What Does It Actually Cost to Own a Home in Year One?
Most first-time buyers spend months focused on two numbers: the down payment and the monthly mortgage payment. They get those right and think they are prepared. Then they move in. And then they find out about everything else. In the fire service, we plan for the 90%, the calls we know are coming, th
PMI Is Not the Enemy. Waiting Might Be.
I have a family member in my circle who is still waiting to have 20% saved before he buys. Every time I see him, I tell him the same thing: the market is not waiting for him. I have been saying it for a few years now. And every time, the house he could have bought is worth more than it was the last
Why I Hold Three Licenses Instead of One
I hold three licenses because the thing that costs people the most money is not inside any one of them. It is the nine years between buying a house and buying the next one, when your agent's job has ended, your lender's job has ended, and nobody's job description covers what happens in between. Once
Approved vs. Actually Affordable: Know Your Real Number
I had friends who got pre-approved for $450,000. The houses they wanted were in that range, and the temptation to just go for it was real. But when we sat down and ran their actual numbers, take-home pay, monthly expenses, what they wanted their life to look like after closing, the number that made
Should I Keep Renting or Buy a House in the Chicago Suburbs Right Now?
In the fire service, we have a saying: plan for the 90% but be ready for the 10%. What that means is you train hard, keep everything in working condition, and prepare for what you know is coming. But the 10%, the calls that are unlike anything you've trained for, that's what separates people who wer
Illinois Property Taxes: The Number That Changes Everything in the Chicago Suburbs
I have a friend, I will call him Perry, who bought a home in a Chicago suburb that had not been reassessed for property taxes in quite a while. His first year of ownership, two things happened at once: his individual property got reassessed, and the entire county went through a reassessment at the s
5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Tapping Your Home Equity
You've been building equity for years. Maybe you're finally looking at a kitchen remodel, a high-interest debt you want to eliminate, or an investment opportunity that needs capital. And your home is sitting there with $80,000, $120,000, maybe more in equity. So the question becomes: should you tap