Residential Real Estate Transactions

​Buying or selling a home can be both exciting and stressful. Whether you are a buyer or seller, The Law Office of Jeffrey Olsen LLC can represent you, so you can rest-assured that a knowledgeable attorney is representing you.. Most residential real estate transactions can be broken down into the following phases:​

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• Contract of Sale

  • A contract is formed when Buyer's real estate agent presents an offer on the property to Seller's agent and it is accepted by Seller.

• Attorney Review

  • Attorney review is a 72-hour review period where either side can walk away from the deal without penalty. During the review, the attorneys for Buyer and Seller review the Contract of Sale and propose changes until an agreement is reached by the parties on all terms of the sale.

  • Whether you are a Buyer or Seller, as your attorney, our office will carefully review the Contract of Sale and negotiate changes on your behalf.

• Home Inspection & Survey

  • When representing a Buyer, our office highly recommends that both a property survey and home inspections be ordered. Purchasing a home is a major investment and we, generally, recommend that you be fully informed on the property before closing. 

  • A property survey is not required under New Jersey law but many mortgage lenders will make the survey a prerequisite to issuing Buyer a mortgage. Further, we strongly recommend a survey to buyers as the survey will reveal the boundary lines of the property and if there are any encroachments on or off of the property.

  • Additionally, we highly recommend our Buyers order home inspections. Some examples of inspections are: a general home inspection, radon inspection, termite inspection, oil tank sweep, swimming pool inspection, septic inspection, mold inspection and lead-paint inspection.​

• Mortgage Process

  • Most buyers are unable to pay cash for their home and require a mortgage to finance the purchase. After attorney review concludes, Buyer should get the ball rolling on obtaining a mortgage. The mortgage process can be challenging and frustrating but is crucial as it will be ongoing all the way until the sales transaction is finalized at closing. Buyers often find themselves with a number of lenders to choose from and it recommended that Buyers work closely with their mortgage professional to efficiently navigate the process and ensure their application is approved, a mortgage commitment is issued and any required conditions for the commitment are satisfied, and lastly, final approval and clearance to close are issued.  ​

• Title Search

  • Seller must provide Buyer with a "clear and marketable" title at the closing. When we represent a Buyer, we will order a title search of the property to verify there are no claims that could impact the transfer of clear title to Buyer at the time of closing.

• Closing

  • The closing usually occurs at the office of the title company, but can also be at Buyer's attorney's office or at the lender's office. ​

  • Both Buyer and Seller have a number of documents to sign at the closing. Some of the key documents are:

    • Seller signs the deed and affidavit of title; and​

    • Buyer reviews and signs a voluminous packet from the lender which includes the note and the mortgage.

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