Real Estate Sales in Illinois: What to Know

Selling your home is one of the most daunting tasks that anyone will encounter. The details and processes that must occur in real estate sales can be overwhelming, which is why a lot of people enlist the assistance of a real estate broker or agent to coordinate the sale. If you’re interested in selling your own property, however, you don’t have to hire a real estate agent to do it. Understanding how real estate sales in Illinois work is the first step in successfully selling your property.

Real Estate SalesIn Illinois

Know How to Set a Price

Setting a price for your property that is too high or too low can hinder a successful sale. Make sure that in your process of setting a fair price for your home, you have your property professionally assessed and that you know what the equalized assessed value of your property is. Along with this, understand the market conditions in your area and set a fair price for your property based on the information you gather.

Market Your Home

An abundance of people use realtors to advertise the property that they have for sale, but real estate sales don’t need to have a realtor to be successful. There are many ways to list a home, including listing websites, free selling sites like Craigslist, or posting an ad in a local paper. Once you determine how you will advertise your property, make a list of distinguishing and desirable features that would make your property stand out from other properties currently on the market. Take pictures and do whatever you can to make your property outshine the rest.

Understand Illinois Real Estate Law for Selling Property

Illinois requires that you provide a disclosure report when selling property. This disclosure report reveals all material defects in the property. Any known defects in the property need to be explicitly mentioned in your disclosure report. If you are uncertain whether to include it or not, include it. Disclosing what you know to be wrong with the property will protect you from legal actions down the road.

Federal law requires that you prepare a lead paint disclosure if the property was built before 1978. If this applies to the property you are selling, you are also required to provide the Lead Paint Disclosure pamphlet, entitled “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home.”

Illinois law also requires that you prepare a radon disclosure. The Radon Awareness Act was put into effect on January 1, 2008. A radon disclosure is now required for all real estate sales.

Understanding Real Estate Contracts

When completing a real estate sale, it’s important to understand the essentials that must be included in a contract. These essentials include:

1. The buyer’s names, addresses and phone numbers and the information for anyone who is representing them in the sale.
2. Sale Price
3. Earnest money – earnest money is money given in good faith to confirm a contract. There are many caveats with earnest money, so laying out the terms in which earnest money will be returned is essential.
4. Closing Date
5. Possession Date
6. Any personal property that will be left behind that is not affixed to the home
7. Any home fixtures that will be removed from the home (i.e. light fixtures, drapes, etc.)
8. A timeline of when the inspection will be completed
9. Information on when a termite inspection will be performed and how the property will be treated, if found
10. Financing – Illinois law requires that the financing information be included in the contract in order for the contract to be valid.
11. Information if the purchase of the property is contingent on the sale of another property.

As you can tell, this is a lot of information to process. This is why Real estate sales can be complicated. Depending on the amount of involvement you’d like to have in the paperwork surrounding the sale, a real estate agent or broker can help, but this can be extremely costly.

If you would like to avoid doing that, seeking the advice of counsel is essential to make sure that your real estate sale is valid and in compliance with Illinois Real Estate Law. Consult the expertise of www.chicagorealestatelawfirm.com when selling your property.