Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

An attorney would need to review the offers and counter offers to give you an answer. Generally, if the counter offer was made by crossing a line through the purchase price and changing it to the $55,000 on the original offer, then nothing else in the buyer's offer would be changed.

If you have an attorney, you should ask this question of him or her. If you do not, you should retain a real estate attorney to represent you. This likely is one of the biggest financials transaction of your life. While the real estate agent and lender may indicate they are looking out for you, only your attorney is ethically bound to represent only you.

I agree with Attorney Moens. The contract must be formed in writing. So, if the only thing that was changed in the counter-offer was the price, then your counter included everything else left in the contract document. Once accepted, a contract was then formed.

Have an attorney look through everything. You should have an attorney for closing anyway. A real estate transaction, as you are learning, is not something to take lightly. Also, if this just occurred, you may have an "attorney review" provision in the contract that gives you a few days to address matters about which the attorney advises you, probably including this error. In my experience, a good real estate attorney's fees are often recaptured with errors caught in closing figures and credits or in knowing where to obtain good real estate services at a reasonable price.

Finally, if you were given legal advice by a real estate agent or discouraged from using an attorney, perhaps there are other claims that a litigation attorney would consider.

I agree w/ Mssrs. Moens & Repay. It all depends what what changed on the face of the contract. If the broker is really the listing agent and is acting as a "dual agent" he or she should still be able to explain what the change does but you are encouraged to get your own counsel.