What things cost in Monroe County, how long they take, and what trips people up here specifically. You make the call from there.
Bloomington · Ellettsville · Monroe County · Updated September 2026
Buying your first home is the largest purchase most people ever make, and one of the most reliable ways families build long-term wealth.
What it shouldn't feel like is a guessing game. Most of the stress isn't the money. It's not knowing what comes next, what a word means, or whose job something is. That's what this guide is for.
From an accepted offer to keys. Before that, plan on two to eight weeks of looking, sometimes longer. Cash closes faster. Anything unusual about the property or loan adds time.
Before we walk into a single home, we sign a written buyer agreement. The rules changed nationwide in August 2024: any agent who shows you a home needs a signed agreement first.
Signing a buyer agreement does not obligate you to buy a house. It sets the terms of how we work together if you do.
Get pre-approved before you look at anything. A lender checks your income, debts and credit, then puts in writing what they'll lend. A pre-qualification is just an estimate from what you told them. Sellers here take pre-approvals seriously and mostly ignore pre-qualifications.
We're glad to introduce you to two or three lenders we trust. You're never required to use them, and comparing offers is smart.
Program minimums shown. Your lender sets the terms you actually qualify for.
Indiana also runs down payment assistance through IHCDA for buyers who qualify. It isn't automatic and isn't well advertised, so ask your lender directly.
Try the mortgage calculator →Illustration only. Ask your lender for a written Loan Estimate, a standard form you can compare across lenders line by line.
Your monthly payment is four things, not one: principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI). Taxes and insurance are usually collected monthly and paid by your lender, which is why your real payment is higher than most online calculators show.
Price gets the attention. These terms often matter just as much, and two of them cost you nothing.
A contingency is a condition that has to be met, or you can walk away and keep your earnest money. The common three: inspection, appraisal and financing. Waiving one can win a competitive house. It can also cost your deposit, so we only do it on purpose.
City water, sewer and services, with city taxes to match. Highest prices, smallest lots, most competition. IU drives the calendar: spring is crowded, late fall is friendlier to buyers.
More house for the money and a short drive in. Town water and sewer through most of Ellettsville, and Richland-Bean Blossom schools. Watch the reorganization talks, which affect boundaries and taxes.
Land, quiet, and lower tax rates in many spots. Also well water, septic, gravel roads and longer drives. Different rules, different inspection list.
Two things to do right after you close. File your homestead deduction with the Monroe County Auditor — it lowers your tax bill and isn't automatic. Indiana is phasing in changes to how it's calculated, so ask us what applies in your year. Then change the locks.
CENTURY 21 Scheetz is the largest CENTURY 21 company in Indiana and the seventh largest CENTURY 21 franchise in the country: ten offices, 420+ agents, and part of this market since 1976.
The Bloomington office alone has 65+ agents. That's a big enough bench that pre-market and off-market listings circulate inside the office before they reach the public MLS, so you can get first look instead of competing with the whole internet.
Roughly 11,000 offices across 79 countries and territories, run locally through Indiana's largest CENTURY 21 company.
Lance daSilva and Mason Greenberg work every file as a team. You're never stuck if one of us is unreachable for a day — there's a second experienced set of eyes on your search, your offer and your closing the whole way through.
Every DaSilva Property Group file gets a dedicated Transaction Manager the moment your offer is accepted. They track every contract deadline, keep your file complete, and coordinate your lender, title company and the other agent. That's DPG's smooth transaction guarantee.
Tell us your price range and timeline. We'll tell you what's realistic here right now — even if the honest answer is to wait.
