Richard B. Taylor, Attorney at Law

Notes for Home Buyers

NOTES FOR HOME BUYERS

HIRE AN ATTORNEY!: Your lender, Realtor and title company have their own jobs to do. Their interests and your interests are not the same. The only job your attorney has is to PROTECT YOU and to look out for YOUR BEST INTERESTS! This will probably be the largest investment you will make in your life. Retain an attorney prior to signing a contract to purchase. If you are working with a Realtor, chances are their standard contract has an "Attorney's Approval Clause" that will permit your attorney to make changes (except the purchase price) after you have signed the contract. However, this can cause a problem. In contract law, a request to change any part of the contract constitutes a counteroffer. If the change (counteroffer) is not accepted then the contract will be null and void. In the event the sellers have changed their mind about the transaction they could either refuse to sell you the real estate or try to change other parts of the contract that had already been agreed upon. In other words, you no longer have a binding agreement, you will be back to square one and everything could be open to negotiations again. By making the necessary changes to the contract before you sign you reduce the risk of reopening your contract to negotiations. Mr. Taylor can usually review your contract the same business day. He is very familiar with the contracts used by the local Realtors and is normally able to make whatever changes are necessary to protect your interests in a short period of time.

DISCLOSURES: The Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act requires a seller to provide a buyer a signed Residential Real Property Disclosure Report prior to the acceptance of a contract to purchase. This document must disclose to the buyer any and all material defects, known hazards, and problems with the basic structure, heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems. If a problem is listed on this statement it does not mean that the seller must repair or replace the problem. The buyer may request that the problem be repaired, replaced or that buyer be given a credit at closing to take care of the problem themself. Failure to disclose defects on the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report may result in legal action by the buyer seeking damages against the seller. Some communities require the seller to have an inspection done by one of its own inspectors. An inspector will come out to the house to checks for defects and compliance with the communities building code. Any violations my need to be repaired prior to closing. The community may withhold the issuance of a transfer stamp which may be necessary to close the transaction. You should call the municipality to find out if there is an inspection requirement. The seller will also be required to fill out a Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards. Again, buyer and seller will have to sign this disclosure. If the seller has used a realtor to market their house they will have these forms available. If not you should demand the disclosure prior to signing any contract to purchase.

CONDITION OF PROPERTY: If you are unaware of what to look for during the viewing and inspection of the real estate you should hire a professional home inspector or have friend or relative, that may be knowable in this area, to check out the real estate for you. Normally their fee will run aware from $250.00 to $500.00. Make sure you have an inspection clause in your contract and you order the inspection within the proscribed time limit. Most inspections clauses usually only cover major components of the real estate, such as, heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems, walls, roof, windows, ceiling, floors, appliances and foundation. A major component shall be deemed to be in operating condition if it performs the function it was designed to do. Just because the system may be at the end of its useful life will not render it defective. Minor repairs and routine maintenance are usually not covered by the inspection contingency clause. Depending on the condition of the property, age and/or location, you may what to obtain a radon, environmental, lead-based paint or a termite inspection. Depending upon the type of problem(s) that is/are discovered during an inspection will determine if you will be able to negotiate the repairs or credit to correct the problem(s). Unless the home is brand new there will be some types of problems. Ah, the joy of home ownership!

LENDER REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION: If you are wanting to close the sale of your new home within a 30-45 day period you will have to provide income tax returns, employment verifications, bank accounts, and any other documents and information that your lender requires of you as soon as possible. This will speed up the loan process in order for you to obtain a mortgage commitment. Make sure you keep track of the time limit you have to obtain a WRITTEN mortgage commitment. Your contract will have a specific time when your mortgage contingency clause is up. It is possible that if the time limit to obtain a mortgage has passed and you do not get approved for a mortgage you could be liable for sellers' damages incurred in the resell of the property.

HOME OWNERS' INSURANCE: Your lender will require you to purchase a homeowner's insurance policy in order to close the sale. You will be required to pre-pay the policy in full for one year. You must bring the a homeowners' insurance policy and receipt to closing. Have your insurance agent to call the lender in order to get the correct information for the mortgage clause and any other addition insurance may be needed. Have your insurance agent fax the policy and receipt to the lender. In the event you are buying a condominium, most likely the condominium association will already have insurance on the building, but only on the building. The condominium association's insurance will not cover any interior contents.

FINAL INSPECTION: Prior to the closing call your Realtor, if a Realtor was not involved in the sale, then the owner to arrange for a final inspection of the property. Ideally, the inspection should occur just before the closing time and when the sellers have vacated the house. Most contract call for the house to be in a broom clean condition, trash free and in the same condition it was in on the date of the contract, with the exception of ordinary wear and tear. Check your contract if it provides otherwise.

LENDER REQUIREMENTS AT CLOSING: Call your lender prior to closing and ask if there are any additional documents that you will need to bring to closing.

UTILITIES: A few days prior to closing you should notify all utilities providers of the change of service and/or final readings, IE: gas, electric, phone, water, sewer, cable, direct TV, DSL providers and trash disposal. Do not forget to contact the postoffice, credit cards, newspapers and magazines of your new address.

CLOSING FIGURES: Exact closing figures are usually not available until the business day before the closing. Once they become available, your attorney will calculate the amount you will need for closing and call you with that information. Please let your attorney know how to reach you the day before closing.

PAYMENT AT CLOSING: In the event that you have to bring more money to the closing a title company normally will only accept a Cashier's Check. As such, make the Cashier's Check payable to yourself. In the event that the closing does not go through you only need to sign the back of the Cashier's Check and deposit back into your bank account. Title companies will also accept money wire transfers. If you plan on a wire transfer to fund the closing make sure you let your attorney know well in advance in order to set up the transaction. Sometimes buyers may not find out exactly how much money they need to bring to closing until they actually show up at the closing. In this case the buyer could bring a Cashier's Check in an amount in excess the best guess estimate. Any additional funds will be refund by the title company by way of a check. Most title company will take a personal check up to $500.00. They usually do not like to deal in cash and will only take minimal amounts of cash. In the event you are selling a house and using those proceeds to buy another house, a title company will accept another title company's proceeds check to fund the new purchase.

IDENTIFICATION: Make sure you bring some form of a picture identification with you to closing IE driver's license, state ID, passport etc. The mortgage, note, affidavits, etc will have to be notarized by a notary and they will have to be provide identification to do so.

Servicing clients in the following cities and towns in Will County: Beecher, Bolingbrook, Braidwood, Channahon, Crest Hill, Crete, Custer Park, Elwood, Forest Park, Frankfort, Homer Glen, Joliet, Lockport, Manhattan, Mokena, Monee, New Lenox, Peotone, Plainfield, Preston Heights, Rockdale, Romeoville, Shorewood, University Park, Wilmington, and Wilton Center.
DuPage County: Addison, Aurora, Bartlett, Batavia, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook, Burr Ridge, Carol Stream, Chicago, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, Glen Ellyn, Hanover Park, Hinsdale, Itasca, Lemont, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Roselle, Schaumburg, St. Charles, Villa Park, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago, Westmont, Willowbrook, Winfield, Wood, and Woodridge.
Cook County: Alsip, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Barrington Woods, Bartlett, Bedford Park, Berwyn, Blue Island, Bridgeview, Broadview, Brookfield, Buffalo Grove, Burbank, Burnham, Burnside, Calumet City, Calumet Park, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Chicago Ridge, Cicero, Country Club Hills, Countryside, Crawford Countryside, Crestwood, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Elmwood Park, Evanston, Evergreen Park, Flossmoor, Forest Park, Forest View, Franklin Park, Glencoe, Glenview, Glenwood, Golf, Hickory Hills, Hillside, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Inverness, Kenilworth, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lemont, Lincolnwood, Markham, Matteson, Maywood, Melrose Park, Midlothian, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Norridge, North Northfield, North Riverside, Northbrook, Northfield, Northfield Woods, Northlake, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Oakglen, Olympia Fields, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palatine, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Park Forest, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Richton Park, River Forest, River Grove, Robbins, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Skokie, South Barrington, South Holland, Steger, Streamwood, Tinley Park, University Park, Western Springs, Wheeling, Willow Springs, Wilmette, and Winnetka.
Kane County: Allens Corners, Almora, Aurora, Bald Mound, Barrington Center, Batavia, Big Rock, Bowes, Burlington, Campton Hills, Carpentersville, Coleman, Dunham Castle, East Dundee, Elburn, Elgin, Exposition View, Five Island Park, Fox River Estates, Geneva, Gilberts, Hampshire, Kaneville, Lily Lake, Maple Park, Marywood, McQueen, Meredith, Middlebury, Montgomery, Mooseheart, North Aurora, North Plato, Nottingham Woods, Novak Park, Pingree Grove, Plato Center, Rainbow Hills, Richardson, Saint Charles, Scraper-Moecherville, Sleepy Hollow, South Elgin, South Park, Starks, Sugar Grove, Troxel, Udina, Valley View, Virgil, Wasco, West Dundee, Woodland Hills, Youngsdale.