Home Sale Law in Illinois

The decision to buy or sell a house, or other piece of real property, is very important. For most, it's one of the most crucial financial decisions of their life.

While there are no laws in South Holland, Illinois against individuals buying or selling real estate on their own, this is rarely the best way to go, given the many legal issues surrounding the sale of property.

Accordingly, many people decide to go through a real estate broker when they're buying or selling a house. A real estate broker is a professional who serves as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. They can make the process much easier, helping deal with the tedious details and formalities.

In South Holland, Illinois, brokers usually receive compensation in the form of a percentage of the sale price of the home.

Getting a Mortgage in South Holland, Illinois

First and foremost, if a buyer asks any question of the seller relating to physical defects in the property, the seller must, under all circumstances, be as truthful as possible. In this case being "as truthful as possible" means answering such questions to the best of your knowledge, and making reasonable efforts to find the answers if you don't know them. Lying in this case is very bad idea, and will expose you to serious civil penalties

Furthermore, most defects should be disclosed even if the buyer doesn't directly ask about them. Generally, defects which must be disclosed are those which are known to the seller, and which the buyer cannot be expected to find through a regular inspection.

Buyers, however, are not off the hook in this matter. If they ignore defects that they could have easily discovered, they probably won't be able to recover for them.

Therefore, buyers must inspect the property before they buy it. If they don't, they can't sue for any defects they later become aware of, if an inspection would have revealed those defects.

Can a South Holland, Illinois Real Estate Attorney help?

As you can imagine, there are many more legal and financial issues that can affect the outcome of a real estate transaction. However, buying a house is also a very exciting time for most people. A good South Holland, Illinois real estate attorney can help you focus on the positive aspects, and avoid dealing with the most difficult and tedious (but nonetheless necessary) aspects.