Vocabulary to Know:

APPRAISAL: An appraisal is a professional opinion of the property’s estimated value.

BUYER’S AGENT: Represents only the home buyer’s best interest throughout the home buying process.

CLOSING COSTS: Also known as settlement fees, closing costs are fees charged by the people representing your purchase — lender and other third parties. These fees are typically between 2-5% of your purchase price.

CONTINGENCY: A contingency is a condition that must be met for a contract to be valid and binding.

DUAL AGENCY: Dual agency occurs when a real estate agent represents both the home buyer and the home seller.

HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE: Homeowner’s insurance is a type of insurance that protects homeowners from financial loss due to damage, theft, or accidental loss of their property.

HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION (HOA): A homeowner’s association is a group that manages rules and regulations and shared spaces for tenants in a community.

HOME WARRANTY: A home warranty protects the buyer and seller if the home has defects or items that may need to be serviced or replaced.

LISTING AGENT: A listing agent is a licensed real estate professional who is hired to market the seller’s property and to represent the seller during the purchase process.

MORTGAGE INSURANCE: Mortgage insurance is an insurance cost that protects the lender in the event that the borrower defaults on their loan.

MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (MLS): The Multiple Listing Service is a database that contains all real estate listings in a given area and allows agents and buyers to access information for all properties currently available on the market.

OFFER: The offer is a proposal by a buyer to purchase a property at a specific price and outlined terms.

TITLE INSURANCE: Title insurance is an insurance option that protects the buyer and the lender from financial loss due to defects in the title, such as hidden liens, filing errors, forgeries, etc.

WALK-THROUGH: The walk-through, or final walk-through, is an inspection of the property by the buyer before closing to ensure that all of the agreed-upon repairs or property changes have been made before ownership is transferred.

About Lisa Huber

My passion is residential real estate. My idea of fun is following the market’s trends and the latest in design to bring the most up to date information to my clients. Whether I am representing the buyer or seller I am deeply committed to my clients. I learn their lifestyle, short and long-term goals, budget and timeline. My methods of bringing a seller’s property to market are a proven success. By getting to know my buyers, I can make the best use of their time and hand select properties that are aligned with their preferences. Using my knowledge of comparable properties, neighborhood attributes and the most current state of the market, I can present options to both my buyers and sellers that wouldn’t have been discovered otherwise.

“Her clients receive all the unique benefits of Huber’s expertise as a Chicago broker, as well as her learnings as a buyer, seller and investor. She also brings prior experience as a business owner in retail services, product distribution and development. Combined with the national and local resources of BHHS, one of the nation’s largest real estate companies, Huber and her team give clients a powerful edge in reaching their real estate goals.”

Chicago Agent Magazine

“Lisa is a consummate professional for whom no detail is trivial and yet who can develop a sophisticated practical plan within minutes. Enjoys learning what her clients want and need, pays full attention, and yet does not hesitate to give her opinion should she have an alternate view - for which she quickly produces relevant data - and always proves to be right.”

Zillow

“Lisa is the best real estate agent you will find in Chicago. She takes her job seriously and does everything to make sure that clients are happy with their choices of houses or apartments, which I can attest from my own experience as well! Her team has been wonderful throughout this process too-they’re always available when we need them most but still give us plenty space independence by providing detailed information on each property before showing it off so there really isn’t any stress involved at all.”

Orin Schnieder ( Previous Client )

“Extremely happy with our buying agent Lisa. She worked with us for a long time trying to find us the perfect house and just when we thought we would have to settle on something, she was able to find us our dream home.”