SELLING A HOME FAQS


NEW JERSEY

Selling A Home FAQS

Selling a Home

Selling your home in New Jersey is an exciting but complicated process. Our law firm will help guide you from contract to closing. When a potential buyer puts an offer in writing and you accept it, the signed acceptance becomes the sales contract. Once the real estate agent draws up the initial contract it will be submitted to your attorney to review the contract and protect your interests.

Issues that should be addressed during attorney review:

Sales Price:

  • Importance of the Initial Deposit and time for payment
  • Importance of the Buyer’s Mortgage Amount
  • Closing Date (And any contingencies, such as
  • Items included or excluded in the sale price (appliances, light fixtures, window treatments, carpeting,, heating oil,
  • The date of possession (usually the closing date)
  • Inspection contingencies
  • Municipal Requirements (Certificate of Occupancy, Carbon Monoxide Detector, Smoke Detector, Fire Extinguisher Requirements)

Tax Implications:

Selling a home can have a major impact on your federal and state tax returns. Check with your tax consultant on the factors that may affect taxes resulting from the sale of your home.

For example:

  • Whether you purchased the home or acquired it by gift or inheritance
  • Whether you used your home partly for business or rental costs associated with selling your home
  • Home improvements or additions, which may help to offset capital gains the sale of your home. In certain cases you can exclude up to $250,000 in gain ($500,000 for married couples filing a joint return) on the sale of property that was your principal residence for at least two of the last five years.

Documents Required:

Following Attorney Review, you will be asked to provide a copy of your Deed, survey (or survey certificate if it is a condominium), and title insurance policy to provide to the Buyer, as well as any guaranties and warranties on appliances (if these documents are available).

Also, if your property is a condominium or townhouse, you will be asked to provide contact information for the Community Association, so the Buyer can obtain a copy of the bylaws, financial statements, insurance information and a Closing Statement that will confirm when monthly maintenance is paid through, as well as any move in/out fees.

Upon the conclusion of attorney review, we provide you with a checklist of things you must perform so that the process can be completed with greater ease. We also provide a questionnaire that we would ask you to complete and return to us. The Questionnaire includes information necessary to finalize the closing and have any existing mortgages against the property paid off and satisfied in full.

What are my expected closing costs?

Your biggest closing expense will be paying off any existing mortgages. You will be asked to provide your loan information in order for the Buyers attorney to payoff your mortgage at closing. If you have used the services of a realtor, the real estate commission will be due at closing and paid out of the proceeds. After paying your attorney’s fees, the balance of the proceeds will be provided to you.

Realty Transfer Fee

- disabled, senior discounts

Real Estate Agent’s Commission

You will also have to pay whatever real estate commission that you agreed to pay at the time you listed the property for sale.

Attorneys Fees

Attorneys fees are paid at closing. Our fees are usually on a flat fee basis; however, some transactions may require an hourly fee arrangement. Please contact this office directly to find out the rate for the purchase of your future home.

The Levine Law goal at every phase of a legal procedure is to over 30 years of legal experience in residential real estate law in Bergen County, NJ. Please feel free to tour our site seeking anything that you may have in relation with our services and contact us at The Levine Law Firm with any further thoughts and questions, we are more than happy to help.