Michael Steber: Keller Williams North Shore West

10/21/2026

🗣️ Home Buyer Alert - FHA Is Changing How It Reads Your Credit. Here's What That Means for Lake County Buyers in 2027.

FHA lenders can use VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T starting Jan. 1, 2027. Here's how the lowest-score rule works and what Lake County, IL buyers should do now.

10/20/2026

Two things about selling a home in Illinois that catch people off guard — especially if you've bought or sold in another state before.

1️⃣ Attorney review.
Most contracts here include an attorney review period, typically around five business days after acceptance. Either side's attorney can request changes — or, rarely, walk away. It sits at the front of every deal, so it has to be built into your calendar before you count on a closing date. After that clears, a financed purchase in Lake County typically closes in about 30 to 45 days.

2️⃣ Property taxes are paid a year behind.
When you sell, you don't hand your buyer a paid-up house. You hand them a tax bill that hasn't arrived yet — plus a proration credit covering the taxes you owe for the time you owned it.

That credit comes off your side at the closing table, so it doesn't help your cash flow during an overlap. And it's the reason your sale price is never your proceeds: subtract your payoff, your closing costs, and that tax proration credit before you count on the money for anything.

Neither of these is a problem if you know about them upfront. They're only a problem three weeks before closing.

What's the one thing about closing you wish someone had told you sooner? 👇

(General info, not legal advice — confirm specifics with your attorney.)

10/18/2026

Here's the problem nobody warns you about until you're standing in the middle of it:

You want the new house. But you can't really afford it until you sell the one you're in.

Sell first, and you might end up with nowhere to live for a stretch — or watching the house you wanted go to somebody else.

Buy first, and you could be carrying two mortgages until yours closes.

There's no option that costs nothing. But there is a right one for your situation, and it has less to do with what you'd prefer and more to do with three things: your bank account, what the Lake County market is doing right now, and how closings actually work here in Illinois.

The people I see get hurt in this aren't the ones who picked the wrong path. They're the ones who picked a path with no backup plan for the day something slips. And something usually slips.

So here's my question for you — if you've done this before, which way did you go? Sell first or buy first? And would you do it the same way again? 👇

10/17/2026

If you've got a low-rate mortgage and you're thinking about moving up, run this math before you fall in love with a house.

Say you owe $420,000 at 3.5%. That's about $1,886 a month in principal and interest.

Now say you're eyeing a $600,000 home here in Lake County. Put 20% down, borrow $480,000 at 6.5% (an example rate — ask your lender for today's), and you're at roughly $3,034 a month.

That's a gap of about $1,148 a month. If you buy first and carry both homes for two months while yours sells, that's nearly $6,900 in extra principal and interest alone — before taxes, insurance, utilities, or the actual cost of moving.

On a median-priced Lake County home ($435,000 in August), the gap is smaller — about $890 a month, or roughly $4,400 over two months — but it's still real money.

None of this means you shouldn't move. It means you should know your number first.

Has anybody here actually carried two mortgages during a move? How long did it last? 👇

10/16/2026

Good news if you need to sell before you buy: Lake County sellers are accepting home-sale contingencies again.

The less-good news: it's still the hardest kind of offer to get a seller to say yes to.

Here's why. We're sitting at 1.9 months of supply. Homes are averaging 33 days on market and selling at 100% of list price. Homes going under contract are down 8.9% from a year ago and new listings are up 4.5% — so there's a bit more room than there was. Not a lot. A seller can still afford to say no.

If you're going to write a contingent offer, everything else about it has to be clean:

• A strong price
• A solid pre-approval
• Flexible terms
• A shorter contingency window — a 21-day contingency because your house is already priced and photographed is a much easier yes than an open-ended one

And expect a kick-out clause. The seller keeps marketing the home, and if a better offer comes in, you get a short window to remove your contingency or walk away.

Has anyone here won a house with a contingent offer lately? What made the difference? 👇

10/15/2026

Every one of the four ways to buy before you sell can work — selling first, buying first, a contingent offer, or coordinated closings.

The mistake isn't picking the wrong one. It's picking one without knowing your real number first, and without a backup plan for the day something slips.

If you're weighing a move somewhere in Lake County, I'm happy to run your specific numbers before you write an offer or list your home. What you'd net, what you'd qualify for, and which path actually fits.

Two safety nets I put in writing:

🏡 If you buy with me and aren't satisfied within the first year, my Home Buyer Protection Plan means I'll sell your home and waive my listing-side brokerage fee, provided you use me for your next purchase: https://www.welcometosold.com/home-buyer-protection-plan

🔓 If you're selling first, the Easy Exit Guarantee lets you cancel your listing agreement at any time before an offer comes in — no penalties, no obligations.

Text "HOME" to (224) 544-9080 — no pressure. Clear guidance, honest advice.

09/30/2026

Where I'd take you for dinner in Lake County — 5 neighborhood restaurants I keep returning to

Discover five Lake County restaurants worth revisiting, plus Michael Steber's anniversary dinner favorite — where to eat from white tablecloths to casual tacos.

09/23/2026

NEW POST ➡ You Can't Afford the New House Until You Sell the Old One. Here's What to Do About It.

Thinking of buying a new home before yours sells? Here are the four ways Lake County, IL homeowners do it, current market numbers, closing-timeline math, and a step-by-step playbook.

09/17/2026

The Condo Financing Rules Just Changed: Here's Where the Real Discount Is Hiding

New Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condo rules are reshaping financing and dues in Lake County, IL — and creating a real discount for buyers who know where to look.

09/13/2026

There are 1,098 single-family homes for sale in Lake County right now — down 3.6% from a year ago. Months of supply has dropped to 1.6, down almost 6% year over year. New listings are essentially flat, so the homes that would normally replace what's selling just aren't showing up in the same numbers.

For anyone who assumed fall automatically means more breathing room to shop — that's not really what's happening this year. Anyone else feeling this out there, buyers or sellers?