An IRELA CLE Webinar

 Financeable or Not: What Every Real Estate Attorney Needs to Know Before the Next Condo Deal

Esther Philips

MCLE approved for 1-hour General CLE credit

Registration is Free for IRELA Members

Non-Members ~ $50*

Two condo financing shifts, one already in effect and one landing in January 2027, are quietly deciding which condo deals close smoothly and which stall or die at the closing table. Smaller associations now clear financing faster with less paperwork. Larger ones face a fuller review than before, and reserve funding requirements are climbing, funded on an ongoing basis, not just banked.

For attorneys, the real story isn't the guideline, it's the exposure. Miss it, and a client can be locked into a contract for a building that can't be financed or blindsided by a review timeline that blows past a contingency deadline. Catch it early, and you're the advisor who kept the deal, and the client, out of trouble.

This session gives Illinois real estate attorneys a fast, practical read on what changed, what it means for financeability and closing timelines, and how earlier collaboration with agents and lenders turns this from a surprise into a non-issue.

Esther Phillips is SVP, Regional Manager at Rate, leading loan officer and branch manager recruiting, business development, and realtor partnerships throughout Illinois. 

She joins Rate with a career defined by range. At MidAmerica Bank, she scaled one of the company's largest and most profitable existing sales teams, directing over $1 billion in annual funded volume. At JPMorgan Chase, she built a referral-based sales organization from the ground up that ranked #4 regionally and #6 nationally for profitability. Most recently as SVP Managing Director of Key Mortgage Services, she took an underperforming affiliate lender and grew it 12x into a $1.2 billion top 5 purchase lender in the Chicagoland MSA, pushing average production per loan officer from $5 million to $16.5 million and partner satisfaction to a 90+ NPS.

Across three decades in mortgage banking,Estherhas recruited and developed teams that consistently outperform, including several of the top loan originators in the country, and has served two terms on the board of the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association. She approaches every challenge the same way: with process, execution, and relationships that hold up under pressure.

The proud mom of two daughters, you'll findEstherat a college sporting event with her husband, Rich, or logging her steps with her rescue dog Badger.

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