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SELLING
The Law Firm Of Richard T. McCarthy provides the expertise and personal service needed to assist you in making the sale of residential real estate simple and painless. Provided here are some basic answers to the most common questions asked during the sale of a home.
Please feel free to call our office about your real estate needs.
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Attorney review is the time period when your attorney may review and make changes to the Contract on your behalf. It typically runs for three business days (not including weekends and federal holidays) after the Contract has been signed by the Buyer and Seller. It is important that you get the Contract to our office during the three day period. Even the standard realtor contracts will need to have changes made for your benefit and protection. Our real estate office is familiar with the changes which need to made to your Contract.
If you are selling privately (no realtor involvement), and the Buyer presents you with a Contract to sign, do not sign the Contract until after you have spoken with our office.
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The contract deposit shows the Buyer's good faith intent to purchase your home. A contract deposit makes it more difficult for a Buyer to simply change their mind and 'walk away' from a Contract because the Buyer now has his/ her own funds invested in the transaction. Historically, the contract deposit has been ten (10%) percent of the purchase price. However, as the cost of housing has increased over the last few years, the deposit is often less than ten (10%) percent as Buyers are financing more of the purchase price.
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If available, you should provide our office with a copy of your deed, survey and title insurance policy. Our office will also send you a 'Seller Information Sheet' which requests information to help our office process your file and prepare closing documents. Please fill out the Seller Information Sheet and return it to our office as soon as possible.
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You do not have to attend your own closing. In fact, many Sellers for a variety of reasons do not attend their own closings. If you do not want to attend your closing, please call our office to schedule an appointment to pre-sign the closing documents. Our office will then attend the closing on your behalf and make arrangements to forward the closing proceeds to you. Closing proceeds may be forwarded via your personal pick-up, our deposit into your local bank account, overnight mail or the wiring of the closing proceeds into your account.
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First, check with your town clerk who will direct you to whom to contact in your town. It is typically the building department. Some towns require a Seller to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy as a condition of sale. State law requires that all Sellers obtain a smoke and carbon monoxide detector inspection. This inspection is typically administered by your town officials. The town issues you a 'Certificate of Approval' once the inspection is complete. You must bring this Certificate to the closing. Effective for 2006, state law now requires that all Sellers have one portable fire extinguisher mounted within 10 feet of the kitchen area. It can not be located in a closet or a cabinet. This inspection is also typically administered by your town officials and this approval certificate must also be brought to the closing.
If you have made any improvements to your home during your ownership which required building permits, check with the construction office of your town to verify the permits have been closed out. Bernards Township requires a 'CRC Clearance Letter' from the construction office as a condition of sale which is township verification that any open permits have been closed out. Long Hill Township requires a sump pump inspection whether or not your home has a sump pump. They will issue a certificate regarding the same.
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The contract closing date is typically a 'target' date only. Historically, most closings have occurred on the target closing date. However, there has been a trend over the last several years for closing time frames (time between date the contract is signed and closing date) to become shorter and shorter. This has created more closing date delays as the Buyer's attorney or lender may not be ready to close. If the contract closing date is 30 days or less, there is a greater likelihood that the closing date may be delayed. The actual time of closing is usually confirmed several days before the closing.
You will need to have moved out of your house and have it in broom clean condition and free of debris at the time of closing. This includes removal of any old paint cans. If possible, it is prudent to move out the day before the closing and have your furniture stored on the moving truck overnight. Otherwise, if you have not moved out by the time of closing, the closing may be postponed.
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If you have a home equity line of credit which is secured by a mortgage against your home, that line of credit needs to be either frozen or closed out prior to the closing. Do not make any further draws against the credit line after the Contract is signed without notifying our office. After the closing, the credit line may not be used under any circumstance.
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Typically, the utilities are transferred into your Buyer's name as of the date of closing without being turned off. Many realtors will offer to coordinate the transfer of utilities for you. Please make sure your electricity and heat are not turned off before the closing as your Buyer will need to do a walk through inspection on the day of closing. If the utilities are turned off and your Buyer can not do a walk through, this may postpone the closing until the following business day. Also, if your closing is delayed for some reason, you do not want your house to be without heat.
Call your homeowners insurance company to cancel your insurance 'after' we have confirmed that the closing has occurred. Do 'not' call ahead of time to cancel coverage in anticipation of the closing date.
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Property taxes, sewer and association fees prepaid by you will be adjusted at the closing and you will be reimbursed for these items. If a bill is due two weeks prior to the scheduled closing, we recommend that you do not pay the same unless you will incur a substantial late charge. This is because any bills paid within two weeks of closing may not be posted by the time of closing.
If you have oil or propane heat, please make arrangements to have your fuel service company take a fuel reading the day before the closing and advise us as to the value of fuel in the tank the day before the closing. Please bring a receipt so that you can obtain reimbursement.
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You will continue to pay your mortgages up until the month of your closing. Your mortgages are typically paid off the 'next business day' (do not count weekends) after the day of closing via overnight mail. If the 'next business day' after your closing is on or before the 15th of the month, you do not have to make your mortgage payments for the month of the closing. However, if the next business day is after the 15th, you must make your mortgage payments that month in order to avoid any late charge. If you are making a mortgage payment, please pay it promptly so that it gets posted on time.
Please remember that if the closing gets delayed, you may need to make your mortgage payments for that month. You will need to keep track of this. Buyers are not responsible for any late charges which you may incur for late mortgage payments as a result of closing delays.
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The realty transfer fee is a tax that the Seller pays to the State of New Jersey for the privilege of selling his/her home. The tax rate changes based upon the value of the property being sold. However, assume the tax is roughly one (1%) percent of the selling price and is paid at the closing. If you are a senior citizen and are selling your primary residence, you are entitled to a discount on the realty transfer tax.
If you live out of state and are selling property in New Jersey, there also may be a capital gains tax which you pay to the State of New Jersey at the time of closing. You will need to contact our office to review whether this tax applies to your situation.
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