FAQs

Probably. Buying/Selling a home is a major event with significant financial and tax considerations. A good Real Estate Attorney will be able to give you critical advice about appropriate contingency clauses, title restrictions and tax consequences of your transaction. (We’ve highlighted Real Estate because you want an attorney who is experienced and current in this area.) The person who wrote your will or handled a “slip and fall” case is probably not the right person to advise you on real estate! Finding [...]

Closing a transaction should not be an ordeal. We typically budget one hour for a residential resale and 30-45 minutes for a refinance.

The time it takes to get to a closing of a real estate transaction is largely determined by the contract between the parties and the time needed to get lender approval if a mortgage is involved. In a typical residential transaction, most contingencies (other than financing and sale of the Purchaser’s residence) can be removed within two weeks. Financing should be resolved within 30-45 days.

The tax proration is an allocation of the property taxes between the Seller and Purchaser that is determined by their contract. It is not required, but it is customary. In Washtenaw/Livingston Counties the most commonly used proration is the “due date in advance” method. This treats the property tax bill like a newspaper or magazine subscription — when you pay your tax bill on December 1 it is treated as buying government services for the period starting on December 1 [...]

“Closing Costs” is a catch-all term that refers to the costs and expenses involved in closing a real estate transaction. These costs are determined by the contracts between the parties, applicable laws and local customs. The following explanation of “closing costs” is based upon our sample Real Estate Purchase Contract (see the Forms section for a downloadable copy), Washtenaw County custom, and assumes typical mortgage closing expenses.