Buyer • Sellers • January 29, 2020

Tips & Strategies – Hire the PERFECT house keeper

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso, your local Chicagoland realtor. And today’s episode is actually all about giving you a helpful tips and strategies on finding the perfect housekeeper for your home. I wanted to take the time and go over some strategies of finding a perfect housekeeper for your home. This one is really not related to the mortgage and real estate industry in that sense, but having a home oftentimes comes with a very time consuming task of cleaning the home, maintaining the home. And it’s for many of us, a time suck to really do all of this. So having a housekeeper is definitely a luxury, but for some of you, it might be well worth the consideration. The first thing you need to determine is the kind of service you want. Are you looking for more of an established company that will do all the screening and paperwork and handle the insurance for you, in which case you will most often have a rotating crew depending on who is available at your house. You will most likely have less of a personal relationship with them, but you will have definitely predictability and you have somebody there every year for every task that you will have them do. The other option is you choose somebody more private.

This ensures that you have a person there you can establish a relationship with. You can let them know what exactly you are expecting. They might be able to handle some additional things, such as letting off your dog or folding some laundry. Based on what your arrangements are for studies. Most people are happier if they go with the individual route. Now, the drawback on the individual route is that you cannot account for no shows or when people get sick because there’s oftentimes no backups and then there’s a skip week or there’s a week where you do end up doing it yourself. The second best tip we can give you is to look for recommendations from friends, families, coworkers, somebody that’s used their services before. Those are great resources for you to start your search with the third tip. Make a list of your needs and your ones having a detailed list available of what you expect. Room by room is really helpful for the person you are hiring. It takes the guesswork out of a new housekeeper and trying to get to know the house. Getting to know what your preferences are and getting to know your priorities. Writing it down and outlining is probably one of the most time consuming steps in this entire process, but it will also be the most helpful. The next step. Stick around for the first couple cleanings. I know many of us like to kind of disappear and come back to a miracle beautiful, clean house, but the first few cleanings. It might be helpful if you’re kind of around. Not necessarily right behind the person, but around so that you guys can communicate what’s important.

Where there should be more attention paid. You can also just tell them you really like what they did there. Because people do appreciate when you appreciate their work. Calculate the cost. Of course we want to know how much is it going to cost you because it varies on how frequently you have the people come. Do they have to just kind of maintain or is it always a deep clean? When they come to your house? You want to evaluate what is there, how long that take. You consider a fair market price for the cleaning. Are you providing your own cleaning product or are they bringing their own? There’s a couple factors you want to consider. On average, they’re in the marketplace. You’re looking at about 125 to 150 biweekly for the average four bedroom home with an average miss. Those are all very general terms. You can get it a lot cheaper. You can get it a lot higher. Prices go down to 70 bucks all the way up to 50. So you really have to evaluate what you’re looking for, how much maintenance and cleaning your house needs on a weekly, bi weekly or monthly basis, and then see where you fit in it on that scale. Understand what bonded and insured means now. Bonded to start with, for the homeowner doesn’t mean much.

It just means that the company is protected against theft from their employees. For the homeowner, however, what we want to make sure of is that there is insurance coverage if the company that is coming in to clean the home. They should be providing it with it. If it’s not a company and it’s an individual, you may want to check with your personal homeowner insurance if there is something that is covering you in case of an accident, somebody inside your own home. And if not, you should consider, if it’s worth it, to add. Oftentimes that cost is only a few dollars. And lastly, realize that trust takes time. Definitely not something that you’re going to gain on the first visit. It’s hard to give somebody the keys and alarm codes to your own personal home. Eventually, you might get there where the trust is established enough. You may want to just switch out an alarm code for when the cleaning crew comes. You may want to leave a key for that specific day, but it takes time to establish.

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Buyer • Sellers • January 22, 2020

Save Money on your Mortgage WITHOUT REFINANCING

by Janine Sasso

Everybody. It’s Janine Sasso, your local Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, we are talking about mortgage recasting. That’s right. Mortgage recasting, huh? Was my first thought, too, because I am by no means a mortgage lender, but because I sell houses, because I need to know a certain amount in the mortgage world that was funded by my interest and I’m pretty sure it was part years too. Stay tuned. Mortgage recasting is really an interesting tool that homeowners can use if they are looking to reduce their monthly mortgage payment without a refinance. The way it works is that you pay the lender a lump sum of money that is put towards your principal, and the mortgage lender is distributing your principal over the term of the remaining years you have, therefore lowering your payment and lowering the interest you will pay over the life of the loan. What it does not do, however, is affect your interest rate or the term of your loan. So this all remains the same. Having some great benefits.

The first great benefits. It lowers your monthly payment. The second one, it will lower the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan. And the third benefit it will not touch your interest rate if you already have a low interest rate. Now vice versa. It will also not touch the high interest rate. If you have a higher one, if you do have a high interest rate, you want to go into a lower interest rate. You will need to look at refinancing. The way it works is that the lender requires you to make a lump sum payment towards your principal. Oftentimes, this is required to be $5,000 or more. Fees are varying by lenders, but oftentimes they are not exceeding more than a few hundred dollars. Of course, you need to consider that the money you are using to recast will not be available to you to reinvest in others or pay off other things. Now, here are some qualifications that you should be aware of. First off, not all lenders offer recasting. So you need to check and make sure that the lender you are choosing does actually offer that.

Most of the big banks, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, they will offer that. Currently, also, not all of them types will qualify for recasting. If you have an FHA or a VA loan, chances are a request will not be possible. Now, recasting versus refinancing. Like I mentioned before, those are very different things. The recast will allow you to lower your monthly payment without really touching the terms of your loan. While the refinance will generate a brand new loan to you, which carries a lot higher cost than the recast. However, if your interest rate is high, you’re looking to get a smaller one or lower interest rate. Maybe a refinance might make sense. This is definitely something you want to take to your local mortgage professional. So I hope this was helpful for you and your situation. Maybe you are interested in doing a recast. Maybe you’re looking into more of a refinance-type situation. Either way, I hope this information is now available at your fingertips. And if you have any other questions, I’m always happy to answer them and you can send them directly to my email.

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Buyer • Sellers • January 15, 2020

The EXTINCTION OF THE STARTER HOME explained

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso or your local Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, we will be covering the reasons behind skipping the starter home. We’re sure you heard about the trend. People are skipping the starter home. But what’s behind it? One of the biggest things is long term planning. The home needs to fit into a long term plan, long term meaning at least ten years that the House needs to be perfect for the person who’s buying it. Our first time homebuyers are understanding that equity gain needs time, and in order for that to happen, where they don’t have to stress out about it, they are giving that equity growth the most amount of time possible. Now, they’re not only considering things like paying down the equity, they are also putting into perspective rising cost of repairs, of association costs and, of course, taxes. With all of those items being on the rise, it will take longer for them to gain the equity they need to also cover the selling cause that is oftentimes cutting in at about 6% off the purchase price.

What also contributes to this is the later start in homeownership. This is mainly attributed to currently due to the high amount of debt that will not let the borrower qualify in their early twenties anymore, as they have to pay off the student debt first before their debt to income ratio is in line with what the lender wants. Let’s also investigate the condo as a starter home. This one is nearly extinct and one of the main reason is the amenities for condos. While they are absolutely fabulous for some renters to have the pool a back, a basketball court to have fitness centers available, doormen in a parking, there are so many great things that come with it. But once it becomes time to actually be the one footing the bill for the association separately from your mortgage, many first time homebuyers are cringing away from that high number and are opting for less of those in-house amenities and opting more for a single family home closer to the three bedrooms that is there to be there forever. So what’s our biggest takeaway from this?

The biggest takeaway is that today’s home buyer, once that house that is not only move and ready, but it’s also the house that will adapt to all their future phases in life. Growing family and abilities in older age. The yard space that lets children play in the dark run home front to entertain and needs to have it all. So finding your perfect home is definitely a little challenging, but you can rest assured that it was the right professional guidance on your side. There should also be a piece of cake. My name is Janine Sasso, and I am your local Chicagoland realtor.

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Sellers • January 8, 2020

What is an EXCLUSIVE BUYER AGENT and do I need one when BUYING A HOUSE?

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso, are your local Chicagoland real Hawaii? And in today’s episode, we will be discussing what an exclusive buyer agent is. So stay tuned. Let’s start off with the definition of an exclusive buyer. Agent is an agent that only represents buyers who will never represent a seller or take a listing. Now, what does that mean for you? One of the clauses is that they cannot get caught in between a seller and a buyer representation. This is what we refer to as dual agency. An agent all of a sudden has a perfect listing for the perfect buyer, which also is claimed. And now he’s stuck right in between his seller and his buyer. So what is he to do as a double agent? You do have the chance to represent both parties and become a transactional broker in which you really cannot go for either parties best interest, because it’s impossible to get the seller the most amount of money while getting the buyer the best deal possible. So you get reduced to doing paperwork. Now the other option is you take one of the parties and you refer them over to another agent. In this case, you then working for one party, you have an agent on the other side working for another, and the deal can still work out.

However, the risk is that sometimes information gets transferred between the parties, between the agents, and then you’re kind of stuck in between a rock and a hard spot again. So what the National Association of Realtors came up with is the exclusive buyer agent. The exclusive buyer agent will never get in this position because they do not represent sellers and they do not take listings. But what’s the big difference between a buyer agent and an exclusive buyer agent? Now, many realtors you encounter will be buyers agents, not exclusive buyer agents, but buyer agents. So the exclusive buyer agents, one of the main differences is that because he only represents buyers, he oftentimes needs to encompass a much larger area that he covers for his business, needing to cover more area. Oftentimes goes hand in hand with you cannot niche down on a market. You are not as knowledgeable on a neighborhood than a very hyper local or local agent that is a buyer’s agent. Also, the exclusive buyer agents sometimes are independent of brokerages, meaning that the brokerage to brokerage relationship. Larger companies have four comingsoon listings, private listings. That exclusive buyer agent oftentimes misses out on that.

Just because he’s kind of separate from this entity. So if you don’t want to miss out on, you know, a super neighborhood that oftentimes sells before something hits the market, maybe a buyer agent that has, you know, the ins and outs of the neighborhood might be a better solution for what you need. But regardless of if it’s an exclusive buyer agent or buyer agent, the most important part is that you find somebody that represents you that you can trust, that listens to you, and definitely makes sure that he gets all your wants and needs in the home purchase. Correct. That’s it for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it. And stay tuned for next week.

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Buyer • Sellers • January 1, 2020

How much, Why & What – The Real Estate Attorney Explained

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso, your local Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, I wanted to talk to you guys about the real estate attorney and his or her role in the real estate transaction. The Chicagoland area has real estate attorneys representing buyers and sellers in the transaction. They are their legal counsel. They have their back. They make sure the best interest is always protected. They protect the earnest money. They are a valuable asset when it comes to our real estate transaction. Now, other parts of Illinois, you will not find a real estate attorney oftentimes used. It is most often handled by the little company as well as the agents. So this one is customary to our market, and this is why I wanted to take a minute and explain a little bit about it. The first question I oftentimes get is, well, how much is it going to cost? The word attorney is oftentimes associated with massive amounts of money, and in the grand scheme of things, the transaction is worth multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars. So with that in mind, the attorney is on average and, you know, prices vary, but on average, you’re looking at 5 to $600 for the transaction, which is paid.
At the successful close, meaning your property does not close. The attorney most often.
Doesn’t charge a retainer, does not get paid because the property did not close. They don’t charge you by the minute. They also don’t charge you by the email or the phone call. So you have legal counsel available to make sure you ask the questions that are important to you. Your attorney will help you get all of the important documents gathered. They will help you. Record the the property ones have transferred. And in our market.
We use them. We heavily rely on them. It is really important to make sure you pick up some attorney that is a real estate attorney, because we want to make sure that they 100% know what they’re doing in the transaction, because if they do not, it will cost you money. It will cost you time and it will cost you a lot of information. So we want to make sure that you have somebody on your team that is there for you and understands the marketplace you’re in that is having local knowledge because we want to make sure that they are familiar with the rules required by all of the towns and townships. That all being said, I work with some of the best attorneys in the marketplace. So if you do need somebody, if you need a reference, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to share it, regardless of, you know, who is representing you, regardless of if you’re going for sale by owner without an agent. I just think it’s such a valuable asset to have to have your best interest protected 100% of the way that this is an investment you should make while investing in real estate. So I hope this little glimpse helped you understand a little bit more. And if you have any questions, you can always email me at Janine@3keysrealestategroup.com
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And I look forward to next week’s episode.

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Buyer • December 19, 2019

Consider THIS before Buying TOO MUCH HOME!

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso, your local Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, we will be covering how much home is too much home for you. This one I want to kick off with some interesting stats. Did you know that in 1982, 2.76 people lived on an average of 1595 square feet. Now, let’s compare this to 2018. In 2018, 2.54 people lived on 2385 square feet. What a difference. But how come? Where’s the difference coming from? Now, let’s think about this. Double vanities have become a must have in a master spa bath. How about the man cave? The entertainment room. Everything is considered a must have item on today’s home buyers list. What about the in-home office? Or my absolute favorite, the king sized bed that has to fit in the master bedroom. Now, qualifying for the McMansion is not so much a problem these days.

People are generally making a good amount of income and they’re getting qualified for homes that are definitely up in the price ranges. But when it comes to buying McMansions, here are some things you definitely want to consider before you make the purchase. Bigger homes mean higher property taxes. The added square footage adds into your taxes. Bigger homes also mean higher utility cost. Heating and cooling. A bigger sized home will take more money from you. And bigger homes also equal more maintenance cost. The outside of the home has a larger surface, which in turn means a larger roof. Larger siting, most often a decent sized yard that needs to be maintained.

Now, what do all of those higher costs mean to you? Now, if you have higher maintenance costs and higher utility bills and higher taxes, do you have less money oftentimes for retirement savings? College funds. And to pay down other debts that might be important for you to get rid of. So before you purchase the McMansion, consider those facts. I hope you found this helpful. And as always, I look forward to another episode next week. Feel free to send me your questions at Janine@3keysrealestategroup.com. And I look forward to being your local real estate guide in the Chicagoland area.

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Buyer • December 11, 2019

Buying a Home WITHOUT an agent

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso, your local Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, we will be covering what to consider if you’re buying without an agent. Now, the first thing to understand is that in Illinois, the listing agreement is already pre-negotiated before the home even hits the market. So it’s important to understand, if you are a buyer looking to save some money, you need to understand if the seller has a site agreement that lets him pay less of a commission than if he had to reimburse a buyer’s agent. So if there’s an unrepresented buyer coming along and all the seller has to pay is the listing side. You might be able to get yourself a deal. Now, the first thing that you may want to expect from the seller, if he does not have to pay a commission to the buyer’s side, is the fact that his home should be selling for about 2 to 3% less than the average camp that had a buyer’s agent on the other side. So there is the potential for you to save some money. Another thing you want to make sure of is that you will review the closing disclosure a few days prior to the actual closing date, as this is a perfect time for you to make sure that there are no discrepancies and everything you discuss with your lender is actually on there.

Keep in mind that there are some numbers that will fluctuate. However, there are also numbers on there that are a fixed cause cost and shouldn’t fluctuate in that term. So make sure you review it and if you have any questions. Which brings me to point number three. You should hire legal counsel. Having a real estate attorney is one of the best things you can do in a real estate transaction. They will make sure that they’re watching out for any pitfalls that there are and protecting your best interest. Considering the large sum of money that is transferring and that you will be responsible for in terms of a mortgage. This is the best investment that you can make when it comes to the real estate purchase. You also want to make sure that you request the final builds for the property prior to closing or at closing day. The latest because you want to make sure that the seller paid up all of his obligation before you take over the day of closing. You want to make sure you have a few things handy. One of them is your photo ID.

You want to make sure you have certified funds or a cashier’s check for the down payment amount, and you want to make sure that you have your homeowner insurance paid for copy available now on the closing date. There will be two sets of documents to sign. One of them is your mortgage document and the other ones are the transfer documents transferring title from the seller to you for the property because of the stack of documents designed. You should plan about 1 to 2 hours and make sure you definitely review every document carefully. I hope this helped. When it comes to buying a home without an agent. If you’re looking for representation, there are agents out there and on the buyer’s side in Illinois. The buyer’s agent does not charge a fee. So consider hiring somebody that will watch out and make sure that you are not falling prey to pitfalls within the transaction. At such a large sum.

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Buyer • December 4, 2019

9 Benefits of BUYING NEW CONSTRUCTION

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso. So your trusted Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, we will be covering the benefits of buying a new home. So let’s talk about some of the benefits that you can get. Here are my top nine. My favorite one about picking a new construction at home is the fact that the buyer gets to pick the own finishes that they want everything from flooring to light fixtures. You as a buyer are in charge and you can pick and choose what you like and what’s in style. The second biggest benefit is the fact that a new home is perfect for today’s modern lifestyle. You have the open layout you want, you have extra outlets and charging ports for all your electronics.

You have plenty of storage space. And today’s lifestyle for indoor outdoor living is definitely accommodated in many of the new build homes. Now the third benefit when it comes to buying a new home is energy efficiency. You have double paned windows. You have appliances and mechanics that are high in efficiency. And even the walls are built so much different, making it more insulated and making it better for your pocketbook when it comes to energy and savings. And did you know that some even come with solar panels? Of course, it’s considered an upgrade. But if this is something that you wanted to do, you could even go solar on your home.

My fourth benefit is low maintenance. Not only is everything brand new and you really don’t have to worry about maintenance for years to come. Oftentimes the building material that was used is just used for a more low maintenance lifestyle. You have composites as opposed to what that means maintenance. So it’s a low maintenance option. My fifth benefit is worry free warranties. Oftentimes you build new, your home comes with a structural warranty for ten or even 15 years. This is great reassurance when it comes to purchasing. Benefits. Six is all around safety. When things are built brand new, they are built brand new to the code that they were built for that year. Meaning you get a home that is up to the best standards currently available in the building industry. How cool is that? Benefit number seven is all about the financing. Oftentimes, builders have in-house lenders that can offer you a phenomenal deal when it comes to financing. Benefit number eight is all about the neighbors because everybody is moving in at fairly the same time.

Everybody needs to make new friends, get accustomed to a new, convenient community. The builder might even put events together to, you know, come on out and mingle with your neighbors. And oftentimes, communities attract very like minded people. Is it something that you’re looking for, a low maintenance townhome so you can commute to work easily? Is it in a great location with tons of opportunities for the children? Maybe there’s other families in the area. So as you can see, neighborhoods might attract very neighborly neighbors. At my benefit number nine, it’s just for the fact it’s new.

There is something so amazing happening in the human brain when it comes to something that is new. Might this be a new car, a new sweater, a new computer, or even a new house? New is amazing. New makes you feel good. Nobody is used to before you and you earned it and you can enjoy. So those were my nine benefits when it comes to buying new construction. I’m Janine Sasso. I hope you find this helpful and I look forward bringing you more free content in the near future.

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Buyer • November 30, 2019

8 Tips on how to AVOID HOME BUYERS REMORSE

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso, your local Chicagoland realtor. And in today’s episode, we will be covering how to avoid buyer’s remorse when it comes to the home purchase process. And one of the things we’re going to talk about is do your research. Stay tuned. Now, here it is. You just signed your purchase contract. You’re super excited, signed on the dotted line. You go home and all of a sudden you do have doubts creeping in your head. Was this the right decision? Did you just buy the home? That’s right for you. Can you afford the home? Will there be something better? Is the big enough is on the right neighborhood. Did you pay too much for the house and so on and so forth? There’s a lot of stuff that can cloud your mind when it comes to the purchase process. So here are my eight tips to make sure that you are not falling prey to buyer’s remorse. Now, my best tip I can give you is to make a list. Make sure you outline your wants and your needs. So when it comes to the perfect home, you don’t get swept up in the pretty finishes and the beautiful staging, which is, truth be told, not coming with a home. Does your furniture fit in there? You need to look past the beautiful stuff and see what the home is for itself.

The second best tip I can give you so you don’t have home buyer’s remorse is to make sure you do your research with your lender. Have a lender that you trust because you want to be able to ask questions such as Why is this loan right for me? You have a recommendation of why I chose this loan over the other. Why should I put more? Why should I put less? What’s the best strategy for me if I only want to be in the House for five years? What’s the best strategy for me? If I want to be in the home forever, which most likely, you know, this is the goal for most of us these days. But those questions are important, and you need to make sure that you have answers and also a plan for the future. The third tip I can give you is to make sure that you are factoring in other expenses that will happen. At the same time, you’re looking at not just the purchase price of the home, but you’re also looking at moving cost, potentially new furniture, which you shouldn’t buy until after the home is closed. You’re looking at utility bills, repairs that will need to happen fairly soon after you move in that are already on your to do list. There’s other things to consider beyond the purchase price. Make sure you factor that in.

My first step is if you are considering a townhome or a condo, you want to make sure you are reviewing the budget and financials. The last thing you want is buying into a community and then in a year realize they don’t have enough funds and they’re going to have to increase your association fee and therefore your payment. So make sure you do your research. My fifth step I can give you is check out the areas master plan. Most villages have a master plan of what they have intended to do with certain amount of lands and have a master plan available now. What happens if you bought a beautiful place with a phenomenal view because there is nothing but fields around you? Just to find out in two years this will be a commercial building and they’re going to put up a commercial site. Make sure you do your research ahead of time. Tip six is all about the floodplain. You do want to make sure that your home is not located in a floodplain, which would require you to carry flood insurance. You can go to FEMA, FEMA dot gov and they do have the addresses available for you. So you can just type it in and it can tell you if you’re in a floodplain or not. So you can make sure you are doing your research and therefore make the right choice for what works for you. Tip number seven on how to avoid buyer’s remorse is to stop trolling the Internet for the next best house. I oftentimes compare it to dating with my clients. I let them know Once you’ve found the one, it’s time to focus on the one. Because if your mind is wandering and you keep on looking and looking and looking, your mind is not set on that one.

Most often you will find yourself with buyer’s remorse because if this is the feeling you have, maybe the one that you just went on to graduate was not the one. Compared to dating. If you find the right one, you try and stick with it and you do not go around and look somewhere else. And finally, my last tip, number eight is, do not take every opinion that will be offered to you. Hard. You will have friends and family offer you every story in the book. You will have them offer you every piece of advice they have. However, remember that their story is unique to their situation at that time. Your story is your story. You have your own financial history. You have your own financial picture. You have your own wish list. Make sure that you keep that always in front of you and make sure you have a trusted professional that can guide you on everything you need to know when it comes to the homebuying process. Yet again, another episode comes to an end. I hope you find this one helpful. If you have any other recommendations of episodes you want me to cover, feel free to shoot me an email and I will see you next time.

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Sellers • November 25, 2019

5 Mistakes First-Time HomeBuyers Make

by Janine Sasso

Hey, everybody, it’s Janine Sasso and your Chicagoland realtor right here in Schaumburg. And today’s topic, we’re talking about the five mistakes that first-time homebuyers could make when looking for their home. So stay tuned. The first mistake we’re talking about today is solely focusing on your mortgage payment. Did you know that your mortgage payment also entails other things, such as taxes, and homeowner insurance? You’re looking at the association, to do maintenance and repairs. Those are all things you do want to consider when it comes to purchasing a home to make sure you’re not strapped for cash.

Now, the second mistake we’re talking about is looking for the home first and the loan later. I know you hear us preach all the time. Go get your pre-approval. But why are we asking for it? Oftentimes, we need to know where things are at before we look at home. It is really hard to find your perfect home if you’ve been looking at a price range up here. When you budget just a little bit lower, you will find the home purchase process is starting to get frustrating. You don’t see what you found before you can afford and it’s really a backward approach to getting home. So when you sit down with a lender, yes, we know it’s not fun. It’s not fun to talk to somebody about your financials. However, it is so important and it is an important step in building financial wealth. And you should go and do a pre-approval first and then you go and find the home second.

Let’s talk about the third thing that most first-time homebuyers make as a mistake. And this is not to look for professional help. Yes, the Internet has all the information you need. It’s easy to get information on a house and you can just call ahead and get somebody out there to show that house to you without a problem. But will you get somebody that understands what you’re looking for and giving you a direct opinion, keeping you on track with what your goals are when you purchase? Probably not. Chances are, you will also have the listing agent show you the home, the listing agents. Best interest is to make sure you get the most amount of money for his sellers, which is definitely not in your best interest. So what you wanna make sure of is that you have a mortgage professional that you can trust. And he is reputable. From friends. Family. You want to make sure you have a realtor on your side who understands why you are purchasing the home. What’s important for features? Because oftentimes as a first-time homebuyer, while you can get swept up in the beautiful finishes, it doesn’t have a basement. If your criteria was a basement to gain more space, it’s really easy to make improvements down the line. But finding a basement space, not so much. So make sure you have somebody that you trust and that keeps you on track for what your goals were when you first started and set out on this journey.

Now, the fourth mistake we’re going to talk about is using up all your savings for your down payment. Now, the ideal goal for many of us is to put down 20% in order to avoid something that we call private mortgage insurance or short PMI. Now, it is great to be able to put down 20%. However, if this means completely draining your bank account, leaving you nothing in terms of, you know, unexpected repairs, you’re really creating a hard spot for yourself. So weigh the pros and cons. Is it worth it to maybe consider PMI for a short period of time while you’re still building your emergency fund? If you do have enough cash to fund it all, that’s phenomenal. But keep in mind that necessarily this might not be the best strategy. This is why it’s important to get a professional that walks you through this all the way from A to Z.

And the fifth biggest mistake that first-time homebuyers can make if you are under contract for your perfect house, you’ve got your lender that says your loan is almost going to go. You want to keep it this way and do not change your financial history. This is very important when it comes to the home purchase process. You may get moved up in open a new furniture credit card because we need to furnish our house. Do not attempt any of this until you have purchased and successfully closed on your home. This goes for car loans. Just goes for couples. 20% merchandise, credit cards. So if there are any unexpected, bigger expenses, you do want to open something. You make sure you talk to your mortgage professional first because you can make sure if there’s a step up the ball. Or is it something that maybe you can hold off on until the home is closed and your everything is recorded? In certain instances, you know, life happens and you need to pull money somewhere. In this case, talk to your mortgage professional first. See if you can somehow work it out. Wouldn’t influence your loan because life happens. And you do need to sometimes make quick decisions, but a quick line to go somewhere. So in this case, make sure you have this conversation first and come up with a plan before making a rash decision.

So those are our top five. I hope it helps. And if you have a real estate need in the Chicago area, I would love to be your real top choice. And you can always reach me directly at 8477541835. I’ll see you next time.

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