Mullen Associates - Real Estate Transactions

Real Estate Transactions

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Mullen Associates can help you with a wide variety of real estate transactions, ranging from city lots to farms to lake properties. We represent clients who buy and sell residential, commercial and agricultural properties.

Purchases and Sales

If you are a prospective purchaser, there are several practical questions you should ask yourself before buying a home:

  1. Can I afford this? Keep in mind that the price of the home itself is just one of many costs involved. Here is a partial list of some of the more common costs for buyers:
    • Taxes and municipal fees: often including, but not limited to these:
      • County Taxes
      • School Taxes
      • City or Village Taxes
      • Water and Sewer Charges
    • Homeowner’s Insurance
    • Mortgage Insurance
    • Maintenance Costs
    • Closing Costs which, for buyers, often include the following:
      • Filing Transfer Tax Report ($125-250)
      • Filing Deed (often ranges between $50 and 150)
      • Legal Costs
      • Prorated Tax Payments to Sellers
      • Purchase of Title Insurance
      • Filing Mortgage (often ranges between $100 and 200)
      • Mortgage Tax Bank Fees
      • Tax Escrows Which Lender Requires to be Paid in Advance
      • Homeowner’s Insurance
      • Inspection Costs
  2. What is the neighborhood like (market values of homes are often capped by the neighborhood in which the home is located)?
  3. How close is it to my support system and workplace?

Likewise, when you are selling a home, there will also be costs involved (often including, but not limited to, the following):

  1. Transfer Tax (roughly four dollars per thousand dollars of sale price plus five dollars to file)
  2. Survey (if required by contract)
  3. Abstract or abstract update costs
  4. Tax Searches (buyers almost always require taxes to be paid; in order for a seller’s attorney to guarantee that this has been done, we have to order tax searches from each entity to which taxes are owed)
  5. Legal Costs
  6. Costs to file documents necessary to convey property (for example, a power of attorney when property is being conveyed pursuant to a power of attorney).
  7. Realtors’ fees

Of course, whether you are buying or selling, some of these costs can be negotiated at the time of the purchase offer. Once both parties have signed the offer, however, these costs can generally not be shifted.

How We Can Help You

In order for us to help you, the first step is generally to have a contract negotiated along with the requisite disclosures. If you need assistance with this, we are always happy to help you negotiate a contract. Of course, many times, this step has already been taken care of by the parties and their realtors. If you already have a contract, you can drop it off, email, or fax it to our office, and we will take care of the rest.

Supplemental Documents

The contract is the primary document we need to get a deal moving. Above and beyond the contract, we often require sellers to bring us copies of their past tax statements, any abstract or survey they have, and any documents necessary to prove the seller has authority to sell the property (an original power of attorney is an example of this if a party is selling as another’s power of attorney).

Timeframe

People often want to know what the timeframe will be for a closing. You should be aware that, while cash deals can often close very quickly (this can be done roughly within a month’s time), when financing is involved, there are a lot of extra requirements that need to be met. These requirements, coupled with the extra people involved, have the potential to cause the deal to take longer to close. Mortgage commitments often run for sixty days, and sometimes requirements can be so stringent that even those periods need to be extended. Generally, however, once a party has a mortgage commitment, we are often able to close within that time period.

We may direct your attention to fill out some or all of the following forms at the beginning of a real
estate transaction:

If you would like us to handle a real estate transaction for you, please contact us or use the following link to enter the data for your transaction.*

Residential Purchase or Sale Form

Landlord/Tenant Issues

Issues we typically deal with in this regard are the following:

  • Drafting and Negotiating Leases: Many landlords and tenants can save a lot of time, energy, and money with a well-drafted lease. Accordingly, we help parties draft their leases in such a manner that they will be spared many of the headaches that could otherwise occur.
  • Eviction Proceedings: If a party has not been able to properly perform under the terms of the lease, we can assist you with an eviction proceeding. If you come to us in need of assistance with an eviction, one of the first questions we are going to ask is “what type of tenancy do you have?” Therefore, you should bring a copy of the lease along with you.

*Please note that entering your information in this form does not create an attorney client relationship. We reserve the right not to handle your transaction. No attorney client relationship is created unless we agree to represent you. Regardless of whether we represent you, your information is kept confidential.

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