Cook County document review
Chicago is one of the country's largest condo markets and combines several distinctive risk overlays: the FISP facade inspection program for buildings 80 feet and taller, expanded balcony inspections (2023 onward) for condos 5 stories and above, the most active condo deconversion market in the country under 765 ILCS 605/15, and a substantial inventory of pre-1980 high-rise stock entering its second or third capital-cycle. The Illinois Condominium Property Act provides a detailed resale certificate regime under Section 22.1 — use it.
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Why Chicago is different
Chicago is the most active condo-deconversion market in the country. Under 765 ILCS 605/15, a successful deconversion requires 75-percent owner approval (or higher if the declaration sets it). Minority owners must sell at the deconversion price. For older or under-leased buildings, deconversion pressure is a structural risk that affects individual unit exit options.
FISP requires facade inspections every 4/8/12 years for buildings 80 feet and taller. Since 2023, Chicago has expanded balcony-inspection requirements for condos 5 stories and above. Request the most recent FISP and balcony reports and any outstanding repair orders.
Pre-1980 Chicago high-rise condos increasingly face capital cycles on roof, envelope, mechanical, plumbing, and elevator systems. 'Reasonable reserves' under 765 ILCS 605 is undefined; many associations carry reserves inadequate against realistic 10-year exposure.
Illinois-specific guides
Illinois condo document review operates under 765 ILCS 605 (the Illinois Condominium Property Act). Section 22.1 requires a detailed resale certificate within 10 business days of seller's written request at a $375 statutory fee cap. For Chicago buildings, FISP facade inspections and the 2023 balcony-inspection expansion add overlays. For all Illinois condos, deconversion exposure under Section 15 is a unique structural consideration.
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Illinois requires condo budgets after July 1, 1990, to provide for 'reasonable reserves' for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance under 765 ILCS 605. The statute does not define reasonable, does not require a formal reserve study, and explicitly permits owners to waive reserves by 2/3 vote (with conspicuous disclosure on resale financials). For older Chicago stock entering capital cycles, the gap between statutory compliance and practical adequacy is one of the leading sources of unexpected special assessments.
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Illinois special-assessment rules combine specific statutory vote thresholds with declaration-level overlays. Condo capital assessments exceeding 5 percent of the budget require 2/3 owner approval under Section 18. CICAA HOA budgets exceeding 115 percent of the prior year trigger a member referendum if 20 percent petition. Emergency assessments can be levied by board vote alone in both regimes. Borrowing is permitted by statute without owner approval, though many declarations require it.
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Illinois condo insurance is among the more prescriptive U.S. regimes. 765 ILCS 605 requires master coverage at full replacement cost, $1 million minimum liability, fidelity bonds covering treasury, and D&O coverage once reserves exceed $250,000. CICAA requires fidelity for 30+ unit HOAs but no statutory property mandate. Illinois has a robust FAIR Plan as insurer of last resort. Insurance-market stress is moderate — about 13 percent statewide rate growth in 2023.
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Illinois HOA governance reads against 765 ILCS 605 (condos) and CICAA (HOAs), supported by the IDFPR Condominium and Common Interest Community Ombudsperson. The Ombudsperson provides education and mediation but does not enforce. Community association managers are licensed under 225 ILCS 427. The framework provides more structural support than most non-coastal states but ultimately relies on courts and private action for enforcement.
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Topic guides
A condo document review is the structured analysis of every disclosure document your seller or association has provided — declaration, bylaws, rules, reserve study, budgets, financials, meeting minutes, insurance summary, estoppel or resale certificate, and any pending special assessment notices. Done well, it tells you exactly what you are buying. Done in a hurry — or as a chat session against a single PDF — it misses the cross-references where real risk lives.
A reserve study tells you what the association expects to spend on long-term capital repairs and replacements, and whether it is funding those obligations adequately. Reading the study without also reading the actual reserve balance, the current budget's contribution line, and recent meeting minutes is the single most common mistake in condo due diligence — and the one most likely to produce an expensive surprise after closing.
Special assessments are the single largest source of financial surprise in condo and HOA ownership. They can arrive formally, as a voted board action with a disclosed amount. They can arrive indirectly, as a dues increase that follows a reserve shortfall or insurance spike. Or they can arrive silently, implied by the gap between what an association has saved and what it needs — visible in documents years before any official announcement. A thorough document review identifies all three types.
The association's master insurance policy determines what your personal HO-6 policy needs to cover — and what it does not. Deductibles, named-storm provisions, water and flood exclusions, policy form (bare-walls versus all-in), carrier quality, and loss assessment exposure all change the real cost of ownership in ways that never appear in the listing price. Reading the insurance summary alone is not enough; reading the master policy declarations page against the declaration's loss assessment provisions is where the real exposure lives.
An association's governance health is a leading indicator of every other risk. Boards make decisions about reserve funding, repair scope, insurance coverage, and vendor relationships. Functional boards make those decisions transparently and on time. Dysfunctional boards defer them, obscure them, or make them for the wrong reasons — and the deferred decisions show up later as assessments, deteriorated infrastructure, and insurance problems. A governance review reads meeting minutes, election and recall records, financial controls, and dispute history across multiple years to surface the patterns that precede financial problems.
Local experts
Chicago has its own carrier landscape, statutes, and transaction conventions. We can introduce you to Illinois-licensed specialists who handle exactly this market — no obligation, no cost.
Chicago realtors with condo and HOA transaction experience who know which buildings have surfaced risk in recent disclosures.
Chicago-area attorneys handling estoppel review, special assessment disputes, governance issues, and condo / HOA litigation.
Brokers familiar with the Chicago carrier landscape — master policy gaps, wind/named-storm deductibles, and HO-6 sizing.
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Upload condo or HOA documents for a free risk review. We read reserve studies, budgets, meeting minutes, insurance summaries, and assessment exposure — every finding linked to the exact page.
Expert Matching
We can connect you with vetted real estate lawyers, mortgage brokers, and insurance brokers familiar with the specifics of condo and HOA transactions.
