The Chicagoland
Buyer's Playbook
What to look for before
making your first offer.
Nine chapters. One useful read.
Twenty minutes cover-to-cover. Built to live on your phone while you're standing in someone's kitchen second-guessing the offer.
The Showing Walkthrough
The sixty-minute field kit. What to look for on the outside, the inside, and the basement that tells you everything.
Chicagoland-Specific Gotchas
Lead service lines, combined sewer backups, knob-and-tube wiring, asbestos, and the property-tax surprise nobody mentions at the open house.
The Real Cost of Buying Here
Earnest money, escrow, transfer taxes, attorney fees, the first-year escrow shock. What actually leaves your bank, in the order it leaves.
The Inspections That Matter
Beyond the standard general inspection. Why a sewer scope is non-negotiable on older homes and what to do with the report when you get it.
Condo & HOA Math
The documents to actually read, what reserves should look like, and how to spot a pending special assessment before it lands on you.
Disclosures Worth Reading
The Illinois disclosure form, radon disclosure, lead paint, HOA docs, and the permit history. What sellers must tell you — and what they don't.
Building the Offer
The dozen terms that matter beyond price. How to win competitive offers without overpaying — and why letters to the seller can backfire.
Red Flags to Walk Away From
The ten things that should make you stop. Active basement water, horizontal foundation cracks, code violations, undisclosed special assessments.
The Pre-Offer Checklist
Print it, tape it to the fridge. If you can't check every box, you're not ready to write an offer.
From Danny.
I run a small team at Fulton Grace Realty across Chicago and the North Shore.
I've walked first-time buyers through hundreds of houses in this market. I've also watched buyers get burned by mistakes that a one-page checklist would have prevented. This guide is the playbook I'd hand my sister if she were writing her first offer here.
It's free. There's no follow-up sequence. The only thing I'll do after you download it is text you back if you ever DM me with a question.
The fine print, upfront.
It's free.
No paywall, no upsell to a course, no "next steps" webinar. You'll get the PDF and that's it.
It's specific to here.
Chicago and the North Shore. The advice is built around our housing stock, our taxes, our basements, and our weather.
It's not legal advice.
Illinois is an attorney state. You need a real estate attorney. This guide is general guidance — your attorney handles the rest.
It's not a sales funnel.
I won't send you to a 14-day email sequence. If you want to keep talking, you'll know where to find me. If you don't, no problem.