Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Re: Hiring a Real Estate Lawyer

In the case of a refinance, very few people use the services of an attorney. That is not done, because the property is not changing hands. In the case of a purchase, it is important to have counsel because there are many issues to address: how to hold title, the accuracy of the survey and the title work, the obligations of the purchase and sale contract and more. As it is the largest purchase that most people make, it is likely to be among the most important contracts that they will enter into. If you have specific questions, I can be reached at 630-257-8280.

Re: Hiring a Real Estate Lawyer

You should be aware that most standard contracts are not written by attorneys, rather by real estate associations. It is vital to get an attorney to help you navigate the contractual language and ensure that it is suited to your intentions regarding your purchase/sale. Changes can be made to a standard contract in the initial few days after acceptance exactly for this reason. An attorney is vital to ensuring documents are correct and acceptable in all aspects of the sale and can even help you understand the lender's requirements, etc. An attorney can guide you through what changes may be necessary to better protect you. The protection ensures that you do not bump into major problems down the line. Prevention is one of the key jobs for an attorney. Preventing problems rather than coming in after the fact and trying to correct/litigate them can potentially save you thousands of dollars. Many sales do go smoothly and according to plan, however, there are many that do not.

Re: Hiring a Real Estate Lawyer

Even though a purchase/refinance may appear simple, it can become complicated quickly. A lawyer will not only protect your interest and make sure that you are not paying too much for vendor services (title insurance, points, etc); a lawyer will also help to limit your risk by documenting problems that the seller should handle and/or pay for. Many transactions that do not involve lawyers don't go "bad" until after the deal is done. By that time the Seller has the money and is generally unresponsive to any requests to take care of items that should have been discussed, documented and resolved prior to closing. Post closing resolution may cost much more that the $300 -$500 that you would pay an attorney to represent you in a purchase/refinance transaction.