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Residential Real Estate Sellers

Do I Need a Lawyer to Sell a House in Illinois?

By March 9, 2023August 15th, 2023No Comments

Selling a house is difficult enough, but in today’s market, with so many potential buyers and such a low inventory of houses for sale, it’s often even more confusing. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to do it all on your own. 

An experienced real estate attorney can help you navigate the complicated process of buying or selling a property. Even a simple sale of a home can require multiple contracts and legal documents. Therefore, it’s important to work with a lawyer with experience with Illinois property law like our team at Diamond Real Estate Law to review your paperwork and guide the way.

Who Is on Your Side During Your Illinois Home Sale?

If you are like most people, buying or selling a home is likely to be one of the biggest transactions in your life. You don’t want to take unnecessary risks with a transaction of this importance, or you could be paying for a mistake for years to come.

Currently, in the U.S., almost 89 percent of home buyers use a real estate agent to broker a purchase.

A real estate agent provides services including:

  • Accurately pricing your home based on the local market 
  • Providing a detailed comparison of common terms and conditions for similar properties
  • Promoting the property for sale
  • Negotiating the best price and terms
  • Monitoring the sale and helping to resolve issues, if necessary

However, it is important to keep in mind that a realtor is not supposed to provide legal advice regarding the transaction.

What’s more, most real estate agents in Illinois use standardized legal forms because they are not allowed to write their own contracts or customize contracts. To avoid being accused of practicing law, realtors are only supposed to fill in blanks on forms. 

In short, any complex contracts should instead be overseen by an experienced Illinois real estate attorney.

How Diamond Real Estate Law can help

Having an attorney that is professionally obligated to serve your best interests can make the difference between acquiring your dream home (or selling it) and an unending financial nightmare.

Here are some ways a lawyer can help you avoid costly and time-consuming errors, title disputes, and pre-closing or post-closing lawsuits:

  • An attorney will carefully review the contract and disclosures to ensure that they properly reflect your needs and wants and that your interests are protected.
  • A lawyer can review all of the legal details of the title of the property to ensure that there are no hidden problems. This includes reviewing a title commitment and disclosing any liens or judgments on the title that could complicate the transferral of ownership or void the deal entirely. 
  • A property law attorney can help you navigate more complex home sales. Because they are knowledgeable about state property laws, they can provide sound advice about foreclosure sales, involuntary liens, or ownership disputes.

Bottom line: Your Illinois real estate attorney can prepare all your closing documents. They’ll ensure that the title is clear and see to it that you only pay the closing costs.

Contact Diamond Real Estate Law today

If you are considering a home sale in McHenry or Lake County, Illinois, the legal team at Diamond Real Estate Law can offer reliable services like contract reviews, verification of closing documents, and investigating public property records for a flat fee.

Contact us today at (773) 217-9623 to set up your first consultation.

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