You can sell your house without a Realtor in Illinois. This is commonly called a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) transaction. You handle the pricing, marketing, showings, and negotiations yourself instead of hiring a listing agent. However, selling without a Realtor does not eliminate the legal requirements involved in a real estate transaction. You’ll still need to address property disclosures, a purchase contract, inspections, title insurance, transfer taxes, and closing documents. If you’re considering selling your home without a real estate agent in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs, here’s a step-by-step guide to the process. Step 1: Prepare Your House for Sale Before advertising your property, take some time to…
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I Found a Buyer for My House. What Happens Next?
If you have already found a buyer for your Illinois home, the next step is usually to put the agreement into a written real estate contract. After that, the transaction may involve attorney review, earnest money, inspections, required seller disclosures, title work, tax prorations, closing documents, and the closing itself. Finding the buyer is a major step. But there is still quite a bit that has to happen before the sale is complete. 1. Put the Agreement in Writing A buyer and seller may initially agree on the basics of a deal through a conversation, email, or text message. But a real estate transaction needs to move from “we have…
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Who Prepares the Contract in an Illinois FSBO Sale?
The short answer – your lawyer. The long answer… So, you found a buyer for your home without using a Realtor. Congratulations. Now someone has to prepare the purchase contract. For many Illinois FSBO sellers, this is the point where the transaction suddenly becomes much more complicated. There is no listing agent preparing paperwork or coordinating an offer. The buyer may have an agent. The buyer may have an attorney. Or the buyer may be unrepresented too. So who actually prepares the contract? The Purchase Contract Is More Than a Price and Closing Date A residential real estate contract determines the legal rights and obligations of both the buyer and…
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Do You Need a Lawyer for an FSBO Sale in Illinois?
No. Illinois law does not generally require you to hire a lawyer simply because you are selling your home without a real estate agent. But selling FSBO does not eliminate the legal work involved in selling a home. In fact, when there is no listing agent involved, it can become even more important for a seller to understand who is handling the contract, disclosures, title work, closing documents, deadlines and problems that arise between contract and closing. That is where a real estate attorney comes in. FSBO Means “For Sale By Owner,” Not “Do Everything Yourself” Selling FSBO usually means that the homeowner has decided not to use a traditional…
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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…
