Author: Zach Shepard

How Long Does a Real Estate Contract Last Chicago

How Long a Real Estate Contract Really Lasts

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Signing takes four seconds. The promise you make can follow you for most of a year, and sometimes past the date the paper says it ends. Sellers call me every week asking if they’re stuck with an agent, a buyer, or an offer that stopped making sense. Most of the time they aren’t stuck the … Continued
Selling a House with Foundation Problems Chicago

How to Sell an Illinois House with Foundation Problems As Is

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Selling a house with foundation problems in Illinois is harder than most owners expect. I buy houses in this state, and foundations are the top reason a seller calls me after a listing falls apart. Why Does Traditional Listing Fail for Homes with Foundation Problems? That collapse seldom starts with a buyer losing interest. The … Continued
Can You Sell a House with Asbestos Chicago

Can You Sell a House with Asbestos in Illinois

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Walk into a 1948 bungalow anywhere from Berwyn to Belleville, and there’s a good chance the walls or floors hide asbestos. It could be wrapped around the basement pipes or tucked under the kitchen linoleum. That doesn’t make the house unsellable, or even unusual. Can you sell a house with asbestos in Illinois? You can. … Continued
How Much Do Realtors Charge to Sell a Property in Illinois

How Much Do Realtors Charge to Sell a House in Illinois

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A seller on the Southwest Side once told me she’d knocked eight thousand dollars off her asking price to move faster. Then she signed a listing agreement without reading the commission line twice. Her commission ended up costing more than double that price cut. Illinois homes sold at a median of $338,000 in July 2026, … Continued
Can You Sell a House As-Is Without an Inspection in Chicago

Can You Sell a House as is Without Inspection

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Yes, you can sell a house as-is without an inspection. Nobody can force you to hire a home inspector before you sell. No state board demands it, and neither does your agent nor the county. Plenty of sellers hear that an inspection is a required step in a real estate transaction. For the person selling, … Continued
Selling a House With Mold Issues in Illinois

How to Sell a House with Mold Problems in Illinois

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Musty basements are practically an Illinois tradition. Freeze, thaw, April rain, and clay soil that cups water against a foundation like a cereal bowl: our housing stock takes moisture abuse that Sun Belt houses never see. So an inspector types the word mold into a report, and half the sellers I meet panic. The rest … Continued
Tips for Selling a Hoarder House in Illinois

How to Sell a Hoarder House Fast in Illinois for Cash

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Two hundred contractor bags came out of a brick bungalow on the Southwest Side before anyone found the kitchen floor. The family had already spent four months arguing about where to begin. Across Illinois, I keep seeing the same pattern. The house isn’t the hard part, the deciding is. Cleanout crews clear a house in … Continued
How to Sell a Home in Foreclosure in Illinois

How to Sell a House in Foreclosure in Illinois: A Complete Guide

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A foreclosure summons is not an eviction notice. It’s the opening page of a lawsuit, and lawsuits in Illinois take time. Lenders started the foreclosure process on 1,150 Illinois properties in May 2026 alone, the fifth-highest count in the country according to ATTOM’s May 2026 foreclosure report. Plenty of those homeowners had real equity and … Continued
Typical Home Staging Costs In Illinois

How Much Does It Cost to Stage a House in Illinois

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Staging costs in Illinois swing wider than most sellers expect. An occupied three-bedroom in Peoria and an empty colonial in Winnetka get quoted on completely different scales, and the gap has almost nothing to do with square footage. What you’re really paying for is furniture that arrives on a truck, plus every month it sits … Continued
Can You Sell a Home With a Mortgage in Illinois

Can You Sell a House With a Mortgage in Illinois?

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A family in Plainfield called me on a Tuesday. Three months behind on their mortgage. An auction date already circled on the calendar. A garage full of the previous owner’s tools they’d never gotten around to clearing out. They were sure they’d run out of options. What they wanted to know was whether you can … Continued
Do sellers pay closing costs in Illinois

Does a Seller Pay Closing Costs in Illinois

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Most sellers I talk to think closing costs are the buyer’s problem. They picture a check, a handshake, and someone else sorting out the paperwork. That idea costs them real money. I’ve watched sellers lose tens of thousands at the closing table. Nobody walked them through their own side of the ledger first. Who Pays … Continued
Average Time To Sell A House in Illinois

How Long Does It Take To Sell A House In Illinois

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Somebody told me once that selling a house is just like selling a car. You put it out there, get an offer, sign some papers, and walk away. After buying hundreds of homes around Chicago, I can tell you that advice is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. So, how long … Continued
Process of Filing a Quitclaim Deed in Illinois

How to File Quitclaim Deed in Illinois

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Most people who pick up a quitclaim deed form at the county counter have never heard of the state transfer declaration. You finish that one online before the recorder touches your paperwork. That missing step sends more Illinois filers home empty-handed than anything else. Filing a quitclaim deed isn’t complicated. It has more moving parts … Continued
sell-your-chicago-house-fast

Out-of-State Heirs Sell Chicago Inherited Home As-Is With No Commissions | Fay’s Story

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Watch Fay’s Chicago Home Sale Testimonial Selling an Inherited House in Chicago From Out of State Selling an inherited house in Chicago can become complicated when multiple heirs are involved—especially if family members live in different cities or states. Coordinating decisions between siblings or relatives often requires clear communication and agreement on the best way … Continued
Distressed Chicago brick building purchased as-is by Braddock Investment Group

Can I Sell My House As-Is Without Repairs?

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Yes — you can sell your house as-is without making any repairs. You are not legally or practically required to fix anything before selling. The real question isn’t whether you can sell as-is. It’s whether you should — and that depends entirely on your situation, your timeline, and what you’re trying to accomplish. This guide … Continued