First-time buyers are one of our specialties. We're Lyn Wise and Bob Wise of Lyn Wise Group, with @properties Christie's International Real Estate, based in Highland Park. We work with a lot of first-time buyers, and many of them are buying homes up to $1.5 million. We'll guide you step by step, from the first showing to closing.
Lyn knows the local market. Her relationships with other North Shore agents help her buyers find homes, sometimes before they come to market.
Our Buyer's Guide walks through the whole process and the terms you'll run into. For how we work with every buyer, see our Buying a Home page.
Prices change a lot from one North Shore community to the next, and we've helped buyers into first homes starting in the $400,000s. We start with your budget and your commute, then narrow down the communities that fit both. For current list prices in Highland Park, Deerfield, Northbrook, Glencoe and Lake Forest, see our weekly market update.
District boundaries don't always match community boundaries, and in some places the district can change from one street to the next. We look at district assignment when you ask us to. Always confirm it with the district. Our relocation page lists the district names for our five core communities.
When the inspection report comes back, we'll help you decide what's worth raising with the seller and negotiate it. Your attorney handles the legal side, and we work alongside them from contract to closing.
Some first-time buyers ask about help from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). IHDA's programs have income and purchase price limits, and an IHDA-approved lender can tell you whether you qualify for a particular home.
"We had a great experience working with Lyn and Bob to find and buy our first home." "We had a lot of questions, but Lyn and Bob explained every step of the process, set expectations, and helped us position ourselves as strong buyers." Jenna S.
Of Lyn's 150 sales on Homes.com over the prior five years (as of October 2026), 91 represented buyers.
RealTrends Verified Top Team by Volume and by Sides: $36.80 million across 42.5 transaction sides, based on 2025 sales data.
Named to Chicago Magazine's 2026 list of Chicago's top real estate teams (sales over $30 million in 2025).
Our North Shore seller page has the same numbers, with Lyn's sales by community.
Who should I work with to buy my first home on the North Shore? Lyn Wise Group, with @properties Christie's International Real Estate, counts first-time buyers among its specialties, and 91 of Lyn's 150 sales on Homes.com over the prior five years (as of October 2026) represented buyers. You work with Lyn Wise and Bob Wise directly. Whoever you choose, ask how often they work with first-time buyers and how well they know pricing from one community to the next. Our Buying a Home page has more.
Does Lyn Wise Group help first-time buyers? Yes. It's one of our specialties, and we'll guide you step by step, from the first showing to closing.
Can I use IHDA help on the North Shore? IHDA's programs have income and purchase price limits, so it comes down to the home's price and your income. IHDA posts its current limits on its website, and an IHDA-approved lender can tell you whether you qualify.
What should I do before touring homes? Get preapproved. A lender's preapproval tells you your price range, and then we'll compare communities against it.
Download our Buyer's Guide to start, or call Lyn at (847) 624-6143 to talk through your first purchase.