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You inherited a house you did not plan on owning.
Inherited property is the most common reason people call us, and it is almost never simple. There is a house full of a lifetime of belongings, siblings in three states with three different opinions, a tax bill nobody has paid, and an estate that has to be opened before anything can be signed.
Probate in Cook County, briefly
The Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County sits at the Daley Center. If the estate needs to be opened, someone is appointed and receives letters of office, and that document is what lets a representative sign a deed. Illinois has both independent and supervised administration, and which one you are in changes whether a sale needs court approval. Small estates below the statutory threshold with no real estate can sometimes use a small estate affidavit, but real estate generally cannot.
Two things make this easier than people expect. First, we can go under contract before letters issue and simply make closing contingent on them. Second, we are patient. If the estate needs four months, the contract waits four months.
We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice. Every estate needs a probate attorney, and we are glad to give you names without any expectation attached.
When the heirs do not agree
The most common version: one sibling lives out of state and wants the money, one lives nearby and has been paying the taxes, and one wants to keep it. A cash offer with a fixed number and a fixed date is often the only thing everyone can agree on, because it removes the argument about what the house might be worth if somebody fixed it up.
We will talk to all of you, together or separately, and we will put the same number in front of everyone. We do not negotiate one heir against another.
The house itself
Leave everything. Furniture, paperwork, a garage full of tools, a basement nobody has been down to in fifteen years. Take the photographs and the things that matter and we handle the rest. If there is something you want held aside, tell us and we will set it apart rather than haul it.
If the property has been vacant, be aware that insurance often will not cover a vacant house, the water may need to be shut off, and Chicago requires vacant buildings to be registered. Those are all solvable, and they are all cheaper to solve early.
Questions we get about this.
If yours is not here, call. We answer these all day.
Can I sell before probate is finished?
You can go under contract before probate finishes. Closing requires whoever signs the deed to have the authority to do it, which usually means letters of office. We write the contract to wait for that.
What if the deed is still in my parent's name?
That is normal and expected. Title will require the estate to convey, or in some cases a small estate mechanism or a surviving joint tenant. Title work sorts out which applies, and we start that on day one.
Do all the heirs have to sign?
If title passed to the heirs directly, generally yes. If an estate representative was appointed, that person signs. Title will tell us which one applies to your property.
Other reasons people call us.
Most sellers are dealing with two or three of these at the same time.
Behind on payments
Delinquent property taxesDelinquent property taxes
Tenant occupiedTenant occupied
Repairs and code violationsRepairs and violations
DivorceDivorce or separation
Relocation and downsizingRelocating or downsizing
Vacant propertySitting empty
Senior living transitionSenior living move
Tell us what you are dealing with.
One address and five minutes on the phone is usually enough for us to tell you whether we can help, and what we would do if we were you.
Start your offer.
No fee, no obligation, and an honest answer either way.