Cook County Residential Real Estate Attorney

Chicago Attorney for Buying and Selling Homes

Whether you are an experienced buyer or seller of residential real estate or are seeking to buy your first family home, Whitacre & Stefanczuk LTD can help you deal with confidence. If you have ever witnessed a real estate closing, you have seen firsthand the daunting amount of paperwork involved. What you may not have seen is the work and research that goes into creating those documents.

You should understand everything that you are signing. If you are a buyer, you deserve to make a secure purchase, having all pertinent information about your new property. If you are a seller, you deserve security in knowing that there will be no confusion about what you are selling and no reason for the buyer to later object. The best way to accomplish this is to work with a qualified real estate attorney.

Why a Cook County Real Estate Lawyer Should Perform the Title Search

The title search is a critical step in any real estate transaction, whether residential or commercial. This is how you can find out about any encumbrances on the property, like an outstanding mortgage, a lien, or an easement. It should also reveal whether there could be anyone else with a potential claim to the property. Skipping this step - or missing something during it - could lead to future litigation.

Buyers do not want to find out a year after moving in that they are much more restricted in how they can use their property than they knew at the time of closing. Sellers do not want to get sued by a surprised buyer.

When our lawyers do title searches, we are extremely thorough. We leave no stone unturned and no question unanswered. Our goal is to give you peace of mind.

Law Firm for Deed Drafting and Representation at Closing

Not all deeds are created equal. Some offer far more protections than others. In a quitclaim deed, for example, the seller is not even guaranteeing that they have the right to sell this property. It is best to have your deed drafted by an attorney so that you can be sure of precisely what the deed conveys to you.

Similarly, the rest of that mountain of paperwork you will be asked to sign at closing should be reviewed by a lawyer. You probably do not have the time to fully read over every single document - and even if you did, the way real estate sales contracts are written can be very confusing. Most laypeople - even real estate agents - would need a legal dictionary to get through the first page.

Our attorneys will make sure that you are clear on exactly what you are agreeing to when you sign your documents at closing. It is also helpful to have an attorney with you to make sure everything goes smoothly and avoid any last-minute surprises.

Other Ways Our Chicago-Area Lawyers Can Help You Buy or Sell a Home

Your chances of a successful closing are much higher if you are represented by counsel. During the process of buying or selling a home, deals sometimes fail to get to closing for a number of avoidable reasons. There are different points in the process where problems can pop up, like during inspection.

A lawyer can help you try to resolve these potential issues through negotiation. We can also stop the other party from taking advantage of you in any way, and we can spot a potentially bad deal a mile away.

There are also a lot of smaller deadlines to keep track of once you have placed or received an offer. Having an attorney to help you keep track of everything and provide any support you need to meet these deadlines can be very helpful.

If you are planning to rent out the property, we can also offer you continuing landlord representation. If you struggle in the future, we can help with foreclosure defense as well.

All in all, your residential real estate transaction is likely to be much smoother and safer when you have legal representation.

Contact a Cook County Residential Real Estate Attorney

Whitacre & Stefanczuk LTD is experienced in helping people buy and sell residential real estate in the most secure way possible. Our skilled Chicago residential real estate lawyers can help you at every stage in your home buying or selling process. Contact us online or call 773-622-6100 to receive a free consultation.