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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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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5 Mistakes FSBO Sellers Make Before They Even List
Many homeowners choose to sell their property without hiring a realtor. Sometimes they already have a buyer in mind. Sometimes they want to avoid paying a commission. Sometimes they simply believe they can handle the process themselves. Selling a home without a realtor can be successful, but many For Sale By Owner (FSBO) transactions encounter problems before the property is ever listed. Here are five common mistakes that can create unnecessary headaches later in the transaction. 1. Pricing the Property Based Solely on Zillow Online valuation tools can provide a useful starting point, but they are not appraisals. Automated valuation models often miss factors that significantly affect value, including: Property…
