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Selling a home can be a stressful process, but once a buyer has made an offer and agreed to buy your house, the end of the process is in sight. However, there are still a variety of issues which may need to be resolved and matters which will need to be settled before the sale is complete. Here are 10 things you should take care of as you complete your residential real estate closing:

1. Address home inspection issues - The buyer will pay for a home inspection, which may uncover a variety of issues that they may ask you to correct or repair. You can preempt some of the issues by having your own home inspection completed prior to listing. This will give you an idea of the issues that may be raised later or minor issues that you can resolve prior to accepting an offer. Be sure to complete any agreed repairs prior to the date of closing and provide paid receipts to show that the required work has been done. 
2. Review the property survey - The standard Illinois contracts require the seller to provide the buyer with a survey of the property. If you have an existing survey, you should be sure to review this survey to make sure that the boundaries of the property are defined correctly and there are no issues that may arise with the new survey. Some buyers, especially in cash deals, will accept the existing survey, if no new improvements have been made. 
3. Get ready for the final walkthrough - Buyers will typically visit the home prior to closing to check the property and make sure repairs have been done. Be sure everything has been taken care of before this walkthrough and make sure no unexpected issues arise. If necessary, you may need to address issues the buyers find or negotiate a payment for problems they discover.
4. Review your settlement - Your closing documents will include a seller’s closing statement detailing the money being paid and received. Be sure to review this statement for accuracy including the payoff amounts of any of your loans or mortgages.
5. Bring documentation to closing - At closing, be sure to bring your photo ID, the paid receipts for repairs, and any information the buyer will need, such as codes to security systems.
6. Resolve last-minute details - If something is not in the same condition at walkthrough as it was when the offer was accepted, that item will need to be resolved at the closing table, or the closing may need to be postponed.
7. Be prepared to pay closing costs - You will typically be required to pay for certain items, such as commissions for real estate agents, outstanding property taxes or utility bills, and related fees, including title fees and attorney’s fees. Your realtor or attorney should inform you of the exact amount that you will need to pay at closing.
8. Transfer utilities - Utilities should be kept active until after the closing, at which point you can transfer service to the buyer.
9. Cancel homeowner’s insurance - Once closing is complete, you can cancel your homeowner’s insurance policy. You may receive a refund for any remaining months which you have already paid.
10. Keep your paperwork in a safe place - Be sure to keep all of the papers from the closing in a place where you can easily access them in case any questions or issues arise.

Contact a Riverwoods Residential Real Estate Attorney

If you have any questions about the processes followed during your home closing, or if you need an attorney’s assistance when selling your home, contact a Kenilworth real estate lawyer at Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC. Call our office at 847-934-6000 to schedule a consultation.

Sources:
https://www.homelight.com/blog/closing-checklist/
https://www.zillow.com/sellers-guide/closing-on-house-for-seller/
https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/what-to-expect-at-the-closing/

When purchasing real estate property, most homeowners obtain a mortgage, which provides them with certain legal protections, including in the case of foreclosure. However, following the financial crash of 2008, many potential homeowners have purchased homes through installment contracts (also known as rent-to-own agreements), allowing them to live in their home and pay down the purchase price over time.

These types of agreements provide low-income homeowners or those who are unable to qualify for a mortgage with the ability to purchase their own home. However, since the seller retains the title of the home until all payments have been made, some predatory sellers may use rent-to-own agreements to take advantage of buyers, especially if they fail to disclose issues related to property maintenance or building code compliance.

Changes to Illinois Law Regarding Installment Contracts

On January 1, 2018, a new state law went into effect that is intended to provide buyers with protections in an installment sales contract (often referred to as an Installment Contract for Sale of Real Estate, Articles of Agreement for Deed, or Installment Agreement for Deed). The Illinois Installment Sales Contract Act applies to sellers who sell three or more residential real estate properties in a single year, and it does not apply to agricultural property that is larger than four acres. The law contains the following new provisions:

- A seller must record a contract with the county recorder of deeds within 10 days of the sale of the property. If the contract is not recorded, the buyer can rescind the contract, and the seller must provide them with a refund of all payments made.

- A contract must contain a statement in large, bold type that informs the buyer of their right to obtain a home inspection and/or appraisal from a third party before signing the contract.

- If a building on the property has been condemned, the contract must contain a statement in large, bold type informing the seller of this fact.

- A contract must include a statement of what repairs the buyer is responsible for making to the property. The seller is responsible for making any repairs not included in this statement.

- If a buyer defaults on any payments, they have 90 days to make payments and cure the default before the seller can bring any action against them. If a buyer cannot cure the default, the seller must refund them any money they spent to perform repairs on the property.

- If a buyer defaults after paying at least 20% of the property’s purchase price, the seller must follow foreclosure procedures in order to evict the buyer from the property.

Contact an Inverness Real Estate Attorney

If you are planning to use an installment contract to buy or sell a home, an experienced attorney can review your contract to ensure that your rights are protected and that the correct legal procedures are followed. To schedule a personalized consultation, contact a Mount Prospect real estate lawyer at 847-934-6000.

Sources:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3813&ChapterID=62
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/100/PDF/100-0416.pdf
https://www.isba.org/ibj/2017/10/lawpulse/newlawprotectsrealestatepurchaserswhobuy

In any real estate transaction, there are a variety of legal issues that can arise that will affect the parties’ ability to complete the sale. If there are any encumbrances on the property, they will restrict the owner’s ability to transfer the title. Mechanic’s liens are one type of encumbrance that people may not be aware of, and property owners should be sure to understand how these liens can affect them.

Mechanic’s Liens in Illinois

A mechanic’s lien can be placed on a property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier if they were not paid for improvements which were made to the property. This could occur because a contractor was not fully paid for the work they did or because a contractor failed to pay a subcontractor or supplier. A mechanic’s lien is a cloud on title that must be resolved before the property can be sold or refinanced.

In Illinois, a contractor must file a mechanic’s lien within four months after the work was completed. A subcontractor must record a lien within 90 days of the date that they last worked on the property. A claim must include a statement of the work performed according to the contract, the amount due to the claimant, and a description of the property. A claimant must file a lawsuit to foreclose on the lien within two years after the completion of work. If the lawsuit is successful, the claimant will be entitled to receive the amount due, as well as interest at the rate of 10% per year.

Subcontractors must meet some additional reporting requirements before they can file a mechanic’s lien. Within 60 days after commencing work on the property, they must provide a notice to the property owner specifying the name and address of the subcontractor, the type of work to be performed or the materials to be provided, the date work began, and the name of the contractor who hired the subcontractor. 

A mechanic’s lien can be removed when the claimant releases the lien, usually after receiving payment. If a claim has been filed, but a lawsuit has not been commenced, a property owner can serve notice to the claimant requiring them to file a lawsuit within 30 days, and if the claimant fails to do so within that period, they will forfeit their rights to the lien.

Contact a Schaumburg Real Estate Attorney

If you need help resolving issues related to mechanic’s liens or other encumbrances during a real estate transaction, the attorneys of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC can help you meet your legal requirements and work with you to complete your transaction successfully. Contact our Rolling Meadows real estate lawyers today at 847-934-6000 to arrange a personalized consultation.

A key to the development of a successful business is finding the best possible location in which to set up your company. This is especially true when the nature of the company necessitates that the customer visit the business space. In order to obtain space, it is common for a company to enter into a commercial lease. Business owners should be aware of issues related to commercial leases when it comes time to negotiate and agree to the lease agreement.

What to Look for in Commercial Leases

A commercial lease is a contract between a business and a landlord for the rental of space in a building. Importantly, property is zoned for specific purposes, which may differ from what the landlord is advertising the space for or what the previous tenant used the space for. A property can be zoned for different types of uses, such as residential, commercial, or industrial. What the property is zoned for will determine the type of activities that can be conducted in the rental space. For example, the Schaumburg zoning ordinance divides the village into zones or districts and places restrictions on permitted uses within those designated areas. Therefore, a property owner should check with the local zoning authority to determine what the space is zoned for.

The length of a commercial lease is an important issue to resolve. For a business in its initial stages, the risk of failure is high. As a result, entering into a lengthy lease term is usually not advisable, particularly if the agreement contains an acceleration clause. An acceleration clause gives the landlord the ability to request the entire unpaid rental amount for the remainder of the lease term. A long lease term puts the company at the risk of being obligated to pay a substantial amount of money for space that it is no longer using.

For new businesses, negotiating for shorter lease terms with several renewal options can help address the possibility of the business failing. Another great option is to negotiate for an escape clause that frees the business from the rental agreement in the event the business fails. Alternatively, longer lease terms may be perfectly suitable for more established businesses. Longer lease terms can be helpful because the location of the rental space can provide value, particularly if customers frequently visit, as, for example, in the case of a restaurant or retail store.

Other Issues

Some other issues that should be addressed in the lease agreement include:

1. 1. The right to place signs in and/or on the rental space;
2. 2. Whether common areas or facilities (like restrooms) can be accessed by employees and customers; and
3. 3. Whether parking areas can be used by employees and customers.

If these issues are not specifically addressed in the agreement, it is likely they will require the consent of the landlord, which may not be granted. Therefore, it is important to resolve these issues before entering the agreement.

It is important to keep in mind that these are only a few of the considerations when negotiating a commercial lease. If you are in the process of searching for commercial space, contact an experienced Illinois commercial real estate attorney today. Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC represents clients in locations such as Inverness, Palatine, and Schaumburg.

About the Author: Founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC, Colin Gilbert, received his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of law in 2005. Colin argues cases across many practice areas including criminal defense, collections, civil litigation, real estate law, and corporate law. Colin is an active member of the Board of Governors of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association and the Illinois Creditors Bar Association. He is currently Vice President of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, and is a Commissioner for the Village of Arlington Heights. Colin has a 10.0 Attorney rating on Avvo, and was named one of the 2014 “Top 40 Under 40” Trial Lawyers in Illinois by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

A new rule goes into effect on August 1st that will make major changes in the way that real estate closings occur. The new rule was promulgated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and is known as the TILA RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID). The TRID Rule alters the way that financial disclosures work in the context of mortgages. Previously, lenders had to use four separate disclosure forms. They had to provide Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosure forms to loan applicants within three days of receiving the person's application. They also had to provide a Housing and Urban Development disclosure form and another TILA disclosure form three days prior to closing. The new rule combines these four documents into two: a loan estimate and a closing disclosure.

The Loan Estimate

The loan estimate acts as a combination of the Good Faith Estimate and the first TILA disclosure. Like the old documents, it still must be given to the loan application within three days of receiving the application. The loan estimate is a three-page document that includes a variety of information about the potential costs of the loan to the consumer. The first page includes general information such as the loan amount, the interest rate, and the payment schedule. The second page includes a detailed layout of the costs that the loan recipient will be responsible for at closing. The final page contains more miscellaneous information about the loan. This page includes things like metrics for comparing the loan with other offers, as well as other information such as late payment fees and appraisal rules.

The Closing Disclosure

The other new document created by the TRID rule is the closing disclosure, which combines the Housing and Urban Development settlement statement, along with the other TILA disclosure. Like its predecessor documents, the lender must still deliver the closing disclosure at least three days before the closing. The closing disclosure form is longer than the loan estimate form and contains more information. The first page of the disclosure is similar to the loan estimate form, and contains general information about the loan. The next page details the specific loan costs that the borrower is paying. The third page is an update to the closing costs from the loan estimate, highlighting any changes. The final two pages include other miscellaneous information about the loan, similar to what is on the final page of the loan estimate, but more expansive.

If you are looking to buy a house and want to make sure this high stakes transaction goes off like you are expecting, contact an experienced Illinois real estate attorney today. Our firm serves clients in northwest suburban towns like Arlington Heights, Long Grove, Rolling Meadows, and Barrington.

About the Author: Attorney Jay Andrew is a founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and has been practicing in estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate law, residential/ commercial leasing, contracts, and civil litigation. Since 2005, Jay has been a Chair of the Mock Trial Committee for the Annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitation which serves over 240 local Illinois students each year.

The Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association (“IRELA”), along with a variety of other real estate organizations, maintains a form contract for realtors and their clients to use when selling a home. The IRELA recently released their new version of this, known as the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract version 6.0, and this new contract is now in use. The new version makes a variety of changes to the old 5.0 version, many of which are technical or procedurally based. However, the contract does have some new language of which buyers and sellers should be aware.

The contract now allows for more options when dealing with escrow during the closing. It also changes how professional inspections work, requiring sellers to request portions of inspection reports. The new contract also alters how the timeline for mortgage financing affects the seller’s ability to back out of the deal. Finally, the contract changes the seller's responsibilities as far as disclosing potential issues with the home. Importantly, these are just some of the changes made during the board's updating of the contract. It is important that you consult with a real estate attorney during any real estate transaction to make sure you understand the scope of the new contract.

Version 6.0 Changes

The new 6.0 version of the Multi-Board contract contains a variety of changes from the earlier 5.0 document. First, the 6.0 document contains a new paragraph regarding who holds on to the buyer's earnest money until the closing goes through. In the prior contract, options were only available for the buyer's broker or the seller's broker to manage that. Now, the contract allows for third parties, like title companies, to hold the money in escrow.

The new contract also modifies how buyers can void the contract after a failed inspection. The contract allows buyers to hire professional inspectors to check the house for problems like radon or insect infestations. If the inspectors discover such an issue, then the buyer has the option of voiding the sale contract. However, the new 6.0 version allows the seller to request the portion of the report that the buyer is using as grounds for cancellation.

The updated document also alters the timeline for the buyer to obtain mortgage financing. The old contract used to require a “firm written commitment” from the bank that financing would be forthcoming. However, banks seldom issue such statements quickly, so the new version merely requires the buyer to prove that they have submitted the loan for underwriting by a certain date, and that the bank has given them clearance to close by another date.

The contract also requires the seller to make a variety of representations to the buyer, such as stating that the home is not currently subject to a boundary line dispute. The new 6.0 version of the contract adds extra notification duties to the seller, forcing them to make all the same representations again at closing, which means that any changed circumstances would require an update.

Contact Our Real Estate Lawyers Today

If you are currently looking to buy a new house or another piece of property, contact an experienced Illinois real estate attorney today. At Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC, our team of skilled professionals counsels clients in towns all over the northwest suburbs, including in Arlington Heights, Long Grove, and South Barrington.

About the Author: Attorney Jay Andrew is a founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and has been practicing in estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate law, residential/ commercial leasing, contracts, and civil litigation. Since 2005, Jay has been a Chair of the Mock Trial Committee for the Annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitation which serves over 240 local Illinois students each year.

One common legal instrument that people use to plan their estates is a trust. A trust is a legal entity involving at least three roles: a settlor, a trustee, and a beneficiary. The idea of the trust is that each of these three roles work together. The settlor creates the rules of the trust and provides it with property, and they designate the beneficiary. The beneficiary, like the name suggests, is the person for whom the trust is managed. They derive the benefit of any income or other gains from the trust.

However, between the settlor and the beneficiary lies the trustee. The trustee manages the assets of the trust and uses them in the best interests of the beneficiary as directed by the rules of the trust that the settlor created. This means that the trustee has a variety of duties that they need to fulfill. These trustee duties can be thought of as either substantive or procedural duties. This is not an official classification, and the lines can blur, but it is at least a helpful way to catalog the duties.

Substantive Duties

Substantive duties are those that require the trustee to behave in a certain way. The central example is the duty to administer the trust by the rules the settlor laid out. The trust document will contain a variety of provisions, and it is the trustee's duty to follow them. Another example of these substantive duties is the duty of skill and care. This means that the trustee must manage the trust's assets with reasonable skill and caution. Similarly, Illinois law also imposes a “prudent investor” duty on trustees.

This means that the trustee has the duty to act as a prudent investor of the trust's assets including things like developing a diversified portfolio and actively managing investments as necessary. Trustees working with multiple beneficiaries also have a further duty: that of loyalty and impartiality. The trustee may not favor one beneficiary over the other unless the trust instrument provides some reason for it.

Procedural and Ministerial Duties

Trustees also owe beneficiaries a variety of more procedural duties, which involve the proper formalities of managing the trust. For instance, the law governing trusts in Illinois requires trustees to give annual accountings of the trust's receipts, disbursements, and an inventory of the estate. Trustees also often have duties to provide notice of certain actions such as changes in the trusteeship. This may also include a requirement that the trustee provide the beneficiaries with a copy of the trust instrument for their records.

These are just some of the many duties that trustees owe the beneficiaries of their trust. If you would like more information on the legal ramifications of managing a trust, contact an experienced Illinois estate planning attorney today. Our firm advises clients in many northwest suburban towns like Long Grove, Kenilworth, and South Barrington.

About the Author: Attorney Jay Andrew is a founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and has been practicing in estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate law, residential/commercial leasing, contracts, and civil litigation. Since 2005, Jay has been a Chair of the Mock Trial Committee for the Annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitation which serves over 240 local Illinois students each year.

The suburban Chicago commercial leasing market has seen a slight recovery as compared to the depths of the recession, but the revival appears to be sluggish. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the market currently has an overall vacancy of approximately 24.4 percent. That number is an improvement over the low point of the recession, 25.4 percent in 2010, but it is still a long way off from 2006, during which it fell below 20 percent.

Despite this merely modest improvement, there has actually been a noticeable increase in asking rents, up 12 percent to an average of $21.94. Some experts believe that this rise in asking price relates to the fact that most owners who were in danger of losing their properties have either recovered or gotten out of the market by now. This means that current landholders are more apt to sit and wait than they are to engage in a race to the bottom over prices as they had done in the past. Consequently, hiring an attorney to help negotiate the lease can be even more beneficial.

The Benefits of Involving an Attorney

Both first time lessees and experienced business owners can benefit from investing in a savvy real estate attorney during lease negotiations. Leases are legal documents just like any other contract, and just like many other contracts, they can be filled with dense legalese. Lawyers specialize in dissecting such complex provisions, so that the business owner can be sure they understand exactly what they are agreeing to.

Yet the attorney can add more value than simply translating the lease. Experienced real estate attorneys understand the sorts of provisions likely to appear in a lease. This means that getting an attorney involved early can help negotiations move along more smoothly. Often, business owners, especially those new to commercial leasing, sketch out broad strokes of the lease in negotiations, focusing on key points like price and size of the space. Then, once they feel they have reached a final agreement, the landlord provides the full lease, and the lessee discovers other provisions like janitorial services that the initial negotiations did not cover.

This necessitates reopening negotiations after it appeared that everything had been finalized. Involving a lawyer earlier in the process can prevent such problems from arising. Lawyers with experience negotiating commercial leases can help business owners see the full field of lease terms and allow them to negotiate with confidence.         

Whether you are just beginning to think about buying space or you already have a potential lease ready for review, reach out to an Illinois commercial real estate attorney today. Our experienced team can help analyze your lease and aid you in negotiating the most advantageous deal possible. We serve clients across the northwest suburbs, including in Arlington Heights, Long Grove, and Mount Prospect.

About the Author: Founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC, Colin Gilbert, received his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of law in 2005. Colin argues cases across many practice areas including criminal defense, collections, civil litigation, real estate law, and corporate law. Colin is an active member of the Board of Governors of the Northwest Suburban Bar Association and the Illinois Creditors Bar Association. He is currently Vice President of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce, and is a Commissioner for the Village of Arlington Heights. Colin has a 10.0 Attorney rating on Avvo, and was named one of the 2014 “Top 40 Under 40” Trial Lawyers in Illinois by the National Trial Lawyers Association.

Buying a new home is a complicated task that requires a lot of pieces to fall into place in just the right way. For many people, one of these pieces is the ability to sell their current home. Often, people need to sell their old home first to make sure they have enough cash on hand to afford the new one. Of course, sometimes that is not feasible, and people will want to put an offer down on a new house before they have managed to sell their old one. When this happens, people can use a “home sale contingency” clause in their contract to purchase the new home. In short, a home sale contingency clause voids the contract for the sale of the new house in the event that the buyer is unable to sell their old one.

Types of Home Sale Contingencies

There are two broad types of home sale contingencies that lawyers can build into a contract: a “sale and closing contingency” and a “closing contingency.” The sale and closing contingency is used in the event that the buyer has yet to find a prospective buyer for their own home. Conversely, buyers use closing contingencies when they have a prospective buyer who has made an offer for their home, but the sale has not yet closed. In this instance, the contingency acts as an insurance policy against the sale of the buyer’s home falling through at the last minute. While these two types of clauses function in largely the same way, both of them voiding the sale of the new house if the old one does not sell, the sale and closing contingencies are more likely to include a “kick out” clause.

Kick out clauses are a right of first refusal. They allow the seller to keep searching for other buyers for the house. In the event that one of these other buyers makes an offer, then the seller must notify the first buyer. The first buyer then has some period of time to sell their house or else the seller is allowed to make the sale to the new buyer instead.

Factors to Consider When Using a Home Sale Contingency

Buyers should consider two things when deciding whether to ask for a home sale contingency: the effect it will have on the new home’s price and the other costs of purchasing a house. For the first point, home sale contingency clauses will likely drive the price of the new home up. The buyer is asking the seller to take the risk that the buyer’s old home will not sell, and the seller will likely want compensation for bearing that risk.

For the second point, buyers can still end up sinking other costs into the attempted purchase of the new home. They can end up paying for things like home inspections, appraisal fees, and the like, even before they have sold their old house. In the event that the buyer fails to sell their home, then they have wasted any money spent on such things.

If you are in the market for a new house, find an Illinois real estate attorney to help ensure that you receive strong, fair contracts. We serve towns all across northwest Chicago including Palatine, South Barrington, and Mount Prospect.

About the Author: Attorney Jay Andrew is a founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and has been practicing in estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate law, residential/commercial leasing, contracts, and civil litigation. Since 2005, Jay has been a Chair of the Mock Trial Committee for the Annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitation which serves over 240 local Illinois students each year.

For many first-time home buyers, the process of applying for a mortgage can seem complex. This guide will explain the basics of the process, such as the timeline for applying for a mortgage, the documents that applicants should procure and bring, and the credit score and down payment that applicants should expect.

The Mortgage Timeline

The mortgage process begins with a pre-approval application. The purpose of the preapproval process is to let the bank or lender look into the applicant’s finances, in order to make sure that they can afford a loan. This is when banks ask for most of the documentation. Often they want things such as:

- a list of addresses and landlords;
- a list of previous employers;
- pay-stubs from the previous one or two months, with a person’s year-to-date earnings included as well;
- the last two year’s W-2 forms;
- two months of bank statements for all accounts;
- a list of all debts not on the applicant’s credit report; and
- a list of all other real estate that the applicant already owns.

If the applicant has already found a house that they like, and their offer has been accepted, then the bank will also want the seller’s contact information and a copy of the contract. Being ready to provide these documents can help speed up the mortgage process.

Once a person goes through the pre-approval process and has made an offer on a house, the bank will order an appraisal on it. The appraiser will go through the house and determine the value, and then the bank will take their assessment into account when calculating how large a loan they can offer. Generally speaking, the bank will base their offer on either the appraisal value or the purchase price, depending on which is lower.

After the appraisal, the loan underwriter will look at all the documentation to make sure the loan is a good investment for the bank. From start to finish, the whole process usually takes about four to six weeks on the bank’s end, but timelines may vary, and asking the lender in the beginning may be a good idea.

Credit Scores and Down Payments

In addition to the array of documentation, lenders will also expect borrowers to have good credit scores and money available to make a down payment on the house. The rule of thumb for a conventional loan, according to U.S. News, is that a borrower would need a credit score of at least 650. Conventional loans also require, on average, a down payment of around 20 percent. Borrowers may have an alternative in the Fair Housing Act loan, which is a loan insured by the federal government. These loans offer a 3.5 percent down payment with a 580 credit score, and a 10 percent down payment with a 500 credit score.

If you are going through the process of buying a home, contact an Illinois real estate attorney today. Our team serves people in many northwest suburban areas including Inverness, Barrington and Long Grove.

About the Author: Attorney Jay Andrew is founding partner of Drost, Gilbert, Andrew & Apicella, LLC. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and has been practicing in estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate law, residential/commercial leasing, contracts, and civil litigation. Since 2005, Jay has been a Chair of the Mock Trial Committee for the Annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitation which serves over 240 local Illinois students each year.