What To Do Before Selling Your Home

In this article, you will learn:

• The benefits of having financing in place before choosing a home to purchase
• Why to hire an attorney to oversee the process
• When a contract may need to be amended

Often, if someone wants to sell their house, we will order a title search before a contract is received so that we know what liens are on the property. This will allow us to put together an accurate estimated settlement statement that will allow a seller to have a realistic expectation so that a seller can see what their bottom line proceeds will look like at different sale amounts. This way a seller will have a realistic expectation as to how much they will receive at the time of closing. While there are programs that Realtors like to use to estimate sale proceeds, these programs are wildly inaccurate and unreliable On the other hand, our estimates are far more accurate. So, before even listing a property for sale it is best to go to an attorney that will take the time to determine all liens against the property, the payoff amounts of those liens, and reach an accurate estimate with respect to what you will receive at closing at a particular sales price.

The Benefits Of Hiring An Attorney To Oversee The Process Of Buying Or Selling Your Home

In Chicagoland attorneys are used by both buyers and sellers on almost all real estate buy and sell transactions. In other states like Florida, the attorneys by and large don’t represent buyers or sellers. Instead, they will just be the title agent. in those cases, buyers and sellers get stuck with real estate brokers doing the work that an attorney would handle in Illinois. By having an attorney represent you in a transaction you have someone with legal expertise addressing legal issues with respect to the contract and making appropriate modifications thereto. Moreover, attorneys who regularly practice in this area of law will have handled significantly more transactions than an average realtor over the course of their career. While a busy realtor might handle 25 transactions a year, a busy real estate attorney is handling hundreds of transactions a year and they are specifically trained in contract law. Because of this having an attorney not only gets you the expertise of having an attorney handling representing you in a transaction but also the experience of someone who handles a large number of cases on a regular basis.

At the end of the day it is best to have an attorney that understands that buying and selling a home is a collaborative process where everyone is working towards the same end goal. To that end, a good attorney will help to ensure that everyone can control their emotions and to keep the deal on track provided that everyone is happy with the terms of the deal.

Amending The Contract If You Own A Property That Needs Repairs, But The Buyer Agrees That Repairs Need Not Be Made Until They Take Ownership

If you are looking to buy a house and have the seller make repairs after closing, I would be very cautious. In most situations it would be easier to just obtain a credit from the seller and arrange for the repairs to be done yourself. The issue is that the seller will have no incentive to complete the repairs once the deal has closed unless they have some skin in the game. To that end, you can always require a large escrow, which money held on the side to ensure that the seller actually performs, because it’s a leap of faith to trust that someone will get something done on a house that they’ve sold. I’m not even saying that they are bad people or that they have bad intentions, but some people will check out once they get their money and repairs at your property will no longer be a priority. Because of this it would be best to structure the deal in some way where you are protected and the seller is incentivized to get the work done.

Why To Have Financing In Place Before Choosing A Home To Purchase In Illinois

It is best to get documents into your lender before actually making an offer. This allows you to turn a loan around quickly and close in a matter of weeks rather than in several months. If you’re placing an offer and you don’t have financing set up, there are any number of things that can go wrong. Typically, people don’t know how much they can borrow. Also, the best relators are not going to work with buyers or sellers who are not pre-qualified and highly organized. Getting everything set up well in advances shows that you’re a serious buyer and you know what you can and can’t buy. It’s also good to go to several sources and see who you like and see who gives you a loan product that works for you before placing an offer to make sure that you have the loan product best suited to your needs.

For more information on Selling Your Home In The State Of Illinois, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (312) 313-1033 today.