Brandon Coll - Sistar Mortgage

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Brandon Coll - Sistar Mortgage

Senior Vice President of Residential Lending at Sistar Mortgage
Personal NMLS 248814
Equal Housing Opportunity Lender

13/10/2026

Critical Updates with a great friend and realtor Christina Hopkins.

18/09/2026

If you are thinking about appealing your Cook County property taxes here is something worth understanding before you file.

There are two places where you can appeal: the Cook County Assessor's office and the Board of Review. And the success rates at each are very different.

At the Assessor's office the success rate is lower, maybe around 20 percent on a reassessment year, because the assessor generally believes their assessments are correct going in.

At the Board of Review the success rate is significantly higher. The Board consistently tries to grant reductions for residential homeowners and that is where most appeals produce results.

The strategy is simple: file at both. You never know what the assessor will do but the Board of Review is where reductions are most consistently granted.

As for how appeals are evaluated there are a few valuation methods that can be used. Comparable properties that pay less in taxes on similar homes. A recent purchase price if it came in below the assessed value. Or an appraisal that supports a lower market value.

Reach out to Katherine Amari O'Dell at Amari and Locallo for Cook County property tax appeal questions. 224-278-7937.

And reach out to Brandon Coll at Sistar Mortgage for all your mortgage needs.

17/09/2026

A property tax question worth answering clearly: how does the fee structure actually work when you appeal your Cook County property taxes?

It is a contingency fee. That means no money out of your pocket unless there is an actual tax savings. The fee is 15 percent of whatever is saved and nothing if nothing is saved. You have nothing to lose.

Here is how the timing works and why it matters.

Cook County has 38 townships and every three years a certain section gets reassessed. The assessor and the Board of Review are where you file and they operate on rolling deadlines.

Right now the southern townships are being reassessed. If you file now the fee is 15 percent of the three-year tax savings because you have three years of reduced taxes ahead of you.

The northern townships were reassessed in 2025. If you file now for a northern township it is 15 percent of two-year savings because you are already in year two of that cycle.

The city of Chicago gets reassessed in 2027. If you file in 2026 it is 15 percent of one-year savings.

The earlier you file in a reassessment cycle the more years of savings you are capturing and the more meaningful the result.

Reach out to Katherine Amari O'Dell at Amari and Locallo with questions.

And reach out to Brandon Coll at Sistar Mortgage for all your mortgage needs.

16/09/2026

If you are over 65 and own your home in Cook County there are two property tax benefits worth understanding and they are not the same thing even though they often get confused.

The senior exemption is the more straightforward of the two. If you are over 65, own your home, live there as your primary residence, and pay the taxes you qualify. Once you apply it rolls over automatically every year into your second installment tax bill. You do not have to reapply.

The senior freeze is different and for many seniors it is the most valuable property tax benefit available.

Here is how it works. If you are over 65, your home is your primary residence, you pay the taxes, and your household income is less than $65,000 you may qualify for the senior freeze. What it does is freeze your assessment at the level from the prior year. Anything that would have increased your assessed value going forward is essentially locked out as long as you keep the freeze in place.

Here is the critical detail that trips people up every single year: the senior freeze does not roll over automatically. You have to apply for it in the spring every year. If you miss the application window you lose the benefit for that year. It does not carry forward on its own.

The homeowner exemption and the senior exemption roll over once you apply. The senior freeze requires annual action.

If you or someone you know is over 65 and making under $65,000 in household income this is worth looking into right now.

Reach out to Katherine Amari O'Dell at Amari and Localo for questions about Cook County property tax exemptions and appeals. 224-278-7937.

31/08/2026

A major program update worth knowing about if you are an investor looking at mid-size multifamily properties.

We now have a 5 to 9 unit DSCR program and it is genuinely unique in the market right now.

Here is what makes it different. No tax returns. No pay stubs. No W-2s. No profit and loss statements. No balance sheets. None of the traditional income documentation that makes conventional financing on these properties such a challenge. The program qualifies you entirely based on the property's gross rents divided into the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. The key qualifying ratio is 1.15 meaning the gross rents need to cover at least 115 percent of the PITIA.

Here are the key program details.

Minimum loan amount: $350,000. Maximum loan amount: $2.5 million. Cash out is allowed up to $500,000 with a 5 percent LTV reduction for cash-out scenarios.

Two credit guidelines worth knowing. You need either 3 trade lines open for at least 12 months or 2 trade lines open for at least 24 months with activity in the last 12 months on either scenario.

And after your down payment, closing costs, and prepaid items you need 6 months of PITIA reserves remaining after closing.

Compare that to walking into a brick-and-mortar bank with a stack of income documentation and potentially getting denied anyway. This program removes that entire barrier for qualified investors.

If you have questions drop them in the comments. Give me a follow for more program updates.

28/08/2026

Cook County just cranked up property taxes again and I want to make sure every Chicago and Chicago suburb homeowner knows what to do about it.

First the honest take: I love Chicagoland. I love Chicago. I love the suburbs. This area has everything. Jobs, business, opportunity in every direction. It is genuinely one of the best places to live and work in the country. Cook County property taxes are the one thing that consistently frustrates me about being here.

But here is the good news. You do not have to just accept the bill.

I have been working with Amari and Locallo in Chicago for a long time. Specifically with Catherine Amari Odell, one of the founding partners. I refer clients to her all the time and I use her for my own properties.

Two reasons I keep going back.

First, they are less expensive than most. They charge a percentage of what they actually save you. If they do not save you anything you do not owe them anything. The incentive is completely aligned with yours.

Second, and this is the one I really appreciate: she tells you almost immediately whether you have a case worth fighting. She is not going to string you along. She will tell you straight up if she thinks you can lower your taxes or if it is not worth pursuing. That kind of directness saves time and sets realistic expectations.

She is not paying me to say any of this. I genuinely use her and refer her because she delivers.

Do not sit on your hands. Fight your Cook County taxes.

Call Amari and Locallo at 224-278-7937. Ask for Catherine.

25/08/2026

Here is a set of questions that most mortgage loan officers never ask and why it matters more than most people realize.

The online application has made the mortgage process faster and more convenient. But it has also made it easier to skip the conversations that actually serve the client's long-term interests.

The questions most loan officers are missing.

How long do you plan to be in the house? This changes everything about which loan structure makes the most sense for you. A buyer who plans to stay 30 years needs a different conversation than one who expects to move in five.

Do you plan to rent it out afterward? If there is any chance the home becomes an investment property down the road that should factor into how the loan is structured today.

How long do you want to be in this mortgage? Not just the house. The mortgage itself. Do you plan to refinance when rates change? Do you have a timeline to pay it off?

And this one surprises people: do you plan to pay it down or pay it off early?

You would be amazed how many people say yes. A bonus is coming. An inheritance. A business distribution. And that answer completely changes the conversation.

If you are planning to pay down the principal we usually recommend talking to a financial advisor first to make sure that is the best use of those funds. But if paying down the mortgage is the goal, one strategy worth exploring is using that paydown as a trigger for a refinance that lowers both your rate and your balance at the same time.

The right mortgage is not just about the lowest rate today. It is about a structure that fits where you are going.

Follow for more content like this and drop any questions in the comments below.

24/08/2026

Weekly interest rate update before the weekend. Here is where rates stand today for borrowers with 25 percent equity and good credit.

30-year fixed: 6.625 percent
7-year ARM: 5.875 percent
5-year ARM: 5.750 percent

If you have questions about which option makes the most sense for your situation drop them in the comments below. Happy to help you think it through.

And if you find this kind of content useful give me a follow for weekly updates.

12/08/2026

I want to share a real scenario we just closed because this happens more than most buyers realize and it cost one of my clients a potential $21,221 mistake.

My client was taking cash out and lowering his interest rate at the same time. We closed him on a 7-year ARM conventional loan at 6.125 percent with no upfront discount points.

During the process one of the largest mortgage companies in the country, you have seen their golf tournament sponsorships, reached out to him with a text offering 4.99 percent. He forwarded it to me and my first thought was let me see that loan estimate because that rate looks like it has points behind it.

I was right. But it was even worse than I expected.

Not only were they charging 2.625 percent in discount points, which was $12,821 on his loan amount, they were actually putting him into an FHA loan on a 5-year ARM. He had great credit, a low debt-to-income ratio, and his loan-to-value was under 80 percent. He had absolutely no need for FHA financing.

Here is what the total upfront cost looked like on their offer. Discount points: $12,821. FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium: $8,400. Total upfront cost: $21,221.

Yes their payment was $152 per month lower than mine. But at $152 per month it would have taken him 139.6 months, that is 11.6 years, just to break even on those upfront costs. And if he refinances, sells, or gets out of that loan before then, that money is simply gone.

Please send me your loan estimate if you want me to take a look at it. I do this for free and I will tell you honestly what I see. Discount points make sense in certain specific situations. I will tell you when they do. But most of the time I am quoting without points and I am absolutely not putting someone into FHA when they clearly qualify for conventional.

Follow and DM me if you want a second opinion on your loan estimate.

06/08/2026

Quick mortgage rate update for the week and it has been an interesting one driven almost entirely by what is happening in Iran.

Monday opened with news that the Strait of Hormuz would partially reopen and that strikes against Iran were de-escalating. Oil prices dropped on the news and we had one of those rare days where both the stock market and the bond market moved positively at the same time. Rates came down on Monday as a result.

Fast forward to today, August 6th, and more news out of Iran reversed some of that progress. Rates gave back a little in the afternoon session and moved slightly higher.

It is very much a seesaw right now based on the conflict situation and oil prices. Tomorrow we also have the jobs report coming out which will be another factor to watch closely.

Here is where rates sit today for well-qualified buyers with 25 percent down on a purchase.

30-year fixed: 6.625 percent. 7-year ARM: 6.0 percent. 5-year ARM: 5.875 percent.

Follow along for weekly updates and DM me or drop a question in the comments if you want to know what any of this means for your specific situation.

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