Sell a House in Chicago From Out of State

How does a remote sale work once you’ve already moved?

When you sell a house in Chicago from out of state, the work splits three ways. Nia handles what happens at the house, your Illinois attorney handles the legal side, and you make the decisions from wherever you live.

Nia, in Chicago

➔ Pricing your home from recent closed sales nearby, with a net-proceeds estimate after transfer taxes, attorney fees, title charges, and the Illinois property tax credit.

➔ Preparing the listing, running showings, and walking you through each offer.

➔ Coordinating access for the buyer’s agent, the inspector, and the appraiser, and keeping your attorney in the loop.

Your Illinois attorney

➔ Reviewing the contract during attorney review, after you accept an offer.

➔ Preparing the deed and the closing documents, and working with the title company.

➔ Telling you how and where you’ll sign.

You, from where you live

➔ Approving the price, the plan, and any offer you accept.

➔ Keeping the house insured, with the utilities on, until closing.

➔ Signing the documents your attorney sends you.

What do you sign, and from where?

Most of the paperwork can reach you wherever you are. You review and sign the listing agreement and any offer you accept from home, and your attorney handles attorney review for you.

Closing is the step most sellers worry about. Illinois recognizes notarial acts by “a notary public authorized to perform notarial acts in the place in which the act is performed”, so a document notarized where you live can still be used for an Illinois sale. Your attorney decides how signing works, so ask early about:

➔ Signing ahead. You sign the deed and closing documents before the closing date, in front of a notary near you, and send the originals back.

➔ A power of attorney. If you can’t sign in time, a power of attorney for property can let someone you trust sign for you. Ask your attorney whether the title company needs to approve it in advance.

➔ Getting paid. Before any money moves, confirm the wire instructions by phone with your attorney, at a number you already have.

Inside city limits, one more step can set the closing date. The city won’t issue transfer stamps without a Full Payment Certificate for the water account, and applications dropped off by an agent can take up to 10 business days, per the City of Chicago. Apply as soon as you’re under contract.

Who looks after the house until closing?

If you sell a Chicago house while living out of state, someone has to look after it until the buyer takes over. Three rules make that more than a courtesy:

➔ Chicago’s vacant building rules. The city treats a building as vacant “if no one is legally living at the building, and no one who has lived at the building in the past intends to return to live at the building in the next six months.” Vacant buildings must be registered within 30 days, secured, insured, and maintained, and the registration is renewed every six months and cancelled within 20 days of a sale, per the City of Chicago. Ask your attorney whether your home qualifies once you’ve moved out.

➔ Your insurance. On the standard HO-3 homeowners form, coverage for glass breakage and vandalism ends if the home “has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days before the loss,” according to Adjusting Today. Tell your insurer before you move out and ask whether you need a vacancy endorsement or a vacant-home policy.

➔ Heat and water. The same form’s freezing provision expects you to keep the heat on or shut off and drain the water while you’re away. In an empty house, a burst pipe can go unnoticed until someone walks in.

Decide who will check the house regularly, such as a neighbor, a property manager, or a paid service, and share that contact with Nia so access for showings, inspections, and the appraisal is covered.

Should you list the house or take a cash offer?

Some out-of-state sellers consider a cash offer to skip repairs and showings, and for some homes it’s the right call. The way to decide is to compare what each option leaves you with after costs, not the two prices.

The math, line by line:

➔ Open market: expected sale price, minus commission, seller closing costs, any repairs or credits, and carrying costs until closing.

➔ Cash offer: the offer price, minus seller closing costs, any fees the buyer charges, and carrying costs until closing.

The cost to sell a house in Chicago itemizes the closing costs for both columns. Nia can put both options on one net sheet so you can compare them side by side.

How do capital gains change the math?

The IRS lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain from a home sale, or $500,000 on a joint return, if you owned the home and used it as your residence for at least 24 months of the 5 years before the sale, according to the IRS. Both tests look back from the sale date, so the longer the house sits after you move, the closer you get to losing the exclusion. Ask a tax professional how it applies to you.