A village point-of-sale report looks like a list of code violations. For an investor, it's something more useful: the minimum repair scope the village will enforce on your deal, delivered before closing, while you can still do something about it.
The mistake is reading it as the whole scope, or as a list of small fixes. One line can be an inexpensive part. Another line on the same page can be the first sign of a panel replacement. This guide walks through how we turn a report into a number you can negotiate with.
If you haven't seen one yet, start with which Chicago suburbs require a point-of-sale inspection. It covers the process village by village.
Step 1: Know your village's clock
Before you price anything, find out when the repairs have to be done. That decides whether the seller fixes things before closing, whether you take them on as-is, and how much time you have afterward.
These are the as-is rules in the villages we've checked against their own current forms:
| Village | If you buy with open violations |
|---|---|
| Blue Island | Sign an Agreement to Correct before closing; 30 days after closing to fix |
| Calumet City | Conditional Certification of Compliance; 180 days after closing |
| Dolton | Escrow ($1,000 for investors and multi-unit); 120 days to finish; permits can be pulled after closing |
| Evergreen Park | Seller repairs and reinspection, or as-is with a buyer's attorney letter committing to apply for permits within 30 days of closing |
| Hazel Crest | Village code allows closing with an escrow set by the fire chief, with repairs due in the time the village sets |
| Markham | As-Is Affidavit; 60 days to correct; no occupancy until a certificate of occupancy is issued |
| Matteson | Notarized as-is affidavit; repairs and reinspection within 30 days of closing; no occupancy until cleared |
| Park Forest | The inspection gates occupancy, not closing: no one moves in until it passes |
| Riverdale | 60-day closing affidavit plus escrow (the village's form states two different escrow formulas, so confirm the amount) |
Villages update these rules. Harvey, for example, ended its point-of-sale inspections in April 2025. Confirm with the village before you build a closing plan on any of them.
Why the clock matters for your estimate: a 30-day window changes the math. The work has to be scheduled, permitted, and reinspected in a month, which can mean paying for a crew's time you'd otherwise spread out. A 120- or 180-day window lets you fold the violations into the full rehab.
Step 2: Sort every line into four buckets
Go through the report line by line and put each item in one of these:
1. Safety items. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, handrails and guards, missing cover plates, trip hazards. Usually quick and inexpensive. Do them first: they're often what stands between you and a passed reinspection.
2. Permit items. Water heater replacement, electrical work beyond a device swap, plumbing changes, structural repairs. The work itself may be modest, but a permit adds application time, inspection scheduling, and, in most of the villages we've checked, a contractor registered with that village. Start these early.
3. Exterior and site items. Gutters and downspouts, walkways, garage condition, fences, grading. These are easy to underestimate. A garage on a list can be a door adjustment or a structural problem, and on a small deal an exterior item can be one of the largest numbers on the page.
4. Red flags that point behind the wall. This is the bucket that decides whether the report is a nuisance or a budget problem. Watch for vague or general wording such as an electrical hazard, evidence of moisture, venting issues, or anything structural. The inspector writes what they can see. What caused it is your problem to find.
Step 3: Walk the property with the report in hand
A report is a list, not a diagnosis. Walk every line in person, ideally with the contractor who'll do the work:
- Find each item. Photograph it, note the room, and measure anything that will be replaced.
- Look past it. A missing junction box cover is a two-minute fix. Signs of amateur wiring around it are not. A water-stained ceiling under a bathroom means you open the ceiling, not paint it.
- Note what the inspector couldn't see. Closed walls, a finished basement, a locked garage, a roof viewed from the ground. The report doesn't cover what wasn't accessible.
- Check the mechanicals. Age and condition of the furnace, water heater, and electrical panel, even if they weren't cited. If one fails in month two of your rehab, it's still your bill.
Step 4: Turn each line into scope
Now write the estimate the same way you'd write any scope of work: one row per item, with enough detail that two contractors would price the same thing.
| Report item | Bucket | Permit? | Before or after closing | Trade | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (copy the village's wording) | Safety / permit / exterior / red flag | Ask the village | Per the village's as-is rules | Electrical, plumbing, carpentry… | Contractor's number |
Three rules keep this honest:
- Use the village's wording. The reinspection is checked against what the report says, so your scope should answer it line for line.
- Price the red flags as ranges. If an item could be a small fix or a large one, carry both numbers until someone has looked behind it.
- Add permit time, not just permit fees. In a 30-day window, the permit calendar can matter more than the permit cost.
Step 5: Add what isn't on the report
The violation list is the floor. Your real budget also includes:
- The rest of your rehab. Finishes, updates, and anything you're doing for the rent or the resale. The village doesn't care about your kitchen; your buyer or tenant does.
- Contractor registration. The south-suburban villages we've checked license or register contractors, most with a bond. Blue Island, for example, requires registration by contractor type, a $10,000 surety bond, and $1 million in general liability coverage. Dolton's contractor license is $350 with a $10,000 bond. Make sure whoever does the work can pull permits in that village before you plan around them.
- Reinspection and occupancy. In several villages, no one can move in until the violations are cleared. If the property is meant to rent, the reinspection date is the start of your income.
- Holding costs. Every week between closing and a passed reinspection is interest, insurance, taxes, and utilities.
Step 6: Use the number before you close
Once you have a real estimate, you have options:
- Negotiate price or a credit. A line-item estimate tied to the village's own report is harder to argue with than "the house needs work."
- Ask the seller to make repairs. Usually best for quick safety items the seller can finish before closing.
- Take it as-is with a plan. If the village allows it and the window is long enough, fold the violations into your full rehab and schedule them first.
- Walk away. Sometimes a report reveals that the deal only worked because the problems were invisible.
Mistakes that cost investors money
- Treating the report as the full scope. It's what the village will enforce, not what the property needs.
- Ignoring the deadline until after closing. A 30-day as-is window starts at closing, not when your crew is free.
- Hiring someone who can't pull permits in that village. Registration and bonding come first.
- Pricing red flags as their best case. Carry a range until the wall is open.
- Waiting to get a contractor's eyes on it. The report is most valuable before you sign.
How we help
We handle point-of-sale repairs for investors across the south suburbs. Send Mason the report with the address, the village, and your closing date. We'll review the violations with you and talk through what can be scoped and permitted before you close.
That's a repair-scope review, not a promise that the village will pass the property, and not a final construction price. The village decides compliance at reinspection. If you already own the property, a scope visit gets you a full proposal for the violations and the rest of the rehab together.