Newsletters

Presentation of and Response to Offers to Buy Real Estate

All offers to buy real estate must be presented to the seller or his agent as soon as possible. That means that as soon as the buyer's offer is made available to the listing agent, that offer must be presented to the seller. The listing agent has no discretion in whether to present an offer to the seller. All offers must be presented, even if the listing agent believes that the seller will not accept the offer.

Considerations for Sellers of Real Estate

There are probably as many reasons for putting a house up for sale as there are sellers. Regardless of the reasons, once the decision is made to sell, sellers have many things to consider that will make the process run smoothly. Among them are the physical condition of the property, the selling price, the remaining balance on any other mortgages or liens that are recorded against the property, and the use of a broker.

Judgment Liens and Other Types of Liens against Real Property

Most agreements for the sale of real estate contain a clause that requires the seller to convey "marketable title" or "merchantable title" to the buyer. In essence, "marketable title" refers to a title free of encumbrances. A lien is an encumbrance upon real property, and the existence of a lien on real property renders the title unmarketable.

Impact Fees

ABC Construction Corp. sought a permit to begin construction of 25 residences in the Southwell Hills Community, located in the County of Rockland. The development is situated in a neighborhood full of older houses. The local government authority conditioned the issuance of its building permit upon payment by ABC of certain impact fees.

Contingency Clauses in Real Estate Contracts

In the context of real estate transactions, buyers and sellers agree to contingencies. A contingency is a clause in a contract that allows a party to escape his or her obligations under the contract in the event that certain conditions are not met.