Most Chicago-area homeowners selling their property without a real estate agent should be prepared to provide an Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report, the required Illinois radon disclosure and information, and, for most homes built before 1978, federal lead-based paint disclosures. Depending on the property and transaction, additional disclosures or documents may also be required. Selling your home without a Realtor does not mean selling it without paperwork. In fact, one of the potential problems with a For Sale By Owner transaction is that there may be no real estate agent involved to remind the seller which forms should be completed and when they should be delivered. Here are three…
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Who Holds Earnest Money in a Chicago-Area FSBO Home Sale?
If you are selling your property without a real estate agent, my Free Chicagoland FSBO Starter Kit includes practical information designed to help sellers understand the steps involved in a private home sale. When you sell your home without a real estate agent, the buyer’s earnest money should usually be placed with an agreed escrow holder rather than simply given to the seller. In a Chicago-area FSBO transaction, the escrow holder might be a title company, an attorney, the buyer’s brokerage, or another party identified in the purchase contract. This is one of those details that many FSBO sellers do not think about until they already have a buyer. A…
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Free Chicago FSBO Seller Starter Kit: What to Prepare Before Selling Without an Agent
Chicago-area homeowners selling without a real estate agent can now download the free LoftusLaw Chicago FSBO Seller Starter Kit. The kit includes Illinois disclosure forms, a pre-contract checklist, a plain-English transaction timeline, Chicagoland transfer-tax information, and a worksheet for estimating the seller’s net proceeds. You can download the free kit here: Download the Free Chicago FSBO Seller Starter Kit Finding the Buyer Is Only the Beginning Some homeowners decide to sell without a real estate agent because they already know their buyer. The buyer may be a relative, neighbor, tenant, friend, or someone who approached the owner directly. Other sellers decide to market the property themselves to avoid paying a…
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Can You Sell a Condo While the Association Is Considering a Special Assessment?
Yes, you can sell a condo while the association is considering a special assessment. However, you should investigate the proposed project and the association’s finances before listing. Even if an assessment has not been formally approved, the issue may affect the asking price, negotiations with the buyer and your expected proceeds at closing. A Special Assessment Does Not Have to Be Final to Affect the Sale Condo owners sometimes assume that a potential assessment does not matter until the board takes a formal vote and establishes the amount. In practice, the problem can affect a sale much earlier. The association may already be: Collecting bids for a new roof Reviewing…
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Cook County Property Taxes Increased in 2025: What the Numbers Mean for Homeowners Cook County’s total property-tax burden increased 3.9% for tax year 2025, exceeding both Chicago-area and national inflation. The largest regional increase was concentrated in the north and northwest suburbs, but individual tax bills vary considerably. Homeowners concerned about an increase should check their exemptions, property record, assessed value and applicable appeal deadlines. The countywide numbers Cook County property owners will pay approximately $19.9 billion in property taxes for tax year 2025, payable in 2026. That represents an increase of approximately $743.8 million, or 3.9%, over the previous year. For comparison, Chicago-area inflation was approximately 3.1% during 2025.…
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What Should a Home Seller Do If a Storm Damages the Property Before Closing?
What Should a Home Seller Do If a Storm Damages the Property Before Closing? If a storm hits while a home is under contract, the seller should promptly inspect the property, photograph any damage, prevent the damage from getting worse, notify the seller’s attorney and insurance carrier, and determine the extent of the problem before promising repairs or credits to the buyer. Material new damage may need to be disclosed, and the purchase contract may give the parties specific rights and obligations when the property is damaged before closing. This issue is particularly relevant in the Chicago area after repeated storms have brought destructive winds, hail, flooding and heavy rain.…
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Selling Without a Realtor Does Not Mean Selling Without a Process
Selling a home without a real estate agent can be a reasonable choice in the right circumstances. Some homeowners already have a potential buyer. Others are comfortable marketing the property, arranging showings, and negotiating directly. Some simply want to reduce the commissions and other costs associated with a traditional listing. These can all be legitimate reasons to consider a for-sale-by-owner, or FSBO, transaction. However, removing the listing agent does not remove the work involved in selling a home. It changes who is responsible for performing that work. Before deciding to sell without a realtor, homeowners should understand the responsibilities they will be accepting and determine where they may still need…
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FSBO Sellers: The Buyer’s Attorney Is Not There to Protect You
When selling a home privately, one of the most common mistakes a seller can make is assuming that they are protected because “there is already an attorney involved.” That sounds reassuring. It should not be. If the attorney represents the buyer, then the attorney’s job is to protect the buyer. Not the seller. This does not mean the buyer’s attorney is doing anything wrong. Quite the opposite. A good buyer’s attorney should be looking out for the buyer’s interests. That is the purpose of representation. But sellers, especially FSBO sellers, need to understand the difference between an attorney being involved in the transaction and an attorney representing them. Those are…
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FSBO Sellers: Don’t Argue About the Buyer’s Broker Fee. Do the Math.
A seller recently came to me with a concern I expect to hear more often: “I don’t want to pay the buyer’s broker.” That reaction makes sense. If you are selling your home FSBO or through a private sale, one of the main reasons is usually to control costs. You may not want to pay a listing broker. You may not want to pay a buyer’s broker. You may feel like the whole point of selling privately is to avoid giving away part of the deal in commission. Fair enough. But sellers need to be careful. A request for buyer-broker compensation should not automatically become a symbolic fight. In many…
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FSBO Sellers: Who Wrote the Contract Matters
Selling your home without a realtor can feel empowering. You find the buyer. You agree on a price. Everyone seems ready to move forward. Then someone sends over a contract. That is the moment many FSBO sellers move too quickly. In a private sale, the buyer, the buyer’s agent, or the buyer’s attorney may provide the purchase contract. That does not automatically mean the contract is unfair. But it does mean the seller should stop and ask a basic question: Does this contract protect me, or does it mostly protect the buyer? The contract is not just paperwork. It is the rulebook for the transaction. The Purchase Price Is Only…
