Purchase and Sale of Real Estate
In Illinois most people use a real estate lawyer when purchasing a home. Although it would be natural to think that it is more expensive than in states where attorneys are not normally used, the opposite is generally true. States that use attorneys generally have much lower title insurance costs and other fees due to competition among insurers for the attorneys repeat business. Other states often have rates set by the state which are usually much higher. Lenders often tack on very high fees to unrepresented buyers and often sellers.
A real estate attorney will help you negotiate your contract which will include terms that will protect you in your purchase. You will be able to have the home inspected prior to being fully commited to purchase the property and can negotiate to have needed repairs completed prior to the purchase. He will assure that you obtain marketable title, that there are no survey problems, that certain items such as property taxes are properly prorated, that government requirements are met, as well as a host of other issures that must be addressed in a real estate transaction.
Buying a Home
In most real estate transactions the seller does not know an attorney and merely goes with whichever attorney the real estate agent puts on the contract. That attorney may know very little about real estate closings and may know even less about real estate law. He might not be experienced in negotiating transactions. We recommend that you work with an attorney who has extensive dealings with real estate law and real estate transactions. Often the non-expert will be more expensive than the expert because he is already given the transaction and does not compete for that type of business on a regular basis. Go with the experienced.
Selling a Home
In Illinois the seller is generally responsible to make sure that marketable title is transferred to the purchaser. Most real estate attorneys are agents for one or more title insurance companies and receive part of the title insurance fee for checking the status of the title and clearing title issues. Because of this the attorneys fee for handling a sale is often very small, in the neighborhood of $300. to $500. for properties of average value. The sellers attorney must comply with local requirements such as obtaining zoning certificates, municipal transfer tax stamps, lien removal, tax prorations, and a large assortment of other issues that come up in almost all transactions. These are often time consuming tasks that are done behind the scene in order to provide for a smooth closing of the transaction.
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