Bob Gliwa

Buying a first home can be intimidating. Here are some facts that might help you take that 1st step towards Homeownership: Over the last 10 years, the cost of renting in the U.S. has increased an average of 3% per year. That means that an apartment or home renting for $1000 per month will cost more than $1,300 a month in 10 years. If you rent the same home for 10 years, the total amount you would pay for rent will be $137,567.

                                                       TOTAL ANNAUL COSTS*

                                                         Homeowner                        Renter

Annual Mortgage/Rent                     $15,168                                $12,000

Real Estate Taxes                             $2,760                                 $ 0

Mortgage interest (Tax Deduct)       - $3,864                                $ 0

Tax deduct for property tax            - $816                                   $ 0

Mortgage principal accumulation   - $2,232                                $ 0

Appreciation                                    - $9,450                               $ 0

TOTAL ANNUAL COST                      $1,566                                $12,000 

 Now that you see the figures, which makes more sense? If you are interested in looking for a home, give me a call at (773) 844-6334. If you don't know how much of a mortgage you can qualify for, give me a call and you can find out if it makes more sense to own a home instead of paying someone else's mortgage for them 

* - All information supplied by National Association of Realtors - "Why rent when you can buy" guide

There are many things that go into buying a home. If you are buying, you need a realtor that you can trust. The reason I got into real estate is because I had a bad experience with my real estate agent. It was our first home. My wife Mary was very excited about the prospect of owning her first home. She had always lived in an apartment and had never had her own home. After paying rent to a landlord who always complained when we called him about problems in our apartment, we decided that it was time to buy our own home.

 We drove down Archer Avenue in Chicago and saw a sign in the window of one of the many real estate offices on Archer Avenue. It read: "Thinking about buying, come in and let our knowledgable agents help you realize your dream." Not knowing any real estate agents personally, we went inside. We were met by an agent who told us that she could help us realize out dream.

We gave her a list of what we wanted in our home. We didn't ask for much, just 3 bedrooms and a basement. The agent called us the next day and told us that she had "Narrowed down what we wanted to 3 homes". Can you imagine that, SHE HAD NARROWED DOWN THE LIST! We looked at the homes and decided that one of the homes was to our liking.

We put an offer on the home and it was accepted. We were estatic, we were going to be home owners. Well, that was the last time that we heard from our agent until she notified us of the closing date and was at the closing to get her check. Being new to the home ownership game, we did not know that we were allowed to have the home inspected and have a final walk through before we closed.

 Within the first 6 months after closing, we had to replace the furnace, air conditioner, front windows, door, appliances and had plumbing problems. It was a disaster. We attempted to contact our agent and ask what our options were but she was always "Unavailable" or "Not at her desk". We left numerous messages for her and to this day, she has yet to get back to us. (It's been 12 years!)

From that day on, I promised myself that I would do something about that. I decided to get into the real estate profession because I did not want that to happen to other people. This is why my motto is: With YOU Every Step of the Way.