Tiffany Tolbert [Real Broker LLC]

Closing costs are one of those parts of buying a home that can leave you with more questions than answers. 🤍 What are they? What might be included? And who actually pays them? There isn’t one answer that fits every transaction, so I put together a blog to help explain the basics and give you a clearer place to start. 🔗 Read the full breakdown at the link in my bio. Work Hard 🩷 Be Kind 🤍 Find Home 🩵 Tiffany Tolbert | REALTOR ® | Real Broker LLC 📲💬 6 3 0 • 3 0 3 • 3 4 4 0 💌 TiffanyTolbert.REAL@gmail.com 💻 FindingHomewithTT.com #PlainfieldRealtor #PlainfieldIllinois #ClosingCosts #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #HomeBuyingTips

You don’t have to be ready to move to start talking about your next home 🏡💭 Maybe you’re thinking: “We probably won’t move for another year.” “We’re not sure what our house would even sell for.” “We need to save more first.” “We have no idea what we’d qualify for.” Those aren’t reasons to wait. They’re reasons to start learning 🤓 The earlier you understand your options, the more intentional you can be when the time actually comes. And there is zero pressure to put your house on the market or start touring homes just because we had a conversation. Sometimes the first step is simply figuring out: What would moving actually look like for us? That’s a conversation I’m always happy to have. If a move is somewhere on your 1–3 year radar, send me a DM 💌 We can start there. Work Hard 🩷 Be Kind 🤍 Find Home 🩵 Tiffany Tolbert | REALTOR ® | Real Broker LLC 📲💬 6 3 0 • 3 0 3 • 3 4 4 0 💌 TiffanyTolbert.REAL@gmail.com 💻 FindingHomewithTT.com #plainfieldillinois #homebuyer #househunting #readytomove #homeselling

Buying a home comes with a lot of numbers—and closing costs can feel like one big mystery. 🤍 What are all those fees for? Who’s responsible for paying them? And can the seller ever help cover some of the cost? I’m breaking it all down in this week’s blog, including what buyers may see at the closing table and what can sometimes be negotiated as part of the offer. Because understanding the numbers ahead of time can make the whole process feel a little less overwhelming. Read the new blog: What Are Closing Costs—and Who Actually Pays Them? 🔗 Link in bio Work Hard 🩷 Be Kind 🤍 Find Home 🩵 Tiffany Tolbert | REALTOR ® | Real Broker LLC 📲💬 6 3 0 • 3 0 3 • 3 4 4 0 💌 TiffanyTolbert.REAL@gmail.com 💻 FindingHomewithTT.com #PlainfieldRealtor #PlainfieldIllinois #PlainfieldMom #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #HomeBuyingTips

Pretty is easy to see. But there’s a lot more to a house than what catches your eye in the listing photos. 👀 When we’re walking through a home, I’m looking at the things you might not immediately think about: Where’s the storage? What can you hear? How does the natural light change? What’s happening around the property? And what might need attention after you move in? None of those things automatically make a house a bad choice. They’re simply things I want my buyers to notice, understand, and consider before making a big decision. Because sometimes the house you fall in love with isn’t necessarily the house you expected to love. And sometimes the little things you almost overlooked end up being the things that matter most. That’s part of my job — not just helping you find a house you love, but helping you see the whole picture 🙌🏼 What’s something you’d want your Realtor to look for during a showing? 👇🏼 Work Hard 🩷 Be Kind 🤍 Find Home 🩵 Tiffany Tolbert | REALTOR ® | Real Broker LLC 📲💬 6 3 0 • 3 0 3 • 3 4 4 0 💌 TiffanyTolbert.REAL@gmail.com 💻 FindingHomewithTT.com #PlainfieldIL #PlainfieldRealtor #HomeBuyingTips #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #HomeBuying

A little glimpse into the person behind the posts. 🤍 Some things you may already know, some you probably don’t — and a little bit of the real estate side of me, too. I’m so glad you’re here 🫶🏼✨ #PlainfieldRealtor #PlainfieldIL #GetToKnowMe #PlainfieldMoms #PlainfieldRealEstate

Still waiting until you have 20% saved before you start looking for a home? 👀 You might want to rethink that. The 20% down payment rule is one of the biggest home-buying myths out there. Different loan programs have different requirements, and your down payment is only one part of the money you need to plan for. Closing costs. Earnest money. Inspections. Prepaid taxes and insurance. Moving expenses. And, importantly, money left over after you get the keys. The goal isn’t to hit some arbitrary number just because you’ve always heard that’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s to understand your numbers, your options, and what makes sense for your situation. So if you’ve been thinking, “I don’t have 20% saved, so I can’t buy yet…” — don’t count yourself out before you know your options. 🩷 Save this for when you’re ready to start the conversation 💌 #PlainfieldIL #PlainfieldRealtor #PlainfieldILRealEstate #HomeBuyingTips #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #HomeBuying #HouseHunting #RealEstateTips

I pulled together a few local things happening Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27 so you don’t have to dig through 47 different social media posts to figure out what’s happening. 🎶 Friday: Catch Proudest Monkey at Werk Force Brewing or celebrate Dolly Day at the Plainfield Area Public Library. 🧵 Saturday: The library has two hands-on events — a beginner hand-sewn tote bag workshop for teens/adults and Franken-Stuffies for the kiddos. 🏃‍♀️🌿 Sunday: It’s a busy one! The Plainfield Harvest Run takes over Village Green/Downtown, and Bronkberry Farms has a Fairy Garden Planter class in the afternoon. Basically… whether your ideal weekend involves live music, crafts, running, gardening, or letting your kids make something slightly questionable🎨🫟🖌️ — there’s something happening around town. Save this for the weekend + send it to your local people! And if you go to one of these, I want to know what you thought. 👀 #PlainfieldIllinois #PlainfieldEvents #PlainfieldILRealtor #PlainfieldMoms #WeekendVibes

You might not need as much money to buy a house as you think. 🏡 One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from first-time buyers is that you need 20% down to buy a home. You don’t necessarily. But your down payment is also not the only money you need to think about! There’s earnest money, inspections, possible appraisal costs, closing costs, prepaid taxes and insurance, moving expenses… and, perhaps most importantly, the money you’ll want to have left over after you get the keys. Because getting to the closing table is not the finish line. You still have to live in the house once you get there. So instead of asking only: “How much money do I need to buy a house?” I want first-time buyers to start asking: “How much do I want left after I buy the house?” That question can completely change how you approach your home search. I broke down the different expenses to think about before, during, and after closing in this week’s blog. Read it here → https://findinghomewithtt.com/blog/how-much-money-do-you-really-need-to-buy-a-house And if you’re thinking about buying your first home in Plainfield or the surrounding Southwest Suburbs, save this one. You’re going to want it. Work Hard 🩷 Be Kind 🤍 Find Home 🩵 Tiffany Tolbert | REALTOR ® | Real Broker LLC 📲💬 6 3 0 • 3 0 3 • 3 4 4 0 💌 TiffanyTolbert.REAL@gmail.com 💻 FindingHomewithTT.com #PlainfieldIL #PlainfieldRealtor #HomeBuyingTips #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #HouseHunting