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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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: 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…
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Why Closing Dates Get Postponed in Chicagoland Real Estate Sales
A closing date feels final when it is written into the real estate contract. Unfortunately, anyone who has been through enough Chicagoland closings knows the truth: the closing date is often more like a target than a guarantee. Most buyers and sellers assume that once the contract is signed, everyone simply works toward the closing date and the deal closes on time. Sometimes that happens. But in many residential real estate transactions, the closing date gets pushed back because one piece of the process is not ready. That does not always mean the deal is falling apart. But it does mean the parties need to understand what is causing the…
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FSBO Sellers: Finding a Buyer Is Not the Finish Line
FSBO Sellers: Finding a Buyer Is Not the Finish Line For many FSBO sellers, the biggest concern is simple: finding a buyer. That makes sense. If you are selling without a listing agent, you are likely thinking about pricing, photos, showings, online exposure, buyer interest, and whether someone will actually make an offer. But once a buyer appears, many sellers make a dangerous assumption. They assume the hard part is over. In reality, finding the buyer is only the first major step. The transaction still has to make it from contract to closing. That is where many FSBO sellers run into problems. A Signed Contract Is Not the Same Thing…
