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WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION?
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The Contract is signed by the Buyer and Seller and referred to an Attorney for review.
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After the contract is signed, there is a mandatory Attorney review period for 3 days where the Attorney reviews the contract to protect the client and address any special interests of his/her client. The contract can be cancelled for any reason at this point.
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After attorney review concludes, the Buyer usually hires an inspector to inspect the property to ensure there are no deal-breaking defects that were not immediately apparent. The Buyer may also conduct an environmental sweep of the property for hazardous materials such as oil tanks.
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Following a successful inspection, the Buyer’s Attorney will order a title search of the property. This search contains legal documents that both Buyer and Seller’s attorney will review to ensure that there are no liens or other legal issues negatively affecting the property. If any issues exist, both attorneys will develop a plan to address any issues by closing.
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At this point, the Buyer will begin working with his or her lender to obtain financing (a mortgage commitment), if necessary, and the Seller’s attorney will prepare the deed to be held in escrow for closing.
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Finally, the parties will begin preparing for closing by working with the Lender and the Title Company to prepare a final settlement statement that dictates how monies will be exchanged to all involved parties. Depending on the details of the transaction, the parties may or may not have to attend the closing.
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH THE DEAL, HOW LIKELY IS IT TO HAVE MY DEPOSIT RETURNED?
Whether or not the Buyer’s deposit will be returned with no issues depends on the terms of your contract. This is why it is important to have an experienced attorney review and make amendments to your contract at the attorney review stage. In rare situations, it may be necessary to sue the Seller to have the deposit properly returned.
HOW LONG DOES A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION NORMALLY TAKE?
A real estate transaction typically takes 90 days if the Buyer needs financing to cover the cost of the purchase price. If the transaction is a cash deal (no Buyer financing), the transaction can close in as short as 30-45 days.
WHEN CAN I MOVE INTO THE PROPERTY?
The Buyer is free to move into the property as soon as the closing is over on the day of the closing.
DO I NEED TO PAY MY ATTORNEY UPFRONT?
Generally our firm normally does NOT take upfront payment for standard real estate transactions. In most instances, our fee is only paid at closing. This incentivizes us to closely work on your deal and ensure that it closes in a timely manner.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TRANSACTION IS CANCELLED BEFORE CLOSING?
If the transaction is cancelled prior to closing, we may ask you to reimburse certain costs, like those of the title search, in the event those costs were advanced by us on your behalf.
HOW DO I FIND A SKILLED REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY?
Your real estate agent can refer you to a trusted attorney. Agents work with attorneys all the time. They know who is easily accessible, has a reliable response time, etc.