Chicago Residential Real Estate Lawyer for Buyers and Sellers

In a Chicago home sale, almost every decision that matters is made in the first week after the offer is accepted, while the attorney-review clock is running. Whatever you do not change or object to in those days usually stays in the contract as written.

That is why our work starts the day you sign. We calendar the deadline, read the form you actually signed, and tell you what is still open to negotiation.

The attorney-review period is a contract term

Residential contracts used in the Chicago area, such as the Multi-Board contract, commonly include an attorney-review period, usually five business days. No Illinois statute creates that period. It exists because the contract says so, which means the signed form decides how long it lasts, how the days are counted, how notice is given, and what happens if no one gives it in time.

Inside that window, depending on the form, your attorney may approve the contract, propose modifications, or disapprove it. Modifications open a negotiation, not a guarantee, and a poorly drafted response can end a deal you meant to keep. Many forms also set a separate inspection period that runs at nearly the same time. We check both on day one so neither expires while you wait on the other.

Our work for buyers

• Contract review and proposed modifications on price, credits, financing and appraisal contingencies, the closing date, and possession.
• Inspection negotiation: a repair request, a credit at closing, or termination, depending on what your form allows and what you want to achieve.
• Review of the title commitment and survey, and follow-up on each title requirement until it is cleared.
• Comparison of the lender’s Closing Disclosure with the contract before closing day, and attendance at closing.

Our work for sellers

A seller has duties before there is a contract. We help you complete and deliver the required disclosures on time, respond to the buyer’s inspection request, and prepare what the closing needs: the deed, the mortgage payoff, title requirements, transfer declarations, and in Chicago, the water full payment certificate.

Disclosures Illinois and federal law require before the contract binds

The Residential Real Property Disclosure Act applies to property with not less than one nor more than four residential units, including condominiums and cooperatives (765 ILCS 77/5). The seller must complete every item in the report and deliver it to the buyer before the contract is signed (765 ILCS 77/20). The seller must disclose material defects the seller actually knows about, but the Act does not require an investigation or inspection to complete the report (765 ILCS 77/25). Some transfers are exempt, including court-ordered transfers, transfers by a fiduciary administering an estate or trust, and sales of new construction that has never been occupied (765 ILCS 77/15).

Late delivery has a concrete consequence. If the report discloses a material defect and is delivered after all parties have signed the contract, the buyer may terminate within five business days after receiving it, with the return of all earnest money (765 ILCS 77/40(a)). That right ends once the property is conveyed (765 ILCS 77/40(c)). An action for a violation of the Act must be brought within one year from the earliest of possession, occupancy, or recording of the deed (765 ILCS 77/60).

Two more disclosures apply in many sales. Under the Radon Awareness Act, the seller must give the buyer the IEMA pamphlet on radon testing in real estate transactions and the Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards before the buyer is obligated under the contract. The Act does not require the seller to test or mitigate (420 ILCS 46/10). And if the home was built before 1978, the federal lead-based paint rule requires an EPA-approved pamphlet, disclosure of known lead-based paint and hazards, and any available reports, also before the buyer is obligated (40 C.F.R. 745.103, 745.107(a)).

A buyer of pre-1978 housing also gets a 10-day period to conduct a lead risk assessment or inspection, unless the parties agree in writing to a different period or the buyer waives it in writing (40 C.F.R. 745.110). Our recommendation: do not sign that waiver out of habit. Decide first whether the age of the building, the condition of the windows, and who will live in the home justify the test.

Condominium purchases and the association’s documents

In a resale by an owner other than the developer, the Condominium Property Act requires the seller to obtain from the board of managers, and make available to the buyer on demand, a specific set of documents (765 ILCS 605/22.1(a)):

• The declaration, bylaws, other condominium instruments, and rules and regulations.
• A statement of liens and of any unpaid assessments on the unit.
• Capital expenditures anticipated for the current and next two fiscal years, and the status of the reserve fund.
• The financial statement for the last available fiscal year and the status of any suits or judgments involving the association.
• The insurance the association provides for unit owners, and a statement about improvements or alterations made by the prior owner.

The association’s officer must furnish this information within 10 business days of a written request (765 ILCS 605/22.1(b)). Because that period is longer than a typical attorney review, the request should go out as soon as the price is agreed. When we read the package, we look for thin reserves against large planned projects, special assessments approved or under discussion, pending litigation, and the gap between what the association’s policy covers and what your own policy must cover. Units on the third story or higher are excluded from the radon disclosure (420 ILCS 46/20).

Two- to four-flat purchases

A two-, three-, or four-unit building is still residential property under the Illinois disclosure statute, so the seller’s report, the radon disclosure, and for pre-1978 buildings the lead disclosure apply as they would to a house. What differs is that you may be buying a building with tenants in it. We recommend asking early for copies of the current leases and a list of tenant deposits, so the purchase contract says how they are handled at closing.

Earnest money and the escrow account

Whether you keep or lose the deposit is decided by the contract, not by a general rule. The deposit is usually at risk when a deadline passes without the written notice the contract requires. When a broker holds it, Illinois rules require deposit in a special account by the next business day and release on closing or termination, on written direction from all parties, under a court order, or under the contract after 14 days’ written notice. If there is a dispute, the broker holds the money (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.750). When a title company holds the deposit, the terms of that escrow agreement control.

Title, the loan Closing Disclosure, and transfer taxes

The title commitment shows what the insurer requires before it will issue the policy and what it will leave out of coverage. We read both lists and push to clear the requirements before closing, not at the closing table.

If you are buying with a closed-end consumer mortgage loan, the lender must ensure you receive the Closing Disclosure no later than three business days before the loan is consummated (12 C.F.R. 1026.19(f)(1)(ii)(A)). Three changes restart that period: the annual percentage rate becomes inaccurate, the loan product changes, or a prepayment penalty is added (12 C.F.R. 1026.19(f)(2)(ii)). We go through the Closing Disclosure with you as soon as it arrives.

Illinois taxes the privilege of transferring title to real estate (35 ILCS 200/31-10). When the deed is presented for recording, or within three business days after the transfer, whichever is earlier, a transfer declaration signed by at least one seller and one buyer, or their attorneys or agents, must also be presented (35 ILCS 200/31-25). Chicago imposes its own transfer tax. As a rule, the city portion falls on the buyer and the CTA portion on the seller (Chicago Mun. Code 3-33-030). The city also requires a full payment certificate for water and sewer charges in transfers. If one is not obtained, seller and buyer are jointly and severally liable for what is owed (Chicago Mun. Code 11-12-530).

The closing explained for first-time and first-generation buyers

If you are the first in your family to buy a home, the closing may be the first time you see these documents. Before closing we go through every document you will sign, what it means, and what obligation it creates: the note, the mortgage, the Closing Disclosure, and the transfer declarations. We tell you what to bring and what to ask if something does not match the deal.

Our recommendation on wires: before sending closing funds, call the title company at a number you already know and confirm the instructions. Do not rely on payment instructions that arrive or change by email.

How a closing runs at Lincoln Square Law

You send us the signed contract, and we confirm the attorney-review deadline in writing. Abdul Kadir Mohamed, the founding attorney, licensed in Illinois and Missouri with fifteen years of legal practice, reviews the contract and explains your options before any response goes out. You decide what to ask for, we draft and negotiate, and the same attorney stays on the file through closing. If your matter falls outside our practice, we say so plainly and warn you in writing about any deadline.

Common questions about Chicago home closings

Is the five-day attorney-review period set by Illinois law?

No. It is a contract term. Chicago-area forms such as the Multi-Board contract include it, and its length, how days are counted, and how notice is given depend on the form you signed.

What if the seller gives me the disclosure report after we both sign?

If the report discloses a material defect, you may terminate within five business days after receiving it and get your earnest money back. The right ends when the property is conveyed (765 ILCS 77/40).

Can I back out after the inspection?

That depends on the inspection clause in your contract and on whether notice is given on time and in the required form. Outside the contract’s deadlines, backing out can cost you the deposit. That is why we read the clause on day one.

When will I see the final numbers on my loan?

For most purchase mortgage loans, the Closing Disclosure must reach you no later than three business days before the loan is consummated (12 C.F.R. 1026.19(f)).

What should I ask for when buying a condominium?

The Section 22.1 resale package described above. Ask for it as soon as the price is agreed, because the association has 10 business days to respond (765 ILCS 605/22.1).

How is the fee for a closing set?

Real estate consultations are not free, and the fee is set per closing based on the transaction. We quote the fee in writing before we start.

Related resources

General information only; not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.