Illinois Attorney Review Period: A Yorkville, IL Guide

How Long Is the Attorney Review Period in Illinois?

Under the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 8.0, Illinois attorney review typically runs five business days from the date your contract is accepted. During that window, each side’s attorney can propose changes to the contract, but the purchase price itself is off the table. Once the period ends without an unresolved objection, the contract generally becomes binding, and backing out without a valid reason puts your earnest money or your ability to close at risk.

By Kealan O’Neil | September 18, 2026

When you go under contract on a home in Yorkville, Oswego, or Montgomery, you’re not locked in the moment you sign. Illinois builds a negotiation window right into the process, and it works differently than the inspection-only contingency you’d see in a lot of other states. I walk every buyer and seller through this the day we go under contract, because the clock starts immediately and it moves faster than people expect.

What Attorney Review Actually Covers (and What It Doesn’t)

The contract you sign is accepted subject to attorney review. Both sides have five business days from acceptance to have a real estate attorney look over the agreement and raise objections or request changes. That’s the standard window under the current Multi-Board contract, and it applies whether you’re buying a resale in an established Kendall County neighborhood or under contract on new construction in Yorkville, where the builder’s paperwork looks and reads very differently from a resale agreement but still goes through the same review process.

Here’s the part that surprises a lot of buyers and sellers: the price you already agreed to isn’t on the table during attorney review. Attorneys can push back on almost everything else in the contract, but not the number both sides negotiated to get the deal accepted. What they typically address instead:

• Which title company will handle the closing
• Contract provisions that don’t apply to this particular deal
• Property defects that come to light once your attorney reviews the details
• What’s included as personal property or fixtures, from a shed to a wine fridge to window treatments

If the attorneys can’t agree on a proposed change, either side can walk away during this window at no cost. No forfeited earnest money, no breach, no damages. That’s the actual purpose of attorney review: it’s a built-in off-ramp before the deal gets serious, not a chance to relitigate the price after the fact.

I’ve seen this catch first-time buyers off guard in competitive situations, especially when a Yorkville market with multiple offers has already pushed the price above list. Attorney review isn’t a second negotiation on price. It’s a review of the terms around that price.

What Happens Once Attorney Review Ends

This is where I see the most confusion, and it’s the question I get the most from clients on both sides of the transaction.

Once the five business days pass without an unresolved objection, the contract generally becomes binding. That doesn’t mean every protection disappears. Your inspection contingency is very likely still open. It typically runs five to ten business days and overlaps with attorney review rather than starting after it. Your financing contingency usually stretches another 21 to 30 days past that. Those are separate protections built into the contract, and they’re the reason a deal can still fall apart after attorney review closes without either side technically breaching anything.

What changes at the end of attorney review is your ability to walk away for no reason at all.

• If you’re a buyer and you try to back out after attorney review ends without a contingency still open to support it, you risk losing your earnest money.
• If you’re a seller and you refuse to close without a valid contractual reason, the buyer can pursue you for damages, including their inspection, appraisal, loan, and moving costs, and in some cases for specific performance, where a court orders the sale to go through. A buyer can even record the contract against your property, which blocks you from selling to anyone else until the matter is resolved.

Neither side wants to end up there, and in my experience it almost never does when the contract, the earnest money, and the timeline were handled correctly from the start. That’s exactly why I don’t let my clients treat attorney review as a formality to skim past. It’s the window where the real terms of your deal get set.

This matters just as much for sellers who are already weighing their options before they list. If you’re thinking through whether to fix up your home or sell as-is, attorney review is often where a buyer’s attorney raises a condition issue for the first time, which is one more reason to know what’s likely to come up before you’re under contract.

Attorney Review, Earnest Money, and Your Timeline

Earnest money is the deposit that shows you’re serious about the deal, and it’s directly tied to everything above.

In the Fox Valley market, earnest money typically falls into a few ranges:

• $1,000 to $5,000 flat on lower-priced homes
• Roughly 1% to 2% of the purchase price on mid-range properties
• 3% to 5% in competitive, multiple-offer situations, where a stronger deposit helps your offer stand out in towns like Oswego and Montgomery right now

Your contract sets the exact deadline to deliver it, usually 24 to 72 hours after acceptance, and that deadline doesn’t wait for attorney review to finish. I tell every buyer to calendar it the day we get an accepted offer, not the day their attorney calls.

Here’s how the pieces typically line up on a contract in Yorkville, Oswego, or Montgomery:

1. Contract accepted, earnest money due within 24 to 72 hours
2. Attorney review window opens, typically five business days
3. Inspection contingency runs concurrently, typically five to ten business days
4. Attorney review closes; if nothing’s unresolved, the contract becomes binding
5. Financing contingency continues, typically another 21 to 30 days, on toward closing with a title company and an attorney representing each side

Your earnest money sits with the title company, not with either agent or attorney, until closing or until the contract specifies otherwise. If you cancel within a contingency that’s still open and follow the process correctly, you get it back. If you try to cancel after every contingency has closed with no valid basis, that’s when it’s genuinely at risk.

This runs alongside the other cost questions I get from Fox Valley buyers and sellers, like how transfer taxes vary from one municipality to the next and how Kendall and Kane County property taxes get prorated at closing. The contract terms and the closing costs are two different conversations, and it’s worth understanding both before you’re staring down a five-day clock.

Common Questions About Attorney Review in Illinois

These are the questions Yorkville, Oswego, and Montgomery buyers and sellers ask most once they’re under contract.

Know Your Five Days

Attorney review is the five business days that decide how the rest of your deal plays out, whether you’re buying in Oswego, selling in Yorkville, or working through a new construction contract in Montgomery. Know what can still be negotiated, know your earnest money deadline, and know exactly when you stop being able to walk away for free.

If you’re working through this for your own purchase or sale anywhere in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, or the surrounding Fox Valley, I’m happy to walk through your specific contract and timeline with you. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.

About Kealan O’Neil
Kealan O’Neil is the Designated Managing Broker and founder of O’Neil Property Group, an independent real estate brokerage based in Yorkville, Illinois. He and his team help buyers and sellers in Yorkville, Oswego, Montgomery, and the surrounding Kendall and Kane County communities, and he owns and manages a local rental portfolio, so he approaches every decision as both a broker and an investor. Call or text Kealan at 630-425-8815.

This post is general information about real estate in the Fox Valley, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Real estate laws, tax rules, and municipal ordinances change, and how they apply depends on your specific situation. Talk with a licensed attorney, CPA, or lender before making decisions about a purchase, sale, or tax matter. O’Neil Property Group is a licensed Illinois real estate brokerage.