the wasserblawg

Nothing should be simpler than a real estate transaction. The buyer giver the seller some money. The seller gives the buyer a deed and some keys. Everyone shakes hands and goes home. Seldom is life so simple. Take for example what is going on with my clients Brigham and Leslie, and how careful lawyering will save them from near disaster. This delightful couple is trying to buy a one million dollar home from a bank. The bank, sorry to say, owns the house because it foreclosed the former owner’s mortgage. After weeks and weeks of negotiations and preparation, we are supposed to close this week, tomorrow, actually. Only we won’t. Not yet anyway. In foreclosure cases, the Banks tend to call all of the shots. They require buyers to sign special contract riders that limit the Bank’s liabilities. Buyers take these properties “as is.” The Banks refuse to pay certain customary seller charges. They impose penalties on Buyers who are not ready to close on the appointed date, and then more often t