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← Back to The Boulevard Group
First condo or forever home, here's the route from the first conversation to keys in hand, and how The Boulevard Group guides you down it.
Prefer quick answers first? The buyers FAQ answers the sixteen questions every Chicago buyer asks in five minutes, and the closing costs guide itemizes what buying costs beyond the price.
We start with a conversation: your goals, budget, neighborhoods, and timing, and how the whole process works, in everyday words. Then we sign the buyer representation agreement (explained below) and get to work.
Next, talk to a lender: a pre-approval defines your real budget, makes your offers credible, and surfaces any credit issues while there is still time to fix them. We can recommend lenders our clients trust. The numbers to know, down payment options, credit score guidelines by loan program, and closing costs, are broken down below.
Your account lets you search every Chicagoland listing, save favorites, and share properties directly with your agent so we can move fast on the good ones. It is also where your signed representation agreement lives. Create your account (2 minutes).
Private showings and open houses across the city and suburbs. We'll point out what the listing photos don't show, the good and the bad.
When you find the one, we run the comps and advise on price and terms. In Chicagoland the offer is not a letter, it is the contract itself: we prepare the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract with your price and terms, you sign it, and it goes to the listing side with your initial earnest money. If the seller signs, that same document becomes your purchase contract, so read the Multi-Board contract, explained before you write one.
In Illinois, your attorney reviews the contract and your inspector examines the property, typically within five business days (our Spotter's Guide and building guides tell you what they are looking at, in simple terms) of acceptance. We negotiate any repairs or credits.
Your lender orders the appraisal and completes underwriting. We keep every milestone on schedule through the clear-to-close.
We walk the property one last time to confirm its condition, then you sign, get the keys, and head home.
The questions worth asking at tours and inspections (condo shoppers, jump straight to the condo & HOA questions), the FAQ for the money questions, and our real estate terms, translated for when the jargon starts.
Three numbers shape your buying power: your down payment, your credit score, and the closing costs you set aside. Here is how they fit together, program by program. And if you are wondering where the interest rate itself comes from, we wrote that up separately: Mortgage rates, explained. And if you are still weighing whether to buy at all, our rent vs. buy calculator runs the true cost of each, taxes, assessments, rent and the sale at the end included, over however many years you would stay.
| Program | Minimum down payment | Credit score guideline | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 3% to 5% | 620 and up; pricing improves as scores rise, best around 740+ | The workhorse loan. Under 20% down adds PMI, which drops off as you build equity. |
| FHA | 3.5% | 580 and up for the 3.5% minimum; 500 to 579 requires 10% down | More forgiving on credit history and debt ratios; adds upfront and monthly mortgage insurance. |
| VA | 0% | No official minimum; many lenders look for around 620 | For eligible veterans, service members, and some surviving spouses. No monthly mortgage insurance. |
| USDA | 0% | Around 640 for streamlined approval | Designated rural areas only, which includes some far Chicagoland exurbs. |
| Jumbo | Usually 10% to 20% | Typically 700 and up | For loans above the conforming limit, common at Chicago's higher price points. |
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) offers down payment assistance for qualifying buyers, with income and purchase price limits and credit minimums typically around 640, and some lender and city programs stack on top. The details change year to year, so ask us and your lender what you qualify for before assuming you need years of savings.
On top of the down payment, buyers pay closing costs at the table: lender charges, title insurance, your attorney's fee, transfer taxes, and prepaid insurance and taxes. Plan on roughly 2 to 5% of the purchase price, and the percentage runs higher on lower-priced homes because several of the fees are flat. Before closing day, your only out-of-pocket costs beyond earnest money are the inspection and the appraisal. The full breakdown lives in our closing costs FAQ.
Lender guidelines vary and programs change. Your lender confirms the exact numbers for your situation, and we are glad to introduce you to lenders our clients trust.
Illinois requires a written agreement between you and your broker before we tour homes together. Ours is signed electronically through fultongrace.com, and the signed copy lives in your Fulton Grace account afterward. Here is what it says, in everyday words.
Every agreement is specific to you, so the numbers and dates on your own form control. We walk through it line by line before you sign, and you receive a signed copy for your records.
See our itemized list of 101 ways we represent buyers, everything that happens behind the scenes on your behalf. And before you write an offer, read the Multi-Board Contract, explained. Chicagoland's standard purchase contract, decoded.
Half of buying well in Chicago is reading the building itself, and we wrote a whole field guide on exactly that: what the most common local building types are, how their walls, pipes, and wiring age, and what every odd crack and gray pipe at a showing means. It pairs with this guide the way the inspection pairs with the offer.
Where you buy matters as much as what you buy, and the city is easier to choose in once it makes sense. Two pages we send every out-of-town buyer before the first tour, plus the rest of our Explore Chicago series.
Tell us what you're looking for and we'll set up your search.
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