Home selling terms, explained
Definitions of the words that turn up when you sell a house in Illinois — with the Illinois rule attached where there is one. The term that catches people most: as-is means you make no repairs. It does not mean you can skip disclosing what you already know.
- As-Is — No Repairs
- No Fees or Commissions
- Close On Your Timeline
What's on this page
29 terms, grouped by where they show up in a sale. Where Illinois does something specific — a filing requirement, a deadline, a licensing rule — it is stated with the statute, because a vague answer on a deadline is worse than none.
The offer and who's making it
The words that describe the deal itself — and the ones that tell you what kind of company you're actually talking to.
- As-is
-
Selling as-is means you will not make repairs and the buyer accepts the property in its current condition. It does not mean the buyer is told nothing.
This is the single most misunderstood term in the process. As-is settles who pays for the broken furnace. It does not settle what the buyer gets told about it.
In Illinois: Illinois sellers still complete the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report and must disclose known material defects (765 ILCS 77). An as-is clause mainly protects you from liability for problems you genuinely did not know about — it does not let you conceal ones you do.
- Cash offer
-
An offer to buy without a mortgage, so the purchase does not depend on a lender approving the buyer or the property.
The value is not the money being green. It is that no lender, appraiser, or underwriter can kill the deal three weeks in — which is why cash offers close on damaged, vacant, or unfinanceable properties that listings cannot.
- Cash buyer
-
A buyer purchasing with their own funds rather than a mortgage. Most are individuals and small local companies, not institutions.
Worth asking any cash buyer one question: will you be the buyer named on the closing documents? A local buyer using their own funds can answer that plainly, and it costs nothing to ask.
- iBuyer
-
A national company that makes algorithmic offers online, then deducts a service fee and a repair estimate before closing.
iBuyers work best on newer, undamaged, easy-to-model houses. They tend to decline or heavily re-trade older homes with real condition issues — which is most of Chicagoland's housing stock.
- ARV (after-repair value)
-
What a house would be worth once fully renovated — not what it is worth today.
Any honest cash offer works backwards from ARV: the renovated value, minus the cost of the work, minus holding and resale costs, minus the buyer's margin. If someone quotes you ARV as though it were your offer, they are quoting the wrong number.
- Comps (comparable sales)
-
Recent sales of similar nearby properties, used to estimate what a house is worth.
Comps for an as-is sale should be other as-is sales in similar condition — not the renovated house down the block. Comparing an untouched 1960s ranch to a flipped one is the most common way a seller ends up with an unrealistic number in their head.
Money and closing
What comes out of the price, what goes into escrow, and who pays for what at the table.
- Closing costs
-
The transaction fees paid at closing — title work, transfer taxes, recording fees, attorney fees, and prorated property taxes.
On a traditional sale these typically run a few percent of the price, on top of agent commission. Who pays which line is negotiable and is spelled out in the contract, so read that section rather than assuming.
- Earnest money
-
A deposit the buyer puts up when the contract is signed, held by a third party and applied to the purchase at closing.
It signals the buyer is serious. What matters more is the conditions under which they get it back — a contract stuffed with contingencies lets a buyer walk with their deposit intact well into the process.
- Net proceeds
-
What actually reaches you: the sale price minus mortgage payoff, liens, commissions, closing costs, and any repair credits.
This is the only number worth comparing between offers. A higher price with commission, closing costs, and a post-inspection repair credit can easily net less than a lower price with none of them.
- Appraisal
-
A lender-ordered valuation of the property, used to confirm the house is worth enough to secure the loan.
Appraisals are a common point of collapse in financed sales: if the appraisal comes in under the contract price, the buyer's loan shrinks and the deal reopens. A cash purchase has no appraisal because there is no lender to satisfy.
- Contingency
-
A condition in the contract that lets a buyer cancel and recover their deposit — commonly financing, inspection, appraisal, or the sale of their own home.
Every contingency is an exit. When people say a cash sale is more certain, this is concretely what they mean: fewer conditions on which the buyer can walk away.
- Attorney review / modification period
-
A short window after signing during which each side's attorney can propose changes to the contract or cancel it.
In Illinois: Illinois is an attorney-state by custom: nearly every residential contract here includes an attorney review and inspection modification period, typically about five business days. Nothing is truly locked until that window closes.
- Transfer tax / transfer stamps
-
A tax on the transfer of property, charged by the state, the county, and often the municipality as well.
In Illinois: Illinois and its counties both levy a transfer tax, and many municipalities add their own stamp with conditions attached — Chicago, for instance, requires a city transfer stamp and that final water and utility bills be settled before a sale can close. Some suburbs also require a pre-sale inspection before issuing stamps. Requirements vary town by town, and we deal with them on every purchase.
Title and ownership
Who legally owns the property, what is attached to it, and what has to be cleared before it can change hands.
- Title
-
Legal ownership of the property. Distinct from the deed, which is the document that transfers it.
- Title search / title commitment
-
A review of public records to confirm you can convey clear ownership, and the title company's written commitment to insure it.
This is where surprises surface: an old mortgage never released, a contractor's lien, an unresolved estate, an ex-spouse still on the deed. Finding one does not end a sale — it just has to be cleared before closing.
- Lien
-
A legal claim against the property securing a debt — a mortgage, unpaid property taxes, a contractor's bill, a judgment.
Liens generally get paid from the sale proceeds at closing rather than out of your pocket beforehand. You do not need to clear them before selling, and owing more than you expected does not by itself stop a sale.
- Clouded title
-
Any unresolved claim or defect that casts doubt on ownership and prevents clear transfer.
Common causes are a deceased owner still on title, an heir who never signed, a missing lien release, or an error in an old recorded document.
- Deed
-
The document that transfers ownership. A warranty deed guarantees clear title; a quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the signer happens to have, with no guarantee.
Quitclaim deeds show up constantly in divorces and family transfers. They are quick, and they are also how title problems get passed along unnoticed.
- Encumbrance
-
Anything attached to the property that limits its use or transfer — liens, easements, deed restrictions, unresolved code violations.
- Probate
-
The court process that settles a deceased person's estate and confirms who has authority to sell their property.
You generally cannot sell an inherited house until someone has legal authority to sign for the estate. Getting that appointment underway early is usually what determines how fast the sale can move.
In Illinois: In Illinois that authority comes from letters of office issued by the circuit court to an executor or administrator. Small estates may qualify for a small estate affidavit instead. Which path applies depends on the estate — an attorney can tell you quickly.
- Probate sale
-
A sale of real estate belonging to an estate, made by the executor or administrator under the authority the court granted them.
Depending on how the estate is being administered, the sale may need court approval or notice to the heirs. A buyer who has done these before will work to the estate's timeline rather than fighting it.
When something has gone wrong
The vocabulary of court notices and county deadlines. These are the terms with dates attached — and the dates are the part that matters.
- Foreclosure
-
The legal process by which a lender takes back a property after the borrower falls behind on the mortgage.
In Illinois: Illinois is a judicial foreclosure state, so the lender must file suit and go through the circuit court rather than selling the property administratively. That takes time, and the time is yours to use — a sale that pays off the loan before the judicial sale can protect whatever equity is left.
- Reinstatement
-
Bringing a defaulted mortgage fully current by paying all past-due principal, interest, escrow, costs, and fees in one lump sum.
In Illinois: Illinois gives a reinstatement period of 90 days from the date you were served with the summons or otherwise came under the court's jurisdiction (735 ILCS 5/15-1602).
- Redemption period (foreclosure)
-
The window during which an owner can pay off the full debt and keep the property, even after a foreclosure judgment.
In Illinois: Under 735 ILCS 5/15-1603 the redemption period runs until the later of seven months from the date you were served, or three months from the entry of the foreclosure judgment. It can be shortened — for example to 30 days after judgment if the court finds the property abandoned. The exact date in your case is the one that matters; get it from your attorney or the court file.
- Short sale
-
Selling for less than the mortgage balance, which requires the lender's approval to accept the shortfall.
Short sales are slow because the lender, not the seller, controls the timeline. They are worth pursuing when there is genuinely no equity — but they are not a fast option, and they are not the only one.
- Tax sale
-
A county auction where investors buy the unpaid taxes on a property — not the property itself, at least not yet.
Having your taxes sold is not the same as losing your house. It starts a clock during which you can redeem, and selling during that window can pay off what is owed out of the proceeds.
In Illinois: Illinois counties hold annual tax sales, and the owner then has a statutory period to redeem by paying what is owed plus penalties (35 ILCS 200/21-350). For occupied residential property of six units or fewer that period is generally two and a half years from the sale, though it is shorter for other property classes. Deadlines are strict, and the closer yours is the fewer buyers can close in time — which is exactly when a cash sale is worth asking about.
- Estimate of cost of redemption
-
An official statement from the county clerk showing exactly what must be paid to redeem taxes sold at a tax sale, as of a given date.
It is the document that turns a vague fear into a number. In Cook County the Clerk's office issues it on request, and the collar counties have an equivalent.
- Deed in lieu of foreclosure
-
Handing the property to the lender voluntarily to avoid a foreclosure judgment, if the lender agrees to accept it.
It ends the process but surrenders any remaining equity. If the house is worth more than what is owed, selling it almost always leaves you better off than deeding it away.
- Material defect
-
A significant problem with the property that a buyer would reasonably want to know about before agreeing to buy.
In Illinois: Illinois sellers report known material defects on the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report (765 ILCS 77). Selling as-is changes who pays to fix the problem; it does not remove the duty to disclose one you know about.
The questions behind the terms
Can a house be sold as-is in Illinois?
Yes. Selling as-is is ordinary and legal in Illinois — it means you make no repairs and the buyer takes the property in its current condition. What it does not do is switch off disclosure: you still complete the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report and must disclose known material defects (765 ILCS 77). As-is decides who pays to fix the problem, not whether the buyer is told about it.
How do cash buyers decide what to offer on an as-is home?
By working backwards from the after-repair value. Take what the house would be worth fully renovated, subtract the cost of the work, subtract holding and resale costs, subtract the buyer's margin — what remains is the offer. That is why a renovated comp down the street is not a useful guide to your number, and why any buyer should be able to walk you through the arithmetic rather than just naming a figure.
Do I have to clear liens or back taxes before I can sell?
No. Mortgages, judgments, contractor's liens, and delinquent property taxes are normally paid off at closing directly out of the sale proceeds, so you don't need to settle them beforehand or bring money to the table. Owing more than you expected doesn't stop a sale — it just changes what reaches you at the end. The number worth focusing on is net proceeds, not the price.
Do I need to know any of this to sell my house?
No. You can call and describe the situation in plain words, and we will handle the vocabulary. This page exists because these terms turn up mid-process — in a contract, a court notice, or a county letter — and it is easier to look one up than to ask the person who sent it.
Why trust us with this?
You should be skeptical of anyone offering to buy a house they have not seen. Most owners get the postcards — no company name on them, a mobile number, a promise of top dollar. Being skeptical of that is the correct instinct, and we would rather you applied it to us as well.
So here is what can be checked. We have bought a great many houses in the situations sellers actually find themselves in — inherited and probate homes, pre-foreclosures, divorces, tenant-occupied buildings, long-vacant properties, fire and water damage, and houses nobody had touched in forty years. Whatever yours is, it is very unlikely to be the first of its kind for us. We look at the property before committing to a number, we show you how we got there, and you are never under any obligation to accept it.
-
Buying since 2021
A local Chicagoland company, not a national brand or a call center.
-
100+ properties closed
$5,334,500 paid out for houses across the six counties we serve.
-
Our own funds, our own name
We are the buyer on the closing documents, through a local title company.
You don't need the vocabulary to call
Describe the property and the situation however it makes sense to you. We'll translate the parts that matter and come back with a fair, no-obligation cash offer — including when listing it would serve you better.