Lisle Real Estate Attorney | Real Estate Lawyer, Lisle IL

In this article by our Lisle real estate attorneys, they discuss, after signing a residential real estate contract, you will typically have 5 business days to review it with your attorney and make any changes that your attorney recommends.  Our Lisle real estate attorneys will work through your contract with you paragraph by paragraph to ensure that it places you in the best possible position.  However, 5 clauses in the contract stand out as particularly important for you to understand:

1. ‍Purchase Price and Earnest Money:  It goes without saying that it is important for the purchase price to be listed correctly.  However, there may also be closing cost credits that factor into the ultimate purchase price.  There are many parties involved in a real estate transaction, including your title company, your lender, attorneys, and governmental entities to whom taxes and fees are paid.  At closing, the seller's attorney will present a ledger called a "settlement statement" showing all of the money that is changing hands between all of these parties
2. ‍Fixtures and Personal Property Included in the Transaction:  The form real estate contract used by most realtors includes a paragraph with a series of check-boxes for fixtures and other property, such as appliances or chandeliers, that will be included in the purchase price.
3. ‍Mortgage Contingency:  If your contract is contingent on the purchaser obtaining a mortgage, it is important that you understand the portion of the contract relating to the mortgage contingency and that its terms are correct.  The mortgage contingency paragraph will lay out the terms of mortgage that the purchaser must be able to obtain in order to be bound by the contract
4. ‍Tax Prorations: When you purchase real estate, you will be responsible for the entire property tax bill for the entire year in which the transaction occurred, even though you likely have only owned the property for a portion of that year. 
5. ‍The typical real estate contract used by realtors contains several clauses that will only be effective if initialed by both sides, which are used for special circumstances.

Read the entire article by our Lisle real estate attorneys

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Our Lisle real estate attorneys prioritize taking your case from contract to closing in a smooth and timely manner.  The seller's attorney in a real estate closing has handles many tasks to prepare the deal to close.  Here are some of the most important items on our Lisle real estate lawyers' checklist when representing the seller:  

• Disclosures: Our Lisle real estate attorneys will prepare and provide the buyer with disclosures from the seller regarding radon hazards, lead-based paint, hazardous mold, and other structural defects, which must be noted in the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report.  
• Title Commitment: Our Lisle real estate lawyers will work as an agent of a title insurance company to review the title record for the property to ensure that there are no defects in the seller's ability to transfer title to the buyer.  We will arrange for the issuance of a title insurance policy, which will insure against any issues that are not found at this time in the title record.  
• Survey: Our Lisle real estate attorneys will order a survey and provide it to the buyer, so that the buyer can review the metes and bounds of the property being purchased as well as any easements on the property. 
• Pay-off Letter: Our real estate attorneys will work with your lender in order to obtain a pay-off letter, which shows exactly how much must be paid by the title company to the lender at closing in order to remove the existing mortgage from the property. 
• Letters from Homeowners or Condominium Associations (If Applicable):  Our Lisle real estate attorneys will work with your homeowners association or condominium association to provide the buyer with letters showing that there are no unpaid assessments,  that any right of first refusal to purchase the property held by the association is waived, and that the association's common areas are properly insured.  
• Municipal Letters: If your village or township requires a municipal inspection prior to the sale of your property, our Lisle real estate lawyers will arrange for the inspection and obtain a letter from the municipality stating that the inspection has been completed and that all utility bills have been previously paid by you. 
• Tax Proration:  Our Lisle real estate attorneys will review the previous year's tax bill in order to calculate the amount of the tax proration that must be credited to the buyer at closing in order to account for your share of the current year's tax bill.  You can learn more about tax prorations in this article by our Lisle real estate lawyers: The Top 5 Things to Look Out For in Your Residential Real Estate Contract.  
• Closing Documents:  Prior to closing, our real estate attorneys will prepare the following documents to be executed at the closing table:

1. The Deed, which transfers title to the buyer. 
2. Affidavit of Title, in which the seller testifies regarding any known defects in her title to the property. 
3. Bill of Sale, which is a receipt showing that the seller has received payment for the property.
4. ALTA Statement, which is a sworn statement regarding any known encumbrances to the property, such as mechanic's liens and judgment liens. 
5. Transfer Tax Forms, which are filed with the assessor's office to show the amount paid by the buyer for the property, for the purpose of calculating transfer tax. 
6. Settlement Statement, which shows all of the money and credits changing hands between the buyer, seller, attorneys, realtors, lenders, and municipalities in the transaction.

Our Lisle attorneys have the skill, experience, and client-focus necessary to ensure that any obstacles to your transaction closing smoothly are either prevented or resolved efficiently and effectively.