SERVING CHICAGOLAND + NORTHWEST INDIANA
WHAT WE DO
HERE'S HOW WE HELP YOU
As your buyer’s agent we advocate for your best interests. Our goal is to put you in a property you can make some money on, while also keeping a roof over your head. Remember, it is less risky for you when you use a buyer’s agent, and my service is FREE. Very few brokers are licensed in two states and give you the tools and advice I do.
I give you data feeds so you can find your perfect property in either Illinois or Indiana
Generally you'll narrow it down to 5 or 6 properties and you'll choose the best one to make an offer. There's lots of nuance to this depending on what's important to you. For example, are school ratings your hot button? Are you handy or not, etc. And remember, unlike most brokers, I'm licensed in both IL and Indiana so I can help you all over Chicagoland and NW Indiana! And, my premium feeds update every few minutes!
I suggest a sales price based on the comps so you don't pay too much
We help you get pre-approved. Once you are pre-approved we work as a team. You simply find the property you want and notify me. I check for issues, assist in vetting the property, and then we snag your property before anyone else can get it!
Buying for wealth building? We evaluate the property and give an opinion on your ROI
"Return on investment" is an important concept. We evaluate what it's going to cost to do a fixup and what the return will be. If you're buying a rental property we evaluate the current rent roll, and the potential rent roll. Are the tenants content (less risky) or not so content (more risky). Our goal is to minimize risk. You can build wealth fast by buying buildings that have contented tenants and have positive cash flows. Or just buy houses, trading up every few years.
We help you get pre-approved
To work with us you must be pre-approved with a certificate from your lender. We suggest a mortgage broker who represents lots of lenders. Getting pre-approved usually takes about 7-10 days once they have all your paperwork. This process is usually free with most mortgage brokers. It can all be done online using Docusign which is free for you to use. This will tell us how much you can borrow so we can fine-tune your property search. And, if we can’t get you pre-approved the mortgage broker will tell you what you need to do to get pre-approved. You need to be pre-approved so sellers will take your offer seriously. Remember, I am going to bat for you to get you the best price and terms possible.
This is important, listen to me now:
Sellers may be evaluating multiple offers.
Very few sellers are willing to take their home off the market while you do your inspections if you are not pre-approved. There’s a lot happening when we are doing a deal. Many “buyers” will not be as prepared as you. In the seller’s mind these will be “tire-kickers”.
And, forget about getting a low-ball offer approved if you are not pre-approved. Understand?
Who do you think the seller wants to deal with? If you are paying cash we’ll need to get a POF (proof of funds) from your bank.
SHOW TIME! If the property meets your criteria I show you the property and we write an offer
Once we thoroughly evaluate the property online it’s time to go look at it. If the property is rough we suggest you bring your advisor with you. I can give you some feedback myself because I grew up in a home builder family and put myself through college doing construction work. We always make the offer subject to a physical inspection. In this way you can back out if it will be too costly to get things fixed. Contractors can give you rough estimates of what it might cost to fix major issues (electrical, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, etc). Typically most first time home owners will do cosmetic cleanup themselves (painting, landscaping, etc) Since I am a licensed Realtor® in both Illinois and Indiana I have a Sentrilock (lockbox) account for both states and I can show you the properties. Once we tie up the property with an offer I advise you get a professional inspection service to take a look at the property. If you don’t like the results we can walk away and find you something else.
And choose your free $250 gift certificate when we help you buy or sell. U-haul, Home Depot, or Lowes.
Have a stable job, low downpayment, and low to average credit score? Check this out and call me!
Tom Saylor 317-430-9373
