Closing is where everything comes together. The seller will sign and deliver a deed which transfers the property to the buyer. The buyer will sign their loan documents, including a mortgage if they’re getting financing on the property. A closing statement will be drawn up and gone over by the closing attorney or title company with the parties.

At the closing, the buyer and the seller will each sign their documents. The seller will sign a deed, which actually transfers the property to the buyer. Typically, the buyer will sign a mortgage if they’re borrowing money to buy the property. Then the closing agent will distribute the funds to the people that are due. The parties will exchange keys. Most of the time it’s a pleasant process, but sometimes it’s not so pleasant.

Depending on how the contract was drafted, the seller may seek to retain the deposit as liquidated damages. Or the buyer may receive a return of the deposit if there was a contingency in the contract that allowed the buyer not to close. You need to consult a professional real estate attorney in Florida to know what your rights are under the contract.

In Florida, co-tenants or co-owners of property have a right of partition, which means they can force a sale of the property if the parties can’t agree on whether or not to sell the property. As long as they haven’t in writing agreed to not sell the property at the time of purchase, one of the parties can file a partition action and ask the court to force a sale of the property and split the proceeds accordingly.

Most real estate contracts have a financing contingency deadline. You want to make sure that you pick a lender not only that of course will offer you good terms, but that can meet the deadline for the financing contingency. If your lender does not meet the deadline for the financing contingency in the contract, you may be in breach or default of the contract, and may lose the house or be sued for damages.

It’s important to do a title search any time you buy a piece of real estate. A title search will show you a history of the property. It will show you if there’s any liens on the property or unpaid mortgages or any problems that could affect your title to the property. Title insurance is commonly seen in most transactions in Florida. Anything involving financing, the bank is going to require title insurance. Title insurance is exactly what it sounds like. It insures that no one has a claim to the title of your home. It’s insured up to the full purchase price and it grants you protection from anyone coming back to say they have a claim on the property.

Simultaneous closings can have a lot of issues. That’s typically when a person is selling a house and buying a house at the same time. Depending on the situation, a good real estate attorney can provide contingencies in the contract that will allow you to stay in the house after closing or you have to make arrangements for temporary lodging. Either way, it can be very tricky when you’re selling two … selling a home and buying a home at the same time.

A real estate broker and a real estate lawyer have different skillsets. A real estate broker should have a good knowledge of the market. A real estate attorney is going to advise you on where you stand legally, make sure that any clauses that you want in the contract are put into the contract and written in a legal and enforceable way. The best real estate transactions are when the real estate agent and real estate attorney work hand in hand to represent your best interest.

If the inspection is not satisfactory, it goes back to what are the terms of the contract say. In Florida, there is two commonly used contracts. One of which is an AS-IS contract. The AS-IS contract usually give a period of days, anywhere from three to 15 days, for the buyer to inspect the property. Essentially, under that contract, the buyer can back out for any reason or no reason. However, if you’re using a different type of contract that doesn’t allow for the buyer to back out based on the inspections, then the seller may be able to hold the buyer to the contract and proceed towards closing.

It’s a good idea to retain the services of a real estate attorney when you’re purchasing or selling a home. Most people, when they buy or sell real estate, it’s the largest transaction of their financial lives. It’s important to have someone on your team to make sure that they’re protecting your legal interests and watching out for you.