What Does a Real Estate Attorney Actually Do When You Buy a Home in Illinois?

Your Broker Helps You Buy the Home. Your Attorney Helps Protect the Legal Side of the Transaction.

If you're buying your first home in Illinois, there's a good chance someone will eventually ask:

“Who's your attorney?”

For some buyers, that question comes as a surprise.

Why do you need a real estate attorney?

What exactly do they do?

Isn't that what your real estate broker is for?

Your real estate broker and attorney are both important members of your homebuying team—but they have very different jobs.

At AED Realty, we help buyers navigate the real estate side of the transaction. Your attorney represents you on the legal side.

And in Illinois, your attorney can become involved very quickly after an offer is accepted.

It Starts With the Contract

When a seller accepts your offer, you're entering into a contract to purchase real estate.

That's a significant legal agreement.

The contract establishes things like the purchase price, earnest money, financing terms, closing date, possession, inspection rights, included personal property and various contingencies.

Depending on the contract being used, it may also provide an opportunity for attorneys to review and propose modifications to certain terms.

This is commonly referred to as attorney review.

Your attorney reviews the contract from a legal perspective and represents your interests during that process.

That's different from your real estate broker's role.

We can help you understand the real estate terms of an offer, develop an offer strategy, negotiate business terms and manage the transaction.

But your broker isn't your lawyer.

When a question requires legal advice or interpretation of your contractual rights and obligations, that's where your attorney comes in.

What Happens During Attorney Review?

Attorney review can sound more intimidating than it usually is.

It doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem with the contract.

Think of it as an opportunity for the attorneys involved in the transaction to review the agreement and address legal issues or proposed modifications.

Your attorney may communicate with the seller's attorney about contract language, timing, possession, inspection matters or other issues relevant to your particular transaction.

Exactly what can be addressed during attorney review depends on the contract and the circumstances.

That's why buyers shouldn't assume attorney review is simply a generic grace period during which anything in the deal can automatically be changed.

The contract controls the process.

Your attorney can explain exactly what the attorney-review provisions in your contract allow.

Your Attorney and the Home Inspection Often Work Together

The home inspection and attorney review periods may overlap.

Your inspector's job is to evaluate the physical condition of the property and report what they observe.

Your real estate broker can help you understand the transaction context surrounding those findings.

Your attorney handles the legal and contractual side of any inspection-related requests or negotiations.

Suppose an inspection identifies an issue with the roof, electrical system, plumbing or another component of the home.

The next question isn't simply:

“Did the inspector find something?”

It's:

“What do we do about it?”

Depending on the contract, the nature of the issue and your objectives, your attorney may become involved in communicating inspection requests or negotiating how an issue will be handled.

This is a good example of why your homebuying team works together.

The inspector identifies the condition.

The broker helps you understand the real estate context.

The attorney handles the legal implications and contractual response.

Your Attorney Reviews the Title

Buying a home isn't just about acquiring a building.

You're acquiring legal ownership of real property.

Before closing, title work is performed to determine ownership and identify certain matters affecting the property.

A title commitment can reveal things such as mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, restrictions and other recorded matters affecting title.

Your attorney reviews the title commitment and can address title issues that need to be resolved before you purchase the property.

This part of the transaction isn't particularly exciting.

There usually aren't beautiful listing photos involved.

But it's extremely important.

You don't just want the keys to the house.

You want to know you're receiving the ownership interest you're supposed to receive.

What About the Survey?

Depending on the property and transaction, a survey may also be part of the closing process.

A survey can show property boundaries and may identify things such as improvements, easements or potential encroachments.

Your attorney can review the survey along with the title information and help address legal issues that may arise from it.

For a buyer, this can become particularly important when there are questions involving fences, garages, driveways, additions or other improvements near property lines.

Your Attorney Watches the Contractual Deadlines

A real estate contract contains deadlines.

Attorney review.

Inspection.

Financing.

Closing.

And potentially others depending on the transaction.

Missing a contractual deadline can have consequences.

Your attorney helps monitor the legal deadlines and contingencies that apply to your transaction.

Your broker is also monitoring the transaction from the real estate side.

This is another reason communication among the buyer, broker, attorney and lender matters so much.

A real estate transaction has a lot of moving pieces.

Someone shouldn't discover two days late that an important deadline passed.

Your Attorney Can Help With Possession Issues

Most buyers expect something simple:

Close on the house.

Get the keys.

Move in.

Often, that's exactly what happens.

But not always.

Sometimes a seller needs to remain in the property for a period after closing.

In other circumstances, possession may need to be structured differently.

When possession doesn't occur in the normal way, additional legal considerations can arise involving occupancy, insurance, utilities, responsibility for damage and what happens if someone doesn't leave when expected.

Those aren't issues to solve with a handshake.

Your attorney can explain the risks and prepare or review the appropriate agreement.

Your Attorney Reviews the Closing Figures

There are a lot of numbers involved in a real estate closing.

Purchase price.

Earnest money.

Loan proceeds.

Taxes.

Credits.

Fees.

Prorations.

Title charges.

Other adjustments.

Your attorney reviews the applicable closing figures and can help explain how the contractual and legal adjustments are being handled.

Property taxes are particularly important in Illinois transactions because taxes may be prorated between buyer and seller at closing.

The exact calculation and treatment depend on the contract and transaction.

Then Comes Closing

Eventually, all of the work leads to closing.

By that point, your financing should be ready, title matters should have been addressed, contractual requirements should be satisfied and you've typically completed your final walkthrough.

At closing, there will be documents to review and sign.

If you're financing the purchase, there will also be loan documents from your lender.

Your attorney represents you through the legal side of the closing, reviews documents and helps ensure the transaction is completed according to the contract.

And then comes the document everyone actually cares about:

the one that gets you the keys.

What Doesn't Your Attorney Do?

Understanding the attorney's role is easier when you also understand what your attorney isn't there to do.

Your attorney isn't your home inspector.

They aren't determining whether the furnace has another ten years of life left.

They're not your lender.

They aren't deciding whether you qualify for the mortgage.

And they're not replacing your real estate broker.

They aren't searching the MLS for your next house, scheduling showings, analyzing comparable sales with you or developing your offer strategy.

Each professional has a different role.

The best transactions happen when those roles complement one another.

Your Broker and Attorney Should Be on the Same Team

A buyer shouldn't feel like they're responsible for carrying messages among five different professionals who never communicate.

At AED Realty, we view the attorney as part of the transaction team.

When appropriate, we're communicating with the attorney, lender, inspector and other professionals involved so everyone understands where the transaction stands and what needs to happen next.

There will still be conversations that happen directly between you and your attorney because your attorney represents you and provides legal advice.

But from a transaction-management standpoint, communication matters.

Everyone should be working toward the same goal: getting you to a successful closing while protecting your interests along the way.

When Should You Choose Your Real Estate Attorney?

Ideally, before you urgently need one.

The Illinois State Bar Association recommends involving a qualified real estate attorney early and notes that consulting an attorney before signing a purchase document can help buyers understand the agreement they're entering into.

From a practical standpoint, we like buyers to have an attorney identified before an offer is accepted whenever possible.

That doesn't mean your attorney needs to be involved in every showing.

It means that when the right property comes along and the transaction begins moving quickly, you already know who you're calling.

Instead of:

“Our offer was accepted! Does anyone know an attorney?”

you can move directly into the next stage of the transaction.

How Do You Choose a Real Estate Attorney?

Real estate is its own area of practice.

The attorney who prepared your will, handled a business matter or helped with something unrelated may be an excellent lawyer—but that doesn't necessarily mean residential real estate transactions are a regular part of their practice.

Consider asking potential attorneys about their experience handling residential purchases in the area where you're buying.

You can also ask about their fee structure, how communication is handled, who in the office will be working on your transaction and what their representation generally includes.

If you don't already have a real estate attorney, your broker may be able to provide names of attorneys who regularly handle real estate transactions.

The choice of attorney, however, is yours.

A Real Estate Attorney Isn't Just There for Closing Day

It's easy to picture the attorney as the person sitting next to you while you sign documents at closing.

But much of the attorney's work happens before you ever reach the closing table.

Contract review.

Attorney review.

Inspection issues.

Title.

Survey.

Contingencies.

Possession.

Tax prorations.

Closing documents.

Potential problems that hopefully get resolved before they become bigger problems.

Much of that work happens behind the scenes.

And that's really the point.

By the time you're sitting at the closing table, many of the legal details have already been addressed.

Buying a Home Is a Team Sport

There isn't one person responsible for every part of a home purchase.

Your real estate broker helps you find and evaluate the property, develop your offer strategy, negotiate and navigate the transaction.

Your lender handles the financing.

Your inspector helps you understand the property's physical condition.

Your insurance professional helps protect the property.

And your attorney protects your interests on the legal side of the transaction.

Understanding those roles makes the entire process a lot less confusing.

At AED Realty, our job isn't simply to help you find a house.

It's to help you understand the process, know what's coming next and make sure the right professionals are involved when you need them.

Explore our Buyer Resources to learn more about Inspection & Attorney Review, Earnest Money, Appraisals, Mortgage & Financing Basics, and the rest of the Illinois homebuying process.

Clarity. Strategy. Execution.

This article provides general information about residential real estate transactions in Illinois and is not legal advice. Contracts and individual transactions vary. Buyers should consult their own licensed Illinois attorney regarding their contract, legal rights and specific circumstances.