As a real estate closing attorney with offices in Memphis and Chattanooga I get to experience may wonderful home closings, and a few that I’d rather not discuss here. But my idea of the perfect settlement would go something like this:
Myself, the Buyers and their Agent, the sellers and their agent, and the lender (just in case) all arrive to the table 15 minutes early. We all discuss the buyers future plans, discuss where the sellers are moving, show each other pictures of our children, and once we are done get down to closing.
Everyone has already seen the HUD since the package got to my office yesterday. The buyers love the rate and term of their loan. The sellers take their proceeds and embark on life’s next great journey. The wire is in, keys are exchanged, we all hug, shake hands, and after 45 minutes total settlement time, live happily ever after.
Fortunately we’re very lucky in that most of our closings go very similar to this. And I’d like to thank all of the tireless agents, brokers and buyers and sellers who help make this happen. Not to mention my hardworking partner and employees.
Being a Memphis and Chattanooga real estate lawyer and owning a regional title company I see interesting situations pop up all the time. Some are easy to fix, while others take a little more patience and often times a lot more time. On this blog I’ll try to keep you guys informed of interesting situations that I run across [...]
Read the full article »
I was recently asked to be the key speaker for a group of individuals from the real estate and mortgage industry in Memphis, Tennessee. The person who was putting together the program had asked me to share some thoughts on the top ways that agents get themselves in trouble. Here is the list that I [...]
Read the full article »
I am often invited to speak in front of groups and give speaches concerning the local real estate market. People who work with me know that I try to always know the pulse of how the greater Memphis area market is performing. While browsing the net I came across the Dr. Housing Bubble blog that [...]
Read the full article »
Governor Phil Bredesen just signed a new law here in Tennessee that prohibits real estate agents from giving away cash rebates, gifts or prizes in conjunction with a real estate transaction. The bill, SB1160, had been backed by the Tennessee Association of Realtors.The bill passed despite a letter being sent by the Department of Justice [...]
Read the full article »
Many real estate investors will purchase a house and allow the seller to stay in the home for a short time after the sale of the home is completed. But doing this could come back to bite them. Here’s one example of why you should always take possession at closing.
Recently we had a client who purchased [...]
Read the full article »
Believe it or not this actually happens on rare occasions. You might have purchased a house and signed the closing documents only to find out when you go to move in that the seller is still living in the house and refuses to leave. What do you do now? Can you just throw them out? Call the [...]
Read the full article »