Buying, Simplified

AED Realty helps buyers throughout Chicago and northern Illinois navigate the process with clarity, understand their options, and make informed decisions from the first conversation through closing.

Whether you're buying your first home, moving up, downsizing, relocating, or looking for an investment property, you'll have a clear plan for what happens next.

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The Process

  1. Understand Your Goals

    We start with your timeline, budget, preferred areas, priorities, and what you're looking for in a property. We'll also review buyer representation and how we'll work together throughout the process.

  2. Get Pre-Approved

    If you're financing your purchase, we'll make sure you have a strong preapproval in place before beginning the search. If you need a lender, we can provide contacts for lenders you can interview.

  3. Search & Tour

    We'll build a focused property search around what actually fits your needs and help you evaluate opportunities as they become available.

  4. Build an Offer Strategy

    When you find the right property, we'll evaluate comparable sales, market conditions, competition, property condition, and other relevant factors before developing an offer strategy.

  5. Inspection & Attorney Review

    Once under contract, we'll help coordinate inspections, attorney review, financing, appraisal, and the other moving pieces that take you from an accepted offer toward closing.

  6. Closing

    Before closing, we'll complete a final walkthrough and make sure you're prepared for the last steps of the transaction. Then it's time for the keys.

Let's build a plan

More Than the Purchase Price

Your down payment isn't the only expense to consider when buying a home.

Depending on your transaction, you may also need funds for earnest money, inspections, attorney fees, an appraisal, lender costs, homeowners insurance, closing costs, and prepaid expenses.

We'll help you understand what expenses may come up and when to expect them, while your lender and attorney can provide the specific costs associated with your transaction.

costs of buying a home in illinois

More Than Just Houses

AED Realty can help you evaluate a variety of real estate opportunities throughout Chicago and Northern Illinois.

Homes, Condos & Townhomes

  • From first homes and move-up purchases to downsizing and relocation.

Investment Properties

  • Single-family rentals, multifamily properties, and opportunities where the numbers matter just as much as the property.

Land

  • Vacant land and acreage where zoning, utilities, access, surveys, and intended use require additional due diligence.

Commercial Real Estate

  • Owner-user and investment opportunities that require a different approach to property and financial analysis.

Guidance Without the Guesswork

Finding a property is only part of the job.

AED Realty brings a structured approach to the entire buying process — helping you evaluate the property, understand the market, develop an offer strategy, navigate negotiations, and keep the transaction moving from contract to closing.

You'll know what's happening, what needs your attention, and what comes next.

And when a property doesn't make sense, we'll tell you that too.

Clarity. Strategy. Execution.

Buying Resources

Want to understand the process before you're ready to start?

Explore our buyer resources for straightforward answers about financing, buyer representation, earnest money, inspections, attorney review, closing costs, and what to expect when buying real estate in Illinois

Explore Buyer Resources (coming soon)

Download the AED Realty Guide to Buying a Home in Illinois for a step-by-step look at the buying process, potential expenses, how to prepare, and what to expect along the way.

Get the free buyer's guide

Ready to Start?

You don't need to have everything figured out.

Tell us what you're looking for, where you're thinking about buying, and where you are in the process. We'll help you determine the next step.

Let's Build a plan
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