Joe needs to obtain a real estate license if he plans on selling, leasing exchanging purchasing, renting or leasing real estate on the behalf of another for compensation. It is illegal for anyone to act as a broker, managing broker or residential leasing agent without a real estate license issued by IDFPR when they plan on assisting in the selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting or leasing real property on the behalf of someone else.

Tony qualifies to apply for a managing broker license. The law only requires the applicant be 20 years old and have been practicing as a broker 2 out of the previous 3 years.

Cathy's new designated managing broker must register her on the IDFPR website as one of its licensees. After Cathy is sponsored by the new brokerage, she will only be able write business for the new sponsoring brokerage. License law states a licensee can only do licensed activities for the sponsoring brokerage that sponsors their license.

The requirement that real estate brokers be licensed and regulated by the state is to protect the public and to establish a level of competency in the marketplace. This creates the same level of competency for anyone entering into the business and getting either a Broker's license, Residential Real Estate license, or Managing Broker's license. Brokers are to meet an ordinary level of care in communicating with their clients and have a duty to exercise good faith since they are in a position of trust.

Although co-ops are owned by a nonprofit corporation and the tenants receive shares and act as shareholders, the tenants receive a proprietary lease and a securities license is not needed to deal in the sale of co-op units. A real estate licensee is authorized to represent buyers or sellers in the sale of co-op units.

A seller's agent, when hosting an open house, can show the property to prospective buyers who have real estate agents, including answering any questions the buyer may have about the property. The seller's agent should honor the buyer's brokerage relationship and follow up with buyer's broker after the open house.

Negotiating directly with a client of another agent is cause for discipline under the Illinois License Act. Agents cannot directly negotiate with the client of another broker. Broker Ben, in this question, will be in violation of the license law as he is negotiating directly with the clients of other agents.

Anyone who conducts real estate activities on the behalf of someone else for a fee must have a real estate license. According to the license law, the fine for unlicensed practice of real estate is $25,000 per occurrence.

In Illinois, homeowners are given a homestead exemption in the event they have to pursue bankruptcy or other protections from creditors. The exemption gives single persons $15,000 equity protection and married couples $30,000 equity protection. The exemption may not apply to all creditors. It will not apply to state, county and municipal government tax liens, for example. It will also not apply to judgments for Federal taxes, since the federal laws supersede state laws. Finally, the exemption will be limited where a contractor did work on the home, has not been paid and obtained a mechanic's lien.

According to license law, the earnest money must stay in the escrow account until the transaction either closes or fails, and in that situation, it can only be released if the person holding the escrow money receives an authorization and consent form to release earnest money signed by the buyer and seller or their legal representatives.

The Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure is intended to provide prospective buyers with reliable information on the major conditions of the property. The licensee should provide a client with the disclosure when the client becomes interested in a property to help them make an offer and before signing the contract. The client is to be able to make an informed decision about the property prior to writing an offer.

Licensees must be careful not to act outside of the scope of their real estate license and give legal advice. If they do so, it will constitute the unauthorized practice of law. The licensee should direct the client to speak with their legal counsel.

In Illinois, there is a state and county real estate transfer tax. The seller typically pays the transfer tax.

In Illinois, if a person passes away without a will, and has no heirs, their real property will escheat to the county where it is located. Therefore, if the deceased has real property in Cook County and passed away without a will and had no heirs, the title to the real property will be transferred to Cook County.

A legal description is not the same as an address. A legal description is a detailed way of describing a parcel of land that it will be sufficient, legally, to identify the property in such instructions as deeds and mortgages. There are three basic surveying methods to create a legal description: (1) Metes-and-Bounds method; (2) Rectangular (Government) Survey; and (3) Lot and Block (Recorded Plat) System.

Under Illinois law, a rental finding service must disclose that the information it is providing on the rental units they are advertising may be up to two days old.

In Illinois, a land trust can provide the opportunity for the beneficiary to be anonymous. However, this is does not apply in all situations. One of conditions that would require the disclosure of the beneficiary is if a fire inspector or another officer is investigating arson.

A listing agreement, also known as a brokerage agreement, is a contract between a sponsoring broker and a seller for the broker to represent the seller in the sale of the seller's real estate in return for compensation. The listing agreement is not a real estate contract, but an employment contract. Under Illinois license law, only a sponsoring broker can act as agent to list, sell and/or rent the real estate of another person. The listing agreement will set forth the type of agency relationship the agreement creates. Exclusive brokerage agreements must be in writing under Illinois license law.

As the designated agent for the seller, a listing agent cannot complete the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure for the seller. The seller and the seller alone, independent of any assistance from the listing broker should complete the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure disclosing the condition of the property.

In Illinois, there is no requirement to disclose that the listed property is the site of a crime, such as murder suicide. Disclosure of such information may stigmatize the property. The agent should make sure the seller knows that there is no obligation to disclose it.