We appreciate the opportunity to represent you in your real estate purchase.

Following are some specifics regarding your purchase that you need to be made aware of.

• Check the personal property provision on the Contract to be sure that it is correct.
• Most contracts call for a Home Inspection to be completed within 10 days of the contract acceptance date.  Check to make sure how many days your contract has been written for.  Please contact us with regard to any items that need to be addressed once you receive the inspection report
• Some contracts call for a mortgage commitment to be obtained within a certain number of days.  Check to see how many days you have to secure a mortgage.
• Some contracts call for a home sale contingency, which require that you have a contract to sell your home within a certain number of days (usually 60) and a closing date within a certain time frame (usually 60 days).  Double-check these dates if you have not yet sold your home.

All of these above dates are important, and if you cannot meet any of these dates we need to be advised in advance, so that we may request an extension on your behalf.

• We need to know the name of the lender you are working with, the contact person, and telephone number.  When you receive your mortgage commitment please examine it carefully to make sure that all of the requirements of your lender are met, at or prior to closing.  It is not uncommon for lenders to require documentation regarding income tax returns, credit card payments or proof of the source of your down payment.  You should also make sure that your new insurance policy conforms to your lender's instructions, in particular, with regard to the coverage for your lender as an additional insured.
• It will be necessary for you to bring a certified or cashiers check to closing and we will advise you of the amount as soon as we can obtain it, which usually is the day before closing.
• You will need to bring your drivers license to closing, or some other form of photo I.D.

Illinois recognizes three ways in which a husband and wife can hold title to property.

• JOINT TENANCY:
  • This is the most common form of ownership in Illinois
  • Each tenant owns an undivided equal interest in the subject property
  • Has the right of survivorship
    • When one tenant dies, the remaining tenant (or tenants) continues to retain an undivided right in the property which is no longer subject to the interest of the deceased co-tenant.  The deceased tenant's share passes to the remaining tenant (or tenants) and does not pass through his or her estate.

     

• TENANCY BY ENTIRETY:
  • Carries the right of survivorship
  • Can only be used between husband and wife and neither spouse/tenant can obtain partition or defeat the right of survivorship of his/her spouse/co-tenant
  • Must be created by a specific grant indicating that title is to be held by husband and wife not as joint tenants and not as tenants in common, but as tenants by the entirety.
  • The tenancy endures as long as the husband and wife remain married.  In the event of divorce, the ownership of the property will be converted by law into tenancy in common.
  • Cannot be partitioned without mutual consent.
  • Cannot be subject to sale in satisfaction of judgment entered after October 1, 1990 unless the judgment is against both spouses.
    • This would protect the homestead property in the case of a malpractice action against a spouse in his or her professional capacity.
    • The only exception to this general rule is that the property can be sold if it is to satisfy a tax obligation in favor of a governmental unit.

• TENANCY IN COMMON:
  • Least common form of ownership
  • No right of survivorship
  • Each owner has a distinct proportionate undivided interest in the property which is freely alienable by lifetime and testamentary transfer.
  • Upon the death of the tenant, his or her share does not pass to the surviving tenant, but instead passes by succession to the person or persons named in the deceased tenant's will or the the beneficiaries of the deceased tenant's intestate heirs.