Chicago Home Buyer's Guide | Giorgios Karayannis

A Step-by-Step First Time Buyer's Guide

Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home

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Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

Step 8: Select Your Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Congratulations!

After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.

Testimonials

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T.O.

We’ve successfully completed two property transactions with Giorgios, and we couldn’t recommend him more highly. Our first experience was when he represented the seller of a property we purchased. As active investors in the NW ...

Tom M.

Giorgios brought his knowledge and experience, combined with the resources available to him to accomplish a very smooth selling experience. From initial market analysis, pricing, showing, and through to closing, all aspects we...

Gwendolyn

I had an outstanding experience working with Giorgios. Within just a week and a half, he helped me find and move into the perfect place. Giorgios is not only incredibly efficient but also exceptionally caring and kind. His dedi...

Laura and Mitch R.

In the past few years, we've been involved in multiple property deals with Giorgios. Most recently, he sold our condo, getting two offers within hours of listing it. We cannot imagine navigating buying or selling without him. H...

M.P. & J.P.

Giorgios is a top-notch realtor! We started looking for a home in 2020 and faced the challenges of the housing market. Nearly two and half years later we found our perfect home. Over this extended amount of time we were house h...

H.

My wife and I are thankful to Giorgios for helping us find a home fitting our budget and quality standards. He is a good listener who does not impose. He would show us a house and give a few tips but ultimately let us discuss i...

A. R.

Giorgios was an absolutely excellent agent to work with, and I have nothing but positive things to say about working with him! Some aspects of my experience: high level of professionalism, extremely responsive - especially acti...

U.

Giorgios sold my house, a tricky property in a tricky market, quickly and for a good price. I am also a tricky client, as I reside abroad and am limited in what I could do on my own to make the property more saleable. Giorgios ...

A. K.

Giorgois is a very driven, motivated, knowledgeable, and passionate agent. I have been working with Giorgois for over a year and he was instrumental in placing me with two investment properties in Northwest Indiana. His knowled...

N.

Giorgios was amazing. Our REALTOR was on maternity leave when we found the house we had to have. Giorgios was on point on how to negotiate an offer when we were competing with multiple offers in a hot market. Following an accep...

K.

Can't speak highly enough about Giorgios and the work he performed to sell our home. His expertise and communication exceeded our expectations, as well as, his many contacts throughout the community and industry that helped the...

Z.

Giorgios is an awesome agent and one that I would highly recommend to anyone. He’s very informative and never let any part of the process of selling my home go by without taking the time to explain everything to me in detail. H...

I. N.

Giorgios is an outstanding professional. He listens to the seller and makes practical recommendations. He also has a vast network of individuals who can assist in preparing the home for listing. He has the best interests of the...

M. R.

Giorgios was an excellent REALTOR, he listened to what I needed, offered great advice and definitely has knowledge and knows the area I was looking at well. I still have not met him personally but trusted him from many states a...

L. M.

Giorgios is outstanding. He is a true professional! He listens to the seller, makes practical recommendations, and puts the seller first throughout the process. He also has a vast network to assist the seller in any pre-list pr...

L. A.

Giorgios was an absolute gem! He warned me in the beginning that my particular piece of property might be challenging to sell due to circumstances out of our control but in the end, he sold my property in a few weeks and for a ...

S.

Giorgios was a wonderful real estate agent. He went over and above normal expectations of a REALTOR. He was not only friendly and upbeat; he was prompt with questions, answers, and suggestions. He was a true delight to work wit...

L. B.

I am a first-time homeowner. Giorgios really made sure that I understood the first steps and ins and outs of everything. I felt like he really fought for me during the negotiation and he made sure that we had a quick and easy c...

U.

Giorgios attention to detail is second to none. He's caring and very personable. He made himself available during off hours and while on holiday to make sure my wife and I were taken care of. I would highly recommend Giorgios.

C.

Giorgios professionalism exceeded my expectations. His responses were timely and thoughtful. Followed and supported me through the entire process. He fought hard to get the maximum price for the listing.

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His mission is to guide you when you are selling and buying your home or commercial property. He accomplishes this by being committed and deliberate in the process while utilizing the powerful platforms @properties has built to achieve his clients' success and meet their expectations.

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Buyer's Guide