Flipper/Rehabber · Madison, WI · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 14 votes
Hey BP, I was answering a few questions for friends of mine who are buying a house in Illinois. They informed me that the sellers agent told them they can't buy a house without an attorney in IL!
Can someone recommend an attorney I can refer my friends to? The property is in Lake Bluff, but they've been looking around Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills, Highland Park, or similar, which is in Lake County.
(I did quick research, but I can neither confirm nor deny the requirement to have an attorney to buy a house in IL. What is the REAL answer anyway?)
Having bought and sold dozens of homes in Illinois I have never closed using an attorney. Most of the legal work is taken care of at a title company. It has been a while but the standard charge was $75.00 for legal prep work. The actual closing charges were handled by the title company.
That being said, your friends were told this by the seller's agent. Is she warning them about something? First time home buyers should always have an attorney they trust.
@Luke Aubut The buyer is not required to have an attorney, but it's heavily recommended. There are enough moving parts on closing day, it helps to have an attorney to review everything is correct at the closing table.