Attorney
Have your realtor fax the signed Contract to your attorney immediately. It is also important to call your attorney to retain them and provide details regarding your transaction. The Attorney Review period expires 3 business days (not including weekends or holidays) after the Realtor Contracts have been signed and delivered, during which changes can be made to the Contract. After both parties sign off on the changes, Attorney Review ends and the Contract is finalized.
There are three (3) contingency provisions in the Contract that protect buyers and their deposits. These are the Home Inspection, Mortgage Commitment and Title contingencies. If these contingencies are not satisfied, the Buyer may cancel the Contract and have the deposit returned.
Costs
Aside from the attorney fee and mortgage costs, you will also incur Inspection, Title Search and Insurance, Survey, and Recording Costs.
Inspection of the home to be purchased should be scheduled right after the attorney review period ends. We suggest that you speak with 2 or 3 inspectors (we can provide a few recommendations), choose one and have the inspection done within the time frame allowed in the Contract. This cost will be paid directly by you to the inspector.
The costs of the inspection will depend on what kind of inspections are required. Usually the minimum will be a Structural, Radon and Termite inspection. If applicable, you may also need to have the Well/Septic and Oil Tank inspected.
You should have a copy of the Inspection Report sent to your attorney's office and then call to discuss the issues raised therein. Our office can go through your inspection report with you step-by-step over the phone. We will then generate a letter to the Seller's side to rectify the inspection issues.
Once the Inspection issues are resolved and you have obtained a mortgage commitment, our office will order the Title Search and Survey.
Title Search and Insurance will insure that you have clear legal title to the property (no liens attached). It takes our office approximately two weeks to obtain the title search. We will review the title search and then submit it to your mortgage company. The Title Search and Insurance Policy cost is regulated by the State of New Jersey, and is based upon the purchase price of the home. This cost will be paid by you at closing.
A Survey is required by mortgage companies and draws out the legal boundaries of the property being purchased. If the Seller provides you an older survey and an Affidavit of No Changes to the property, the lender may accept it in lieu of a new survey, and we will not have to order a new one. This cost will also be paid at closing
Recording Costs are mandated by the State of New Jersey, depending on the length of the documents, and are incurred for recording your Deed, Mortgage and second mortgage if applicable. These costs are also paid at closing.
The closing usually takes place at the office of the buyer's attorney or title company. If you are purchasing a co-op or new construction, the closing will take place at the office of the the co-op attorney or the builder's attorney.
All parties whose name will be on the Title and Mortgage need to be present. An attorney from our office will be there to represent you. Sometimes the Seller will attend in person or they may often have their Attorney attend on their behalf. The closing will take approximately 1 1/2 hours.
You will need to bring photo I.D. for all parties and a certified, bank or cashier's check. We will provide you with the exact amount you need to bring the day before the closing. The check should be made payable to our Attorney Trust Account.
New Construction
In the case of new construction, it is a good idea not to lock into a mortgage commitment until the construction nears completion and the builder provides us with a closing date within the next 2-3 months. This is because new construction closings never occur on time. If you get a mortgage commitment too early on, you will have to get extensions. Our office will not order title until we are 2-3 months from closing either. The closing cannot take place unless the builder obtains a Certificate of Occupancy. You cannot occupy the property or store any belongings in the property prior to the closing.
Once the Certificate of Occupancy is issued, the Closing takes place within 14 days. The Closing is usually held at the office of the attorney for the builder.
Even though the Certificate of Occupancy is issued, there may still be some minor work for the builder to complete. Before the Closing, a Punch List will be prepared between the parties for the builder to complete the work within 30-45 days after the closing. A new construction buyer cannot usually hold an escrow for the punch list items. If the builder does not comply, you will have to start suit against the builder.
The builder must also provide a 10 year new homeowner's warranty. As with any warranty, please read this one carefully to see what is covered.
