All-in cost first, always. Estimate only — not a loan quote or pre-approval.
Not your state? Find your calculator here.
Illinois Housing Development Authority's flagship first-time (and veteran/targeted-area) homebuyer product: a 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage (FHA, VA, USDA-RD, or conventional) paired with down payment/closing-cost assistance of 6% of the purchase price, up to $15,000, as a 0%-interest second mortgage. Repayment is deferred up to 30 years and due only when the home is sold, refinanced, or no longer owner-occupied.
IHDA down payment/closing-cost assistance alternative to Access Home: a forgivable second mortgage equal to 4% of the purchase price, up to $6,000, with no monthly payment and no repayment owed if the borrower remains in the home through a 10-year forgiveness period. Paired with the same 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage options (FHA/VA/USDA-RD/conventional); open to first-time and repeat buyers statewide.
Estimated all-in monthly payment for a home price you have in mind.
Check which down payment assistance programs you likely qualify for.
What actually reaches your account after federal tax, FICA, and your state's own brackets — with local income tax disclosed rather than guessed at.
Fewer listings, fewer buyers, and sellers who have a reason to be on the market in December. Here is what a winter discount is actually worth on a $400,000 house — in monthly payment, in lifetime interest, and in the seller concessions a quiet market makes possible — and the three ways a winter purchase goes wrong.
Illinois's state transfer tax is only 0.1%, but Chicago stacks city and county tax to about 0.9% — nine times as much. What a $315,000 close really costs.
The operational guide to buying property with a partner, friend, sibling, or parent — credit and DTI mechanics, title vesting, a clause-by-clause co-ownership agreement, and how the exit actually works.
A month-by-month plan for the year before you buy: what to do in each phase, what never to touch, how to document every dollar, and how to survive closing day.
Illinois guide
Buying a home in Illinois involves the same broad strokes as anywhere else in the country — get your finances in order, find a home, make an offer, close — but the details that actually determine your budget and timeline are specific to this state. Illinois's genuinely high property tax rate, its layered state/county/municipal transfer tax structure (with Chicago as a notable outlier), and its de facto attorney-review closing custom all change the math in ways a generic national guide won't tell you.
This guide walks through the whole process in order, with real Illinois figures at each step. It's written for a first-time buyer with no background in real estate or mortgage jargon — where a term matters, it's explained the first time it comes up.
A note before you start: everything below is general information to help you understand the process, not personalized financial, legal, or tax advice. Illinois's real estate rules and property tax rates vary significantly by county and municipality — Cook County and Chicago in particular have their own distinct rules layered on top of the state's — and mortgage terms vary by lender and your individual credit profile. This guide can't account for your specific situation. For an actual loan quote, talk to a licensed lender; for legal questions specific to your purchase, talk to a real estate attorney licensed in Illinois.
It's tempting to start browsing listings first, but the single most useful thing you can do before you fall in love with a house is find out what you can actually afford — and get a lender to confirm it in writing. In Illinois specifically, this matters more than usual because property tax is such a large piece of your real monthly payment — see below.
Read the full Illinois guide →16 min read · Updated 2026-08-20