The home sellers FAQ

From the sales, not from hope: recently closed homes of the same type, size and condition near yours, adjusted for what makes yours different. Online estimates are a starting rumor; the closed comparables are the evidence, and we walk you through them line by line so the number is yours, not ours.

Realistic pricing is also strategy. The best offers almost always land in the first two weeks, so a price that draws people in that window beats one you plan to reduce later.

The big lines: the brokerage compensation you negotiate, the seller side of transfer taxes (0.15% to the state and county everywhere in Illinois, plus 0.30% inside Chicago), your attorney, the owner’s title insurance policy that Illinois sellers customarily provide, a survey if it is a house, and a credit to the buyer for property taxes you have accrued but not yet been billed for.

Our closing costs guide itemizes every line with real numbers, and before you list we prepare a net sheet: the sale price with every cost subtracted, down to the check you walk away with.

By a listing agreement you sign with us through Fulton Grace before anything begins, at a rate we agree on together. There is no set or standard commission; it is negotiated, in writing, up front. You will also decide whether to offer compensation to a buyer’s broker, and we will lay out the trade-offs of each choice before you pick.

Spend where buyers look first: paint, light, the front door moment, small repairs that read as neglect if left undone. Skip the big renovation; you will rarely get the kitchen money back on the way out. We walk the home room by room and give you the shortest list with the biggest effect, including the advice to do nothing where nothing is needed.

Two clocks run in sequence. Days on market before a contract depends on price, season and how the home shows; well-priced homes here commonly go under contract in the first few weeks. Then contract to closing commonly runs four to six weeks with a financed buyer, faster with cash. We will show you the current pace for homes like yours rather than quote a citywide average.

A short window after signing, typically five business days, when each side’s attorney can propose changes or cancel. It is standard in Illinois, it is why the contract you sign is not quite final, and it is where a good attorney earns the fee. Our contract guide walks the whole document, clause by clause.

Illinois requires a written disclosure report covering material defects you know about, and separate lead paint paperwork for older homes. The rule of thumb that never fails: when in doubt, disclose. It is the law, and it also removes the one lever a buyer could use against you later.

Negotiation, not automatic obligation. The buyer can ask for repairs, credits or a price change; you can agree, counter or decline, and either side can walk if no deal is reached inside the window. Most inspection asks settle as a modest credit, which is cleaner than scheduling contractors before a move.

Cook County bills taxes in arrears, meaning this year’s bill arrives next year, so at closing you credit the buyer for the stretch you owned but will never be billed for. The contract sets it as a negotiated percentage of the most recent bill, commonly around 100 to 110 percent. It looks like a big line on the statement; it is really just your share of a bill that was always coming.

Usually not. Illinois sellers commonly pre-sign the deed and paperwork with their attorney a day or two ahead, and the attorney handles the closing table. If you have already moved, everything can be done remotely; tell us early and we will set it up that way.

One page that turns the sale price into your actual check: price, minus the negotiated brokerage line, transfer taxes, attorney, title, survey, the tax credit to the buyer, and your mortgage payoff. We prepare one before you list and update it with every offer, so you are always comparing checks, not prices.

The title company requests an exact payoff from your lender, good through the closing date with interest counted per day, pays it directly out of the sale proceeds, and records the release. You do not make the last payment by hand; it is settled inside the closing itself.

Two stacks of paperwork: the association’s disclosure package for the buyer (budget, rules, minutes, any planned special assessments) and a paid assessment letter proving you are current. Condos skip the survey, and the buyer’s lender will send the association a condo questionnaire. We order everything early because associations move on their own calendar.

Yes, and the lease rides along: it binds the new owner until it ends. Chicago’s notice rules for tenants apply on timing, so the order of operations matters. Investors often prefer a building with a paying tenant; owner-occupant buyers need possession, so which buyer you court shapes the plan. Bring us in before you decide anything.

Then the net sheet is the whole conversation, before photos, before listing, before hope gets involved. Sometimes the answer is to wait a year, sometimes renting the home out pencils better, and sometimes the number works after all. We will run all three with real figures; our rent vs. buy calculator handles the middle one.