Questions people actually ask.

Yes, completely. Showings, negotiations, contract explanations and closing conversations all happen in English or Spanish, whichever you prefer — not as a translated summary afterwards. We also run home-buying seminars in Spanish, and can introduce you to lenders and attorneys who work bilingually.

Four areas: Chicago, the South Side, the North suburbs and the West suburbs. If you are just outside that, ask anyway — we will either help or point you to someone who knows your area better.

Yes. David Mendez is the managing broker of Realproz, license number 471.022078. Illinois licenses can be looked up publicly through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Showings outside those hours can usually be arranged — ask.

Call or text (773) 592-6925, email dmendez@realproz.us, or send the contact form on this site. We reply to these ourselves, and the first conversation is free and commits you to nothing.

With a conversation, before a lender and well before a showing. You need to work out what you can comfortably afford monthly, get a look at your credit, and understand what help exists with the down payment. The first-time buyer page on this site walks through those in order.

No. Twenty percent avoids mortgage insurance on a conventional loan, but it is not a requirement to buy. FHA loans and other low-down-payment options exist precisely for first-time buyers, and Illinois and the City of Chicago both run assistance programs. Eligibility rules change, so ask what currently applies to your situation rather than relying on an article.

How agent compensation is paid is agreed in writing before you start, and it varies by transaction. We will explain exactly what the arrangement is, what it covers and who pays it, before you commit to anything. If an agent cannot explain that clearly, that is informative.

Illinois is an attorney state. After an offer is accepted, both sides' attorneys review the contract within a period written into it, and can modify it. It is normal, it is where inspection issues usually get renegotiated, and it protects you.

Yes, and there is no obligation attached to it. You will get a valuation range with the comparable sales it is based on. Plenty of people request one a year or more before they intend to sell, which is a sensible thing to do.

Automated tools work from public records. They cannot see the kitchen you redid, the water in the basement, or that the identical floor plan two doors down sold for less because it backs onto the expressway. On these blocks, those differences are most of the value.

Usually less than people expect. Decluttering, deep cleaning, repairs and neutral paint return far more than they cost. Full kitchen or bathroom replacements rarely return their cost on the sale. We will tell you which jobs are worth it on your specific property, including when the answer is none of them.

Yes, if that is useful for your property — and in these communities it usually is. A listing written only in English is invisible to part of the qualified buyer pool on your own block.

Realproz keeps a curated list that is maintained by hand rather than a live MLS feed, so everything published has been checked first. There is usually more available than what is on the page — tell us what you are looking for and we will send current options, including properties that have not been listed yet.

Yes — residential income, multifamily and commercial. That ranges from a first two-flat where you live in one unit, up to small apartment buildings and mixed-use property. Buildings get underwritten before they get toured.

That is one of the most common purchases in these neighborhoods. Living in one unit changes the financing available to you and often changes what you can afford. It is worth looking at even if you had assumed you were buying a single-family home.

Yes. Realproz is a bilingual Illinois brokerage with commission plans of up to 100% for qualified Realtors and a managing broker you can actually reach. Bring what you are looking for and what you are not getting now — that is the useful conversation, and it goes both ways. The Careers page has the detail and a form that reaches us directly.

Yes, particularly if you are bilingual. Our training was built for new brokers, and asking what the first year genuinely looks like before you finish your pre-license requirement is a much better time to ask than after.