Real Estate

You can call our office and an attorney will be happy to help you prepare the necessary disclosures for potential buyers. In most cases, it is necessary to fill out a Radon Gas Disclosure, Lead-Based Paint Disclosure, and Seller’s Disclosure of Real Property Condition Report. Our office can also act as the escrow agent and hold your buyer’s deposit until closing.

In all likelihood, the attorney recommended will do a good job handling your closing. Please keep in mind that prices vary among attorneys and just like everything else in the home-buying/refinancing process, you should shop around to make sure you are getting a price you are comfortable with. Also, ask to speak to the attorney to make sure you are comfortable working with them. You want to make sure they will help walk you through the process and will adequately answer any questions you may have regarding your loan documents. This can be especially true for first-time homebuyers, who are usually unfamiliar with the process. You want to make sure that you truly understand the documents you are signing.

Our office will prepare a Closing Disclosure which will identify the costs incurred for the loan and/or purchase. Our office cannot fully prepare this document until we receive the package from your lender. We may not receive this information until a few days before closing. We will contact you as soon as the information is available. For cash purchases, this information should be available a few days before closing.

Our office requires that funds over twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) be sent to our office via wire transfer. Wire instructions will be sent to you in our firm’s initial disclosure to you. If the dollar amount needed for closing is less than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), a personal check is sufficient. Funds between $2,000 and $20,000 can be paid via a certified/cashiers check from your bank. We realize that oftentimes you must go to the bank to order the wire transfer prior to knowing the exact dollar amount you need to bring to closing. Please use the loan estimate provided by your lender as the best estimate of closing costs. If the amount estimated is not enough, a personal check is acceptable for the difference. If you’ve wired too much money to our office, a check for the difference will be given to you at closing.

Checks should be payable to Carr Law, LLC.

All parties should bring valid photo identification with them (driver’s license, passport, etc.). In addition, some lenders require two forms of identification. Therefore, buyers/borrowers should also bring with them their social security card, insurance information, or W-2. If a pest inspection was performed, please bring the inspection report so that all parties can sign the document. Please bring your personal checkbook to closing. Oftentimes, there can be last-minute changes to the settlement statement sheet. It is a good idea to also bring any loan documents you’ve previously received from your lender and home inspection reports. These documents are not required for closing but can be helpful in the event a question or concern arises during closing. Also, it can be helpful if sellers bring any warranty or other information regarding the home to closing to turn over to the buyer.

No. The buyer’s attorney is paid for and represents the buyer only. The buyer’s attorney may also help to resolve any issues during closing that arise between the parties. The seller is not required to have their own attorney, but it is advisable.

Title insurance is insurance designed to cover the lender and/or owner in the event that someone else claims an interest in your property. For example, this can occur when a previous lien/mortgage goes unpaid, when the foreclosure process was not handled properly, or when a previous deed was signed inappropriately or not by all of the owners. Unlike other types of insurance, title insurance is paid only when you purchase and/or refinance your home. It is not an annual payment. It will cover you for as long as you own your property and/or for as long as your lender holds a mortgage against the home. Lenders title insurance is typically required to protect the lender in the event an issue arises. Lender’s coverage does not protect you. Owner’s coverage protects you and is optional, although highly recommended. Owner’s coverage typically is only slightly more expensive than lenders coverage. Title insurance is designed to protect your investment. Keep this in mind if you are purchasing a “fixer-upper”, where you’ll be investing a lot of your own money into the home, it may be wise to select coverage in an amount greater than the purchase price, to cover not only the original cost of the property, but also your additional investment.

The rules vary depending on where the property is located. Homes in unincorporated New Castle County (those not within any city limits) qualify for the exemption if the buyer has not previously purchased a home. Ever. Anywhere. The home must be used as their primary residence within 90 days of closing. If multiple individuals are purchasing the home, all individuals must meet this requirement. If the home is located within city limits for the City of Wilmington, the buyer(s) cannot have owned a home within the City of Wilmington for the last three years. If multiple individuals are purchasing the home, all individuals must meet this requirement. An exception does exist for the City of Wilmington for those displaced as a result of divorce or legal separation, in which case the buyer would qualify if they have not owned real estate in the City of Wilmington within the previous year. There is no exemption for properties located within the City of Newark, City of New Castle, Town of Elsmere, Town of Middletown, Town of Smyrna, or Town of Newport.