Home Buyer Attorney in St. Charles & the Fox Valley

What We Negotiate for Buyers During Attorney Review

• Closing and possession: dates that match your lease end, rate lock and moving plans, and what happens if the seller holds over.
• Credits and inclusions: seller credits toward closing costs, and exactly which appliances, fixtures and window treatments stay.
• Appraisal and financing: how a low appraisal is handled and whether the mortgage contingency dates fit your lender’s real timeline.
• Association approvals: for townhomes and condominiums, time to review the budget, rules and any pending special assessment.
• Sale of your current home: if you need to sell first, whether and how that contingency is written.

Inspection Requests That Hold Up

A buyer’s inspection report often lists dozens of items. The request to the seller should focus on defects the contract allows you to raise, and should say clearly whether you want a repair, a credit or a price change. In the Fox Valley we routinely see radon results, older electrical panels in the river towns, and, in Campton Hills and unincorporated Kane County, private wells and septic systems that need their own testing. If the parties cannot agree, the contract sets out what happens next, including when the buyer can terminate and recover earnest money.

Buying New Construction

Builders in growing parts of Kane County usually use their own purchase agreement, not the Multi-Board form. These contracts often limit attorney review, set large non-refundable deposits for upgrades and restrict the buyer’s remedies for delay. We review the agreement, the limited warranty, the change-order process and the closing conditions before the deposit goes hard.

Buyer Costs and Local Stamps

In Illinois the state and county transfer taxes are customarily paid by the seller. A few towns charge the buyer a city stamp:

• St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia: title-industry lists show no city transfer stamp; the buyer starts City utility service, which in all three towns includes electric.
• Naperville: buyer pays $1.50 per $500 of purchase price.
• Wheaton: buyer pays $2.50 per $1,000 of sale price.
• Aurora: the City’s $3.00 per $1,000 stamp is listed as a seller cost.

Buyers also typically pay for the lender’s title policy, recording of the deed and mortgage, and escrows for future taxes and insurance, and receive a credit from the seller for property taxes that have accrued but are not yet billed.

After You Close

Illinois property taxes are paid a year in arrears, so the exemptions you file after buying show up on later bills. Kane County owners apply through the Kane County Assessment Office. Part of St. Charles lies in DuPage County, and owners there file with DuPage County instead.

Related Pages

Start with our Illinois home buyer’s guide and the free first-time home buyer guide. Read the earnest-money guide and our post on the NAR settlement changes. Town pages: St. Charles real estate attorney, Geneva real estate attorney, Batavia real estate attorney, Aurora real estate attorney and Elgin real estate attorney. Selling too? See our home seller attorney page.

Attorney Advertising. This page is general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every transaction is different, contract forms and local rules change, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact an attorney about your specific situation.