How Much Are Seller Closing Costs in Illinois? (and What Percentage of the Sale Price Closing Costs Run)
You can know your net before you ever sign a listing agreement. Not a guess, not a percentage somebody threw at you in a kitchen, the actual number, built line by line from things you can look up today. Here's what you may not realize. Selling doesn't work like buying. A buyer writes a check and fee
New Construction vs Resale: Do You Need an Inspection on a New Home?
You can buy new construction with the same protection you'd have on a fifty-year-old house. It costs about the same as the inspection you'd order anyway, and the timing is the only part most people get wrong. Here's the piece that surprises people. The village already inspected your house. So did th
How to Appeal Your Property Taxes in Illinois (and Which County's Rules Actually Apply to You)
You can appeal your assessment yourself. It's free at the first level, you don't need a lawyer, and if you win as an owner-occupant the reduction follows you for years, not just one bill. Here's what nobody tells you before you file. A Lake County homeowner appealed his 2021 assessment. His board of
Moving to Peotone, IL: Should You Buy a Home Here?
Two houses in Peotone, a few minutes apart, same village, same schools, same park district, same library, same county. One of them pays about 17 percent more in property tax than the other, every year, forever. The difference is not the house. It is which fire district the parcel sits in. That is th
Moving to Shorewood, IL: Should You Buy a Home Here?
You get a 454 acre forest preserve, two interstate interchanges within minutes, and a village where roughly 97 percent of homes are owner occupied. You probably already know that about Shorewood, and it is why you are looking here. Here is what you may not realize. Two high schools serve this villag
How Do Property Taxes Work in Illinois? (and Why They're Different in Every County)
Every year the State of Illinois assigns each county a single number, and the county clerk multiplies every assessment in that county by it. It is called the equalization factor, and it is the number people reach for when the bill goes up and nobody can explain why. Here is what almost nobody who bl
How Much Are Closing Costs in Illinois? (and Who Pays What at Closing)
There is a number that almost nobody quotes you and almost everybody has to write a check for. You know your down payment. If you are putting 5 percent down on a $400,000 house, that is $20,000, and you have been staring at that number for a year. Then you get a form three days before closing that s
Moving to Channahon, IL: Should You Buy a Home Here?
Channahon sells itself on the things you can see. Three interstate interchanges inside the village, a park district that punches well above the town's size, and noticeably more house per dollar than anything closer to Chicago. Here is the part you cannot see. Two houses on the same street, in the sa
Is Lemont, IL a Good Place to Live? Moving to Lemont: Taxes, Schools and Commute
You've heard what people say about Lemont: big city amenities with a small town feel, natural topography, top rated schools, and a fun, cozy, limestone-lined downtown. That's why it's on your list, and you get all of it, plus top-notch outdoor recreation, easy access to two interstates, and more cha