Beware of Old Mortgages!
Even though you’ve paid off a mortgage or home equity line, the bank’s lien against your home may still remain. During the course of a real estate transaction, whether a sale or refinance, a report of title is procured from a title insurance company to insure your buyer or lender that there are no liens against your property. Very often, …
Do Not Drive a Snow-Covered Car!
You should be aware that N.J.S.A. 39:4-77.1 confers upon New Jersey motorists the affirmative obligation to make a good faith effort to clear all ice and snow from their cars before driving. The statute provides that you may be stopped by a police officer for failing to do so, and you can be fined up to $75.00 for each occurrence. …
Important for Parents of Adult Children
Over the holidays, I received a phone call from a close friend. His son, already on psychological medication, had ingested a good deal of illicit street drugs, suffered a psychotic break, and landed in the emergency room, facing the prospect of being committed to an institution. Like any parent, my friend had a litany of questions for the doctors, and …
Selling Real Property as an Executor
As the Executor or Administrator of an Estate, part of your duties is to liquidate any real estate owned by the decedent. While the process is similar to other sale transactions, there are extra steps- and extra pitfalls- that the estate administrator must consider. When listing the house with a realtor, try to get more than one professional opinion of …
Child Support Law Changes
New Jersey Child Support Payments Now Terminate Automatically If you receive or pay child support in New Jersey, a new law may seriously affect those payments. Currently, New Jersey law provides no automatic termination of child support payments. Once a child turns 18, the onus is upon the paying party to seek termination of support. While there is a presumption …
Small Business Pitfalls
Clients starting small businesses are usually encouraged to operate as a formal entity, either as a corporation or a limited liability company. And while most people understand that the purpose of incorporation is to protect the owners from individual liability, there are circumstances where that protection can be bypassed- and the owners find themselves personally liable for the debts of …
Home Warranties
Protect yourself – whether you are selling or not. A few years ago, the buzz phrase “at the end of its useful life” started showing up in just about every home inspection report. “This furnace is the oldest furnace I’ve ever seen. It’s structurally sound, it’s not leaking, but it could fail at any time and should be replaced immediately. …
New Law! Move Over!
It’s actually not that new- the legislature passed the law in 2009. Nevertheless, many people have never heard of a violation under NJSA 39:4-92.2. This law is being enforced vigorously – and it can be costly. Pursuant to this section, a driver has an obligation to move to the left when passing an emergency vehicle on the right shoulder of …
Have You Updated Your Will?
It’s not something people like to think about. But insuring that your will is properly updated can save your family a good deal of heartache. Now, honestly, not everyone needs a will, and there is a huge misconception that without a will, the government will take your assets. In fact, the State of New Jersey has what is called an …
What is this TRID business? And what happened to my HUD?
You may have noticed that recently, just about everyone in the real estate industry has lost their minds. This is because on October 3, 2015, the federal government decided to change the way real estate transactions are settled, and the disinformation out there is staggering. The new regulations are called TRID, short for TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure law. That probably didn’t …
“You want me to sign a contract to buy a house before my lawyer has a chance to read it!? That’s crazy!”
But that’s how we roll here in New Jersey. In 1995, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided In Re Opinion 26 , settling a long dispute between the New Jersey Bar Association and the New Jersey Association of Realtors. You see, some Realtors regularly drafted contracts for real estate transactions, as is common practice in many states. The Bar contended …
“But I want this house and I didn’t want to cancel! Why did my attorney issue a notice of disapproval?!”
Stay calm. Part of your attorney’s job is to insure that a real estate contract provides you with the most protection possible. The printed forms used by Realtors tend to be somewhat generic, and for this reason, attorneys take this opportunity to suggest changes that would give you more protection than the printed forms provide. In order to make these …
“My roof is at the end of its useful life!? What the heck does that mean!?”
Not much, but let’s see how we got here. Following the end of attorney review, a buyer will schedule a physical inspection of the house. A professional home inspector, paid by the buyer, will check everything from the base of the foundation to the tip of the chimney, additionally looking for wood-destroying insects, mold, asbestos and the presence of radon …
“I’m not buying a house filled with poisonous gas!”
Take it easy. One of the things that a home inspector will look for is the excessive presence of radon, a radioactive gas that you can’t see and can’t smell, but may be very dangerous in excess concentrations. In fact, at very high levels, radon may cause lung cancer. Radon is released from the breakdown of various elements in the …