Home Sale Law in Illinois

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

While there are no laws in Winnetka, 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.

Some Winnetka, Illinois real estate brokers charge a flat fee, but most take a relatively small percentage of the sale price of a house they help a client sell.

Getting a Mortgage in Winnetka, 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 situations, 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

In addition to disclosing any material facts the buyer directly inquires about, most "latent defects" in a house or other piece of property should be disclosed whether the buyer asks or not. Typically, any defect that the seller knows about and that the buyer can't be expected to discover through a reasonable inspection, it has to be disclosed.

As a buyer, you should be aware that you have some obligations in this area, too. Buyers are expected to be diligent. Failure to do so might prevent the buyer from recovering in a lawsuit.

Thus, 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 Winnetka, Illinois Real Estate Attorney help?

If you are buying a home in Winnetka, Illinois, there are probably things you want to focus on other than paperwork and required inspections, such as the process of moving in, checking out schools, etc. A brilliant real estate attorney can make it much easier to focus on the aspects of home ownership that matter to you.