How to Buy in a Seller's Market (And When to Offer Over Asking)

Just this past year I listed my own house at $400,000 knowing it was worth more. I had a full price offer in hand the day it went live. I did not take it. A few days and one open house later, I was under contract at $425,000. I am telling you this as the seller who set it up that way on purpose, bec

Marry the House, Date the Rate? An Honest Look

You have heard the line. It is on every real estate social feed, it shows up in listing presentations, and the average agent has used it at least once to coax somebody off the porch and into the buyer pool: marry the house, date the rate. Commit to the home, treat the rate as temporary, refinance wh

Moving to Manhattan, IL: Should You Buy a Home Here?

Ask most people in Chicagoland about Manhattan, Illinois and you will get a blank look, and honestly, that is part of the appeal. Manhattan sits at the southern edge of Will County's growth, a small town with farm roots, new subdivisions, and a train that starts here. I know the town well, because w

How Interest Rate Buydowns Actually Work (2-1 vs Permanent)

When we bought our new construction home, the builder advertised a rate that looked fantastic. Then we found out the catch: that rate only applied to their existing inventory, not the home we actually wanted to build. The billboard rate was real, just not for us. So we changed the play. I ran the lo