In life, there are a lot of bad things you can do.
You can hurt someone, you can break the law, you can vote for bad people who do bad things, you can steal your dad’s box of Dots and then deny it, you can vote for people who do REALLY bad things, you can scream unnecessarily at your kids and your dog after you’ve had a bad day, you can refuse to shovel your walk and watch your neighbors slip on the ice, and you can RSVP to a party and not show up. You can even install laminate countertops.
But there’s one really bad thing that you shouldn’t ever EVER do. And that’s to have your attorney review a contract that we have successfully negotiated for you BEFORE you sign it. That’s because attorneys are a rare breed and will not - under any circumstance - resist the temptation to make suggested changes to a contract which is presented to them. I know this because I’m an attorney.
In Chicago, all residential real estate contracts which have been signed by the parties are subject to an initial attorney review contingency. During this period (typically 5 or 7 business days), the attorneys for both parties can review the contract, suggest changes to it, and negotiate with the other side’s attorney. Ultimately, a negotiated rider will become part of the contract.
View the real estate contract as a letter of intent of sorts (with all business terms already negotiated: price, closing, contingencies, dates, personal property included, etc.). Once it’s filled out and signed by both parties, we then hand it off to the attorneys to review and negotiate. Only then.
And remember to only vote for people who do good things.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Brad
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