You may be asked to sign a non-foreign affidavit, also called a FIRPTA, if you are selling property.  It is one of the many documents that will be a part of your set of seller documents.  People can get a little confused or upset when they see language on the affidavit concerning a 10% or 15% IRS withholding.  The FIRPTA does not apply to everyone and is a common form to help the closing attorney confirm whether there will be an IRS withholding at closing.  It’s simple enough to follow the guidelines but I find it’s a bit better to … Continue reading →

What exactly is title? The practice of real estate concerns understanding how property is affected by a property owner in the chain of title. An owner of property can restrict and convey property while they own it. Once they convey the property, they no longer have the ability to restrict or convey that property but the property remains subject to the restrictions they placed on it while they did own it. Similarly, personal judgments and liens can attach to real property while it is owned by an individual. Judgment creditors can execute their judgment to partition and/or sell the property … Continue reading →

CONCERNS WITH CONTRACTS FOR DEED / LAND INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS As my mother told me long ago, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” If we establish that saying as truth, and there are many ways to accomplish the same goal, I would have to add that some methods are certainly better than others given the same fact pattern; experience teaches us this.  It is my experience that if you are selling a home in North Carolina to a buyer who does not have all of the funds to purchase the property, either thorough available cash or an … Continue reading →

A REALISTIC VIEW OF THE CLOSING I always tell my first-time homebuyers the same advice; never make plans to move in to your new home right after closing.  While there is a general expectation to receive keys to your home on the day of closing, there are numerous known delays which can create stress if you find yourself in a rush to the house after closing. As a general rule, the seller, or whichever party is holding the keys to the home, will provide the keys to the buyer once the deed to the property has been recorded in the … Continue reading →

To follow up on my last blog post, I have to believe that every attorney who practices has been confronted with the statement “but I’ve never had to do it that way before”.  Please believe that despite the image of attorneys driving up costs for their clients, most real estate attorneys are working off of a fee-based system and generally do not want to create unnecessary work or delays for themselves or others. Disbursements I know there are some attorneys now or in the past who would wink and pass along one or more checks at the closing table before … Continue reading →

At Law Firm Carolinas, we handle closings for developers, builders, and investors throughout North and South Carolina.  Too often problems arise when the title to the property has been left in an old, dissolved entity.  Here is how we handle the issue in North Carolina: North Carolina allows business entities to convey property even after dissolution pursuant to statues governing the wrapping up of the business, so long as it is concluded in a reasonable amount of time (It is helpful that the law does not specify the duration, provide a limitation, or define a reasonable amount of time.  I … Continue reading →

If you followed along with me on Part 1, you should know that purchase contracts come in all shapes and sizes.  Drafting a good contract considers not only the buyer and seller, but also everyone else in the closing process who will need the purchase contract for making decisions and producing paperwork. Delays are caused where there is incorrect or an incomplete information.  This blog will look at common legal description errors and suggest how to list a legal description to assist those who will follow in the closing process. Where is this? I have a purchase contract sitting on … Continue reading →

At Law Firm Carolinas., we have the great privilege of working on real estate transfers in every step of the process, but we usually begin our residential closing work with the receipt of a purchase contract.  We find there are good contracts out there and some, well, not so good contracts. So what separates the good from the bad? A good contract is complete and accurate.  In the light most favorable, a bad contract has the essential information but leaves Realtors, Brokers, and attorneys trying to fill in the blanks.  This can cause frustration and delays to all of the … Continue reading →