Real Estate Law · DuPage County, Illinois
Residential and commercial closings handled with care from contract to keys, so the details are covered before you sign.
FSBO sales work — when handled properly. The savings are real (commission on a $500,000 home is $25,000-30,000), and many sellers handle the marketing, showings, and negotiation themselves. What you can’t easily replace is the legal infrastructure: the contract, the disclosures, the title coordination, the closing.
We’ve represented FSBO sellers across DuPage County for decades. Many of our FSBO clients are repeat sellers — landlords selling investment properties, downsizing retirees who don’t want to pay commission, family members selling to each other, and savvy homeowners who’ve sold before. We handle everything except the showings.
Everything a realtor’s broker side would do, except the marketing.
Custom purchase contracts using Illinois standard forms — properly drafted to protect you as seller.
Complete the Residential Real Property Disclosure and any local disclosures (DuPage radon, Chicago lead, etc.).
We hold buyer’s earnest money in attorney trust — providing the third-party escrow a realtor would normally provide.
Order and review the title commitment, resolve any title issues, work with title company through closing.
Respond to buyer’s inspection demands, draft amendments, negotiate credit-vs-repair decisions.
Attend closing, review all documents, verify the net sheet, ensure clean title transfer.
Listing-side commission (typically 2.5-3%) goes to you, not a realtor. Buyer’s side may still apply if buyer has an agent.
We draft a binding Illinois contract — not an internet template. Properly drafted protects you.
We hold deposits in attorney trust account — the same protection a realtor would provide.
Title commitment review and curative work — what would normally be done through the realtor channel.
Illinois has specific seller disclosure requirements. Getting them wrong creates post-closing liability.
When the buyer has their own attorney (which most do), we negotiate effectively from your side.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
Yes — homeowners can sell their own property without using a realtor. There’s no legal requirement to list with a brokerage. Standard contracts and disclosures still apply.
Listing-side commission is typically 2.5-3% of sale price. On a $500,000 home, that’s $12,500-15,000. If the buyer has a realtor, you may still owe buyer’s-side commission. Our fee for FSBO representation is a small fraction of the savings.
Yes — buyer’s agents work on FSBO listings all the time. You typically agree to pay the buyer’s-side commission (2.5-3%) in the listing — still saving the listing-side commission.
Without a realtor, the buyer’s earnest money typically goes to one of the attorneys’ trust accounts. We can hold it as seller’s attorney. The contract specifies who holds it and the release conditions.
Standard part of our FSBO representation. We walk through the Illinois Disclosure Report with you, explain what ‘known material defects’ means, and help you complete it accurately.
Generally no — MLS access is limited to licensed agents. Some flat-fee MLS services exist where you pay a small fee to be listed. We can advise on which work in your area.
We handle the legal side from contract to keys — you save the commission and still get full attorney representation.