# How Buying a Home Actually Works in Illinois

**The 17-Point Close.** The file system my office runs on every purchase and sale: 17 checkpoints from signed contract to keys, each with a deadline and an owner. This page publishes the full buy-side board. The system page at https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/home-closing-guide/ explains the whole machine. The seller's guide is at https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/home-selling-guide/.

By Justin Abdilla, Illinois Real Estate Attorney, ARDC #6308444. Updated August 2026.

## The Timeline: Every Clock in Your Purchase

Day 0 is the Date of Acceptance. The contract becomes binding when all parties sign it and deliver it. That date goes in the DATE OF ACCEPTANCE field, and nearly every deadline runs from it. Send the contract to your attorney the day you sign.

| Checkpoint | 8.0 Paragraph | Deadline | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnest money | 3(b), 27 | Negotiated business days after acceptance | The seller can call a default |
| Attorney review | 13 | 5 business days after acceptance | The right is waived; the contract stands as signed |
| Inspection notice | 15 | 5 business days after acceptance (lead paint: 10 calendar days) | Inspection rights are waived, with no grace period |
| Review and inspection resolution | 13(c), 15(b) | 10 business days after acceptance | Either party may terminate by notice |
| Loan application | 8 | 10 business days after acceptance | The seller gets 5 business days to terminate |
| Condo document application | 17 | Seller applies within 10 business days after acceptance | The package arrives late and the closing slips |
| Insurance evidence | 9 | 10 business days after acceptance | The insurance contingency is waived |
| Termite report, if initialed | 16(a) | Seller delivers within 15 business days after acceptance | The buyer's 5 day response clock starts only on receipt |
| Financing Contingency Date | 8 | Earlier of 45 days after acceptance or 5 business days before closing | The contingency evaporates; the buyer must close or default |
| Well and septic, where applicable | 16(b) | Reports delivered 10 business days before closing | Repairs run late and the closing slips |
| Survey | 21 | 1 business day before closing, dated within 6 months | Boundary problems surface with no time to cure |
| Closing | 5, 25, 29 | The paragraph 5 date; a non-business day rolls forward | Material breach; paragraph 29 shifts attorney fees to the winner |

## The 17 Buyer Checkpoints

Most firms treat their checklist as a trade secret. I publish mine. Paragraph numbers are from the current Multi-Board 8.0 form.

1. **Earnest money paid and receipted** (paragraphs 3(b), 27). The escrowee holds your deposit in trust for both parties. If the deal dies, the money moves only by joint written direction, court order, or the paragraph 27(a) procedure. Forfeiture is never automatic, and a clean contingency termination returns your deposit.
2. **The contractual close date, calendared** (paragraphs 5, 25, 29). The date moves only by mutual written agreement. Time is of the essence, so a missed date is a material breach.
3. **Attorney review and inspection, run together** (paragraphs 13 to 16). Five business days after acceptance. Your attorney can approve, disapprove, propose modifications, or send a subparagraph (d) proposal that survives rejection. Silence waives the paragraph. My review letter demands: taxes prorated at 105% of the last full bill, an added appraisal contingency, disclosures incorporated with a termination right, a seller representations rider, and a damages cap at the earnest money. The inspection runs on the same five days. If nobody initials a paragraph 15 alternative, the default is 15(a), a total waiver of inspections. Never attach the inspection report to the notice. All notices obey paragraph 28.
4. **Condo and HOA documents plus the Paid Assessment Letter** (paragraph 17). The seller applies for the 22.1 package within 10 business days. You have 5 business days after receipt to void on three grounds. The PAL is not the whole package.
5. **Mortgage and appraisal** (paragraphs 8, 9, 10). Apply for the loan within 10 business days or the seller can terminate. The Financing Contingency Date is the earlier of 45 days after acceptance or 5 business days before closing. The form has no standalone appraisal contingency; I add one in review.
6. **Title** (paragraph 20). The seller delivers an ALTA title commitment with extended coverage. Only harmless covenants and easements, and taxes not yet due, are permitted exceptions. Insuring over is not always a real cure.
7. **Survey** (paragraph 21). A staked Plat of Survey, dated within 6 months, no less than 1 business day before closing. Condominiums are exempt.
8. **The file is scheduled to close** (paragraph 5). My office coordinates the lender, the title company, and both attorneys against the closing date.
9. **Deed and figures** (paragraph 18 sets the deed standard). Recordable Warranty Deed, homestead released. My office checks the prorations and the Closing Disclosure against the contract.
10. **Transfer stamps, final utility bills, and municipal compliance** (paragraphs 18, 19, 12). The seller pays state and county stamps. Municipal transfer taxes follow the local ordinance. Utilities prorate on final meter readings.
11. **The broker commission breakdown, verified** (office practice). I compare the commission figures on the closing statement against the brokerage agreements.
12. **Post-closing possession escrow** (paragraph 35). If the seller stays after closing: an escrow at closing, 2% of the price by default, a daily charge that triples for every day past the Possession Date, and liability not capped at the escrow.
13. **Home warranty, if bargained for** (paragraph 33). A prepaid third-party policy with prepayment evidence at closing. Never a substitute for an inspection.
14. **Sale-of-buyer's-home contingency and the kick-out clause** (paragraphs 31, 32). Your notices have hard deadlines. A kick-out notice comes to you personally. You waive only with a written waiver plus additional earnest money by cashier's or certified check, inside an hours-long window.
15. **Well and septic, where applicable** (paragraph 16(b)). Seller-paid tests, reports dated within 90 days of closing, delivered at least 10 business days before closing.
16. **Cook County only: the tax history check** (office practice). My office pulls the bill history and screens exemptions you cannot inherit out of the proration.
17. **Chicago only: the Department of Buildings FOIA request** (office practice). My office FOIAs the city's file on the building to surface permits and violations the disclosures missed.

Checkpoints you may not need: a cash buyer skips checkpoint 5, a condo buyer skips 7 and 15, and checkpoint 17 applies only in Chicago.

## What actually happens during attorney review? Can my lawyer really change the contract after I signed it?

Yes. Paragraph 13 lets either attorney propose changes to anything except the price, within five business days. A proposal does not void the contract. The parties negotiate the proposals, and a signed letter becomes a binding rider. You approve the final terms before anything is signed on your behalf.

## Can my attorney get me a credit at closing instead of repairs, and which is better?

Yes. My inspection demand always offers a menu: licensed repairs with paid receipts, a lump-sum credit, or a price reduction. Credits are usually better for you. You control the quality of the work, and nobody argues later about a patch job. Overreaching repair lists are dangerous under 15(c), because a repair request there hands the seller a termination right.

## Can we change the closing date, or even the closing time, after signing?

Yes, by mutual written agreement, and only that way. Paragraph 29 makes time of the essence. My review letter handles date and time logistics up front so nobody scrambles later.

## What is the 105% tax proration my attorney keeps insisting on?

Illinois taxes are paid in arrears. The bill you get this year covers last year, and bills rise. A proration at 100% of the old bill shortchanges you as the buyer. My letters demand 105% of the most recent full-year bill, with a re-assessment rider for properties in the pipeline.

## The seller has a senior exemption on the tax bill. Does that shortchange my credit?

Yes. An exemption-laden bill understates the true tax, and you cannot inherit the seller's exemption. My office strips exemptions you cannot keep out of the proration math before the demand goes out. The credit you receive at closing then reflects the tax you will actually pay.

## What if the appraisal comes in below my purchase price?

The 8.0 form gives you no appraisal protection on its own. The fix happens in attorney review. I add an appraisal contingency, or we use the Appraisal Addendum from the paragraph 37 list. With the contingency in place, a short appraisal becomes a renegotiation, not a lost deposit.

## I bought as-is. Can my attorney still do anything about a bad inspection?

Usually, yes. Under the as-is paragraph, I declare the condition unacceptable and propose swapping in the standard inspection paragraph through review. The deal stays alive, and the exit stays open. An as-is clause is not a muzzle when the review window is still running.

## Which inspection findings will a seller almost always fix, and which will they refuse?

Sellers agree to statutory and safety items: smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, electrical hazards, and similar. Sellers refuse cosmetics and comfort upgrades. I know because I write both letters. Demand the safety items as repairs and price everything else into one credit.

## Can I make the seller use a licensed contractor and prove the work was done?

Yes. My standard demand is repairs by licensed tradespeople, with paid receipts delivered before closing. The receipts prevent patch jobs and lien exposure. A seller who agrees to a repair gets held to it in writing.

## What paperwork should the seller hand over on a condo, and can I cancel over it?

The full 22.1 package plus the Paid Assessment Letter. You have 5 business days after receiving the documents to void on the three paragraph 17 grounds. Your notice must list the deficiencies. The PAL alone is not the package.

## Who pays a special assessment the association passed before my closing?

The seller pays regular assessments due before closing and special assessments confirmed by the board before the Date of Acceptance. Merely proposed assessments are the litigated line. My letters demand that known special assessments be disclosed and quantified. The seller pays them off in a lump sum at or before closing.

## Can my attorney make the seller answer for things an inspection cannot catch?

Yes. That is the seller representations rider you demand through review. The rider makes the seller state in writing: the untestable systems work, no defects hide behind paint or wall hangings, no water intrusion history exists, all improvements were permitted, no open code violations or municipal liens exist, and the insurance claim history is available on request. A false representation is a claim after closing. An inspection only sees what is visible on one afternoon.

## Why do I need a recent survey, and what if the fence is over the line?

The survey is where the legal record meets the dirt. Paragraph 21 requires a fresh, staked Plat of Survey. An encroaching fence or driveway becomes a paragraph 20 title objection. The seller must cure it, or the price adjusts. Without the survey, you inherit the problem blind.

## The seller wants to stay after closing. What does it cost them if they do not leave?

Paragraph 35 puts an escrow behind the promise, 2% of the price by default. The seller pays a daily charge, and the charge triples for every day past the Possession Date. Liability is not capped at the escrow. The escrow makes leaving cheaper than staying. That is the design, and it protects you.

## If the deal falls apart during attorney review, do I get my earnest money back?

Yes. A termination under paragraph 13 is not a default. The money comes back by joint written direction or through the paragraph 27(a) procedure. Do not ignore an escrowee's 14 day disbursement notice, and do not assume the money moves automatically. Somebody must run the procedure, and my office does.

## Four Traps That Cost Buyers Real Money

- The unchecked inspection box. If nobody initials a paragraph 15 alternative, the default is 15(a): a total waiver of inspections. Check the box before you sign.
- Never attach the report. Do not send the inspection report with the notice. The contract forbids it unless the seller's side requests the report in writing.
- The day-one rule. Get the contract to your attorney the day you sign it. Late delivery burns the five day review window.
- The wire fraud rule. Never wire funds on emailed instructions. Call the title company at the number on its letterhead and verify first. Funds wired to a criminal are almost never recovered.

## From My Files: The Appraisal Contingency Added in Review

A recurring pattern, not a specific matter. The 8.0 form has no appraisal contingency, and the buyer waives nothing by signing. My review letter adds the contingency. Weeks later, the appraisal comes in short. Without the added clause, the buyer chooses between overpaying and losing the deposit. With it, the parties renegotiate the price, and the deposit is never at risk. The deal survives because the letter planned for the miss.

## What to Expect, Week by Week

I promise process, not outcomes. By the end of week one, you know the contract's real terms. By business day 10, the deal is negotiated or dead cheaply, with your deposit protected. By around day 45, the financing question is resolved. At the closing table, you are never surprised, because every figure was checked before you sat down.

## The Investment

My buyer fee is $500 flat, plus $150 per unit for a multi-unit building. The fee covers the whole arc, from attorney review through closing. The consultation is free. Call (630) 839-9195.

## The Clock Is Already Running

The attorney review window is 5 business days from the Date of Acceptance, and it does not pause. Silence waives it. If you signed today, the clock is already running.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is attorney review and how long do I have?

Attorney review is a five business day window. Paragraph 13 of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract creates it. The clock starts on the Date of Acceptance and runs on business days only. In the window, your attorney can approve the contract, propose changes to it, or disapprove it. Silence waives the right, and the contract stands as signed. Send the contract to your attorney the day you sign it.

### Do I need my own attorney if the realtor recommends one?

You can hire any attorney you want. The realtor's pick may be a fine lawyer. But the realtor gets paid only if the deal closes, and referrals flow to lawyers who close deals. I answer only to you. If the right move is to walk away, I tell you to walk away. The choice of attorney is always yours.

### What does a real estate attorney cost for a home purchase in Illinois?

My buyer fee is $500 flat, plus $150 per unit for a multi-unit building. The fee covers the whole arc, from attorney review through closing. Many attorneys bill by the hour, and an hourly closing can pass $1,000. The consultation is free.

### Can I get out of the contract after signing?

Yes, inside the deadlines. Your attorney can disapprove the contract during the five business day review window. The inspection contingency gives you a second exit. The mortgage contingency and the condo document review add more. Every exit has a deadline and a notice requirement. Miss the deadline and that exit closes. A clean termination under a contingency returns your earnest money.

### What is The 17-Point Close?

The 17-Point Close is the file system my office runs on every purchase and sale. It breaks the deal into 17 checkpoints from signed contract to keys. Each checkpoint has a deadline and an owner. This page publishes the full buy-side board, with the correct Multi-Board 8.0 paragraph behind each checkpoint.

Cite as: Justin Abdilla, "How Buying a Home Actually Works in Illinois (The 17-Point Close)", https://thechicagolandlawyer.com/home-buying-guide/