Property transfers p. B12
November 11, 2020
Homes
Powered by the Oak Park Area Association of Realtors
Real estate closings go virtual Lenders and title companies adjust practices due to pandemic By LACEY SIKORA
L
Contributing Reporter
ocal real estate agents have weighed in on these pages about the changes the pandemic wrought on their practices. In-person open houses are out. Virtual open houses are in. Spending the day in the car with your agent touring houses is out. Perusing listings from the comfort of your own couch and choosing a select few to visit, arriving in your own car is in. Sellers used to spend hours cleaning before showings. Now they also spend hours cleaning afterwards. Booties, gloves and face masks make everyone feel more comfortable. Once the stay-at-home orders ended in May, buyers, sellers and their agents quickly found new footing, which helped fuel a brisk summer and early fall real estate market in the near west suburbs. Other professionals involved in real estate transactions saw a few changes themselves, and as the pandemic continues to affect daily lives, they see many of these new practices sticking around for a while. For Mary Pellegrini, executive vice president and part owner of Prairie Title Company, which is headquartered in Oak Park and has 11 offices throughout the Chicago area,
the summer and fall have been about adaptation. In-person closings are the norm for a purchase that inPre-pandemic, she recalls, it wasn’t unusual to have volves a mortgage loan, because Illinois still requires that a crowd in the closing room at the title company. Parents borrowers verify their identities with a notary as a witness. brought children or in-laws to the table, and that was on top A few states have moved to allow this service to take place of the notary, attorneys and real estate proonline, but Illinois has not followed suit. fessionals present. Pellegrini says that for refinances or allToday, there are far fewer chairs at the cash deals, there are more ways to innovate. table. Cash deals can be done via FedEx and Zoom, “The seller is not usually coming anyand signing documents can be done remotely more,” Pellegrini said. “The realtors are or at a distance. not coming at all anymore. There are not as Due to the historically low interest rates, many people in the room, because now we Pellegrini has seen a rash of refinances this know the virus is spread by airborne exposeason and says that the industry has been sure.” creative about getting this done in a lowMasks are required in the room, and she touch, outdoor environment. MARY PELLEGRINI says frequently the only people there are the She has seen attorneys sit in a car next to Co-owner of Prairie Title attorney and the buyers. the homeowners, each with a set of identical documents in their car. Parents with chil“We’re talking three to four people in addidren will leave one parent in the car with tion to the closer,” Pellegrini said. “In the old the kids while the other leaves the car to sign days, it was eight or more. That’s all changed, documents and then switch places. Notaries and it’s changed very quickly.” are travelling to peoples’ homes and verifyShe says that Prairie Title also has a Plexiing their identification on front porches. glas structure they can place on top of their Pellegrini says that these accommodations have proved round tables to divides them into four parts with a space at the bottom to slide documents through. The title company very popular. “Almost everybody who can is opting for these options,” has also instituted strict sanitizing procedures in between closings. Pellegrini says all of these steps make people feel she said. more comfortable. See CLOSINGS ONLINE on page B4
“Almost everybody who can is opting for these options.”
November 11, 2020 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review
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