next will be a call with your BCP broker. If you’ve selected our Concierge Program, the next step is a face-to-face meeting with your BCP broker. Here they’ll ask questions about your ideal home and listen carefully to what you say. The steps outlined below are for Concierge Program participants.

Next is the critical step of getting pre-approved for a loan. Read why it’s more important than ever to get pre-approved for a Chicago mortgage. You can begin by using our Quick Mortgage Calculator to get an idea of what you can afford. Then discuss the loan process with a lender of your choice. We can recommend qualified lenders. For example, Matt Tierney at Guaranteed Rate. Note that we only recommend lenders who have a proven track record of excellence with our previous clients. Once you’re pre-approved, that’s when we get in the car and go looking to find your ideal home!

And now comes one of the most enjoyable parts of the Chicago home buying process. Yep, searching online for real estate. Start with our Chicago Neighborhood Guide and go exploring. Or if you know the zip code you’re interested in, search using our Zip Code map. Of course you’ll find all types of homes, condos, lofts and town homes from which to choose. You can also use our advanced Chicago Home Search. What’s cool is that with this system you can invite your friends and family to join the search with you. And if you’re relocating we invite you to learn all about the process of relocating to Chicago.

Then, once you’ve found a home you love it’s time to make an offer. We’ll research recent home sales in the neighborhood and determine the home’s value. Then we’ll help you write and present an offer to the seller’s broker. This offer is based on you’re instructions to us. It is founded on market facts and you’re best interests. The offer will specify who will pay closing costs. And will propose a closing date. Plus, it includes a time frame for home inspection, appraisal contingency and a finance contingency. These contingencies are an important way for you to protect yourself in the purchasing process.

Though not required, in most cases we recommend our buyers get a home inspection. This means specifying a due diligence period in the contract. It’s during this time that the home or condo can be inspected by a professional home inspector. And if it’s a condo you’ll also have the opportunity to review the condo declaration, bylaws and annual budget. This is important because when you buy a condo you also buy into the building. So you’ll want to learn about the building finances and rules. Especially if you’re buying a house for airbnb. It’s key to know that during Due Diligence you can get out of the contract for any reason and receive your earnest money back.

We will accompany you and the home inspector for the home inspection. This can typically take from 1 – 3 hours and it’s a great time to follow the home inspector around and ask any questions you have about the house. Shortly after the inspection, your home inspector will provide you with detailed results of the inspection at which time we will determine which repairs you will want to ask the seller to address. This is basically a second round of negotiation with the seller. The seller can reject, counter or accept the request you’ve made as to the repairs. If you don’t agree with the seller’s response then you have the right to cancel the contract and in most cases receive your earnest money back.

After the due diligence period you can expect your lender to finalize the loan underwriting process. This includes reviewing the appraisal and sorting out any last minute questions they may have for you. Be prepared because there are normally some last minute questions. When your loan is approved your lender will pull together the final loan documents for closing and forward them to the closing attorney. During this time, which is normally about 2 weeks, the seller is busy working of finishing up any agreed upon repairs. And now it’s on to the final and most exciting phase of the Chicago home buying process.

Normally the afternoon before or the morning of the closing day, we will return to the home for the final walk-through. This is where you look to see that all the agreed upon repairs have been satisfactorily completed by the seller and that the home is in the same condition it was in when you made the offer. Then we’ll head over to the closing company’s office where you’ll spend the next couple hours signing lots of paperwork. We’ll be right there with you to answer any questions as will your closing attorney. And congratulations you’re now a Chicago homeowner!