Illinois Purchase Contracts & Seller Disclosures

Two common Illinois situations

Working with an agent or broker

If an Illinois real-estate licensee is handling your transaction, that professional typically selects and supplies the current purchase agreement and addenda authorized by the brokerage. In Northern Illinois, many residential resales use the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract (currently version 8.0). Other markets may use Multi-Board forms or a local board contract. These are privately copyrighted industry forms—not an IDFPR consumer blank and not a free PublicLegal download.

PublicLegal does not host, sell, or reproduce Multi-Board or local-board purchase contracts. Do not rely on random internet copies; they may be unauthorized, altered, or outdated. Ask which form and revision is being used and read financing, inspection, earnest money, title, appraisal, disclosure, attorney-review, possession, and default provisions carefully before signing.

Many Multi-Board-style contracts include a short attorney-review period after acceptance—often about five business days under the current Multi-Board form. That right comes from the signed contract, not from a freestanding statewide cooling-off statute. If you intend to use attorney review, send the accepted contract to your Illinois attorney immediately and calendar the deadline.

Even when a broker supplies the forms, complete applicable seller disclosures and coordinate title, survey, association documents, and closing logistics early.

Buying or selling without an agent (FSBO)

Illinois does not publish a free statewide residential purchase-contract blank for ordinary FSBO resales. Unrepresented parties still need a written agreement covering price, earnest money, financing, inspections, title, closing, possession, defaults, and related logistics. Agreements for the sale of land generally must be in a signed writing under 740 ILCS 80/2.

The safer contract path is an Illinois real-estate attorney who prepares or reviews the agreement before anyone signs. Form access is not legal advice about which contingencies or deadlines to choose. Do not pirate Multi-Board or local board forms merely because an agent version is familiar in the market.

FSBO sellers remain subject to the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act and the Illinois Radon Awareness Act when the transfer is covered, unless an exemption applies. Federal lead rules still apply to most pre-1978 housing. Condo and common-interest community resales can require separate association document packages.

Select title and closing professionals early. PublicLegal does not sell an Illinois purchase-contract substitute on this page.

Illinois seller disclosures: statutory report, radon, lead, and related notices

For covered transfers of residential real property, 765 ILCS 77 requires the seller to complete the statutory Residential Real Property Disclosure Report and deliver it to the prospective buyer before the signing of a contract. The report language lives in the statute (765 ILCS 77/35). Brokers and attorneys often use commercially printed versions such as Illinois REALTORS® Form 108; those packages are association products, but the legal duty comes from the Act.

The Act generally reaches real property improved with one to four residential dwelling units, cooperative units, condominium units (including limited common elements integral to the unit), and certain manufactured homes treated as real property. It applies to sales and several other transfer types listed in 765 ILCS 77/10, subject to the exemptions in 765 ILCS 77/15 (including certain court-ordered, foreclosure, fiduciary, co-owner, succession, family, relocation-entity, government, and never-occupied new-construction transfers).

Sellers must disclose material defects of which they have actual knowledge. The Act does not require the seller to make a special investigation solely to complete the report. “As is” language does not automatically erase the report requirement for a covered seller. If, before closing, the seller becomes aware of an error, inaccuracy, or omission in a prior report, the seller must deliver a written supplemental disclosure.

If a report disclosing a material defect (including a “yes” answer other than items 1 and 2) is delivered after all parties have signed a contract, in violation of the before-signing rule, the buyer may terminate within five business days after receipt and recover earnest money or down payments. That is a narrow late-delivery remedy—not a general five-day cooling-off period for every Illinois home purchase. Supplemental disclosures have more limited termination rules. If the seller fails or refuses to provide the report before conveyance, the buyer may terminate; knowing violations or knowingly false disclosures can support actual damages and costs, and the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.

Separately, unless excluded by 420 ILCS 46/20, the Illinois Radon Awareness Act requires the seller to provide the IEMA pamphlet “Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions” (or an IEMA-approved equivalent) and the statutory Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards before the buyer is obligated under any purchase contract. The Act itself does not require the seller to test for or mitigate radon. If disclosure happens after an offer, the seller must complete the required disclosure activities before accepting and allow the buyer to review and possibly amend the offer. Important exclusions include dwelling units on the third story or higher above ground level; read §20 for the full list.

Most housing built before 1978 also triggers federal lead-based paint disclosures and the EPA pamphlet. Condominium and covered common-interest community resales have separate association-document tracks under the Condominium Property Act and the Common Interest Community Association Act; those packets do not replace the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report. A further Illinois rule—the Mine Subsidence Disclosure Act (765 ILCS 95)—requires the transferor, at the time an agreement to transfer real property is made, to disclose in writing to the buyer and lender all insurance claims paid to the transferor for mine subsidence on the property. If the agreement is written, that disclosure must be part of it.

Municipal rules can add more requirements (for example, some cities require additional sale notices or transfer inspections). Confirm local rules for the property address.

Common exemption categories

Key points to keep straight:

• The Residential Real Property Disclosure Report is generally due before the contract is signed for covered transfers
• The five-business-day late-report termination path is narrow and fact-specific—not a general cooling-off right
• Radon pamphlet + statutory sales disclosure is a separate pre-obligation track
• Attorney-review windows usually come from the signed form contract, not a freestanding statute
• Condo/HOA resale packets are separate from the §35 condition report
• Paid mine-subsidence insurance claims have their own written disclosure duty under 765 ILCS 95
• Never-occupied new construction and other §15 categories can be exempt from 765 ILCS 77—check the statute

When in doubt about what must be disclosed for your facts, ask Illinois counsel. Complete the current forms required by statute and your contract.

Illinois title, closings, and attorneys

Illinois residential purchases commonly involve a title company and, especially in Northern Illinois markets, one or more real-estate attorneys who review the contract and help the parties close. The title company coordinates title commitment, escrow logistics, lender requirements, signing, and recording. That provider is not automatically your personal lawyer for negotiating contract rights or disclosure disputes.

An Illinois real-estate attorney can prepare or review the purchase agreement, advise on title objections, association documents, estate or entity authority, boundary issues, and custom terms. Consider counsel early in FSBO deals and whenever deadlines or documents are unclear.

The purchase agreement creates the sale obligations. The deed conveys title at closing. PublicLegal’s deed resources can help when you need conveyance forms, but a deed is not a substitute for the purchase agreement or for closing professionals. An Illinois-specific deed router page is not live yet; use the general deed hub and coordinate with counsel or title professionals.

Independently verify wire instructions. Real-estate wire fraud is common.