Selling a condo with open violations in Illinois.

Under the Illinois Condominium Property Act, a condo board can levy reasonable fines for breaking the declaration, the bylaws, or the association's rules, but only after giving you notice and an opportunity to be heard. If you have a violation letter, look for a hearing date or a deadline to ask for one. That hearing is your chance to explain, ask for time, or show the problem has been fixed.

Fines you don't pay don't just sit there. The Act makes an unpaid fine, along with interest, late charges, reasonable attorney fees, and collection costs, a lien on your unit, and that lien ranks ahead of other liens except taxes and liens recorded before the fine went unpaid, like an existing mortgage. That's why fines matter when you sell: the title company will find them.

When you sell, Section 22.1 of the Act requires you to get these documents from the board and make them available to your buyer:

• The declaration, bylaws, and the association's rules.
• A statement of any liens, including the unit's unpaid assessments and other charges.
• Capital expenditures the association expects this fiscal year and the next two.
• The status and amount of the reserve fund.
• The association's financial statement for the last fiscal year available.
• Any pending lawsuits or judgments the association is a party to.
• The insurance the association carries for unit owners.
• A statement about whether the prior owner's changes to the unit are believed to comply with the condo documents.
• Who at the association receives notices, and where.

Ask in writing. The board has 10 business days to deliver. It can charge a fee capped at $375, adjusted each year for inflation, plus $100 more for a rush job done within 72 hours.

One thing the list doesn't include is open rule violations. Those usually show up elsewhere: in letters you've already received, as fines on your unit's account, and in the closing letter described next. Gather all of it before you talk to a buyer.

Separate from the 22.1 packet, the management company usually issues a letter for closing that confirms what's paid and what's owed through the closing date. The name varies: paid-assessment letter, closing letter, estoppel letter. Read it closely. Some say that unresolved violations and unpaid amounts carry over to the next owner, and a buyer will price that in.

Some management companies won't release it until they get paperwork from you or the title company, so ask early. Finding a surprise charge a week before closing is how sales slip.

A citation from the city or village doesn't go through the association. It runs through the municipality, usually at an administrative hearing or in court, on its own schedule. In Illinois, an administrative fine that goes unpaid becomes a debt to the city, and if the city records it, it becomes a lien against the owner's property.

One problem can open two cases. An odor, trash, or pests can bring a letter from the board and a citation from the city at the same time. Keep two files: the city's case number and hearing dates in one, the association's letters and account statement in the other. Go to any hearing you're told to attend.

Condo problems rarely stay inside one unit. An odor reaches the hallway, or pests move into the walls and the units next door, and the association's letters escalate from a warning to required professional treatment. Keep every letter, and keep receipts for anything you've already done.

The Illinois seller disclosure report covers your unit, not the building's common areas. It asks specifically about termites and other wood-boring insects and about violation notices that haven't been corrected. Our guide on disclosing pests in Illinois covers what that means for mice, roaches, bed bugs, and odors.

You have three broad choices, and each one should end up in writing:

1. Fix the problem and close out the violation before you list.
2. Sell and settle the costs at closing, with fines paid from your proceeds or credited to the buyer.
3. Sell as-is to a buyer who takes on the cleanup and the close-out after closing.

Whichever you choose, the settlement statement should show who paid each fine and charge, and the agreement should say who is responsible for closing out each violation. Check your declaration for a right of first refusal or a notice requirement before the sale, too. The management company can tell you what applies.

A cash buyer's offer is usually below what the unit would bring fully repaired on the open market. What you get in return is not fixing, cleaning, or treating anything first. If that's the trade you're weighing, here's how to sell a house with code violations and open association letters.