Many cities and villages in Chicagoland and throughout Illinois require you to obtain a real estate transfer stamp before you can complete the sale of your property. If one is required, title companies will not complete the transaction unless a transfer stamp is provided the day of the sale. What is a real estate transfer stamp and how do you get one?
A city or village that has a transfer stamp will have some, or all, of the following requirements: property owner must pay any outstanding water bills, sewer bills, garbage fees, local ordinance fines, citations and penalties before the transfer stamp will be issued. Additionally, a tax for moving out of the municipality may be charged. The amount will depend on the sale price of the property.
To make sure your real estate sale will close on time, someone must contact your city or village hall and give them ample time to prepare everything for the purchase of the stamp. Proper paperwork must be filled out and submitted and the municipality may have to send someone over to the property for a final water meter reading. Usually, this can be accomplished within a couple of days but it can take up to a week for the process to complete.
If you want your real estate closing to go as smooth as possible, it’s a smart choice to use an attorney who handles real estate transactions on a daily basis. Contact us for us to get working for you!
The following towns have real estate transfer stamp requirements:
Addison, Aurora, Bartlett, Bolingbrook, Buffalo Grove, Carol Stream, Chicago, Des Plaines, Elgin, Elmhurst, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Joliet, Mount Prospect, Naperville, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Sycamore, and Wheaton.
The following towns do not have real estate transfer stamp requirements:
Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Batavia, Carpentersville, Crystal Lake, DeKalb, Downers Grove, Hampshire, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Rosemont, St. Charles, Sleepy Hollow, South Elgin, West Dundee.
*Cities change requirements and this list might not be up to date. Please check each city’s own requirements at the time of your sale*