Navigating Closing Your Home Sale Under Illinois Real Estate Law

In this article, you will learn:

• How a realtor will likely assess your home and decide its listing price.
• The order in which a real estate transaction generally goes.
• The role a real estate lawyer plays in the process and how one can help you.

What Is The Closing Process For A Residential Property Sale In Illinois Like? How Can A Chicago Area Real Estate Attorney Make This Process Go Smoothly?

A typical real estate transaction (from the seller’s perspective) goes as follows: First, you meet with a realtor. They will perform a market analysis. This is essentially just a way in which they can get an assessment of the value of the property according to other properties in the vicinity. Next, you and your realtor will most likely decide what price to list your property for. Most typically list higher than the valuation determined by the market analysis because buyers usually naturally bid lower than listing prices. Doing this is a way to ensure you get as close to your desired price as possible. Your realtor may have you do an open house after deciding your listing price. Other realtors will come with potential buyers to view the property. If you need to make any updates to the property in preparation for this, your realtor will usually tell you beforehand. After this, the bidding war begins, where you will ideally get many offers for the property. Your realtor will receive these offers and negotiate with potential buyers’ realtors to eventually accept one. This is when the attorney’s name is put on your contract. At this point, you may find yourself waiting a lot on the buyer to do an inspection and ask you to do any repairs or issue them any credits in lieu of repairs. Once you receive the response from the buyer based on their inspection, you will work with your attorney to see what is fair in terms of dollar amount and time for you to make the deal happen. You will most likely have to wait for the buyer to get their pre-approval as well. You may want to get a survey of your property at this point, as Illinois requires them unless your buyer waives it. You may also want to get the title situated and make sure it is clean or that there are no outstanding mortgages on the property. If there is an outstanding mortgage on the property, you need to get a mortgage payoff letter through your lender. This is something the seller will handle and share with their attorney. You might have to let the buyer in a few times, including for the appraisal, as their lender will likely need to do an appraisal. There may be further steps depending on whether a homeowners association is involved or you are selling a condo. If you live in an Illinois village, then you will most likely have to do a village inspection. Single-family homes have requirements pertaining to zoning certificates. To wrap up the process, you will need to make copies of keys and have things like warranties for appliances organized as you actually transfer ownership over to the buyer. You will be responsible for executing three major documents:

• Deed;
• Affidavit of title;
• Bill of sale.

Lastly, you will attend the real estate closing, where you actually sign these documents, issue keys to the buyer, and receive your check. For more information on Real Estate Law in Illinois, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (888) 594-4785 today.