Buying and Selling Real Estate

You find what appears to be the perfect house! What happens next? You and the seller agree on the price and terms and sign a short form known as a binder indicating you are both seriously interested. You make a small deposit in good faith. The binder should designate a date by which a contract will be signed or the deposit will be returned to you.

The contract , also known as the purchase and sale agreement, covers all terms of the sale, including purchase price, a description of the property based on a current survey showing accurate measurements, boundaries and all structures on the property, a description of person property to be included in the sale, existing easements (rights to the use of your property by someone else), and the date you are expected to take possession.

Next, you provide a down payment and all parties sign the contract. Usually the Seller's attorney holds the down payment known as the escrow. Then, while you go about obtaining financing, arranging for insurance and having a termite inspection done, a title search takes place. A title insurance company researches the property to determine if the seller is really the owner and if there are any outstanding judgments or liens (legal claims, usually the result of a debt) against the property. The seller is responsible for supplying you with a "good and marketable title".

At last, if everything is in order and your mortgage application has been approved, the escrow will "close". At the closing, you and your attorney, the real estate broker and a bank representative all come together to finalize the sale. You must show proof of insurance, at which point the bank lends you the money which you in turn pay to the seller. The seller signs the deed, (legal description of the land) over to you, and the deed is recorded in the county clerks office.

Congratulations, you are now a home owner!

Yours,

ANTHONY F. RUSSO

RUSSO, DARNELL & LODATO, LLP.
1975 HEMPSTEAD TURNPIKE
SUITE 401
EAST MEADOW, NY. 11554
PHONE: 516-368-0378
FAX: 516-794-5447