real estate

The Appellate Division recently upheld a summary judgment ruling which I obtained in a foreclosure case. The defendant claimed that her signature on the mortgage was a forgery. Her late husband was the borrower and the defendant signed the mortgage to secure her interest in the property. We were able to locate the notary who […]

By statute, all municipalities in New Jersey are required to hold annual tax sales of their certificates of unpaid real estate taxes. Third parties and the municipality bid on the tax sale certificates at the sale conducted by the tax collector. At the conclusion of the sale, the highest bidder pays the outstanding taxes and

A homeowner may decide to paint the interior of her home herself instead of hiring a contractor to do the work.  However, most would avoid Do-It-Yourself electrical work due to fear of being shocked or because of lack of know how. The same is often true in the legal arena.  With the advent of the

Most real estate transactions proceed smoothly to closing.  However, occasionally a buyer or seller may attempt to back out of the deal without just cause.  For example, a seller may get emotional and not want to leave his long time residence.  Or a buyer may decide that she is paying too much for the house

In a prior blog, I spoke about the wisdom of investing in a title insurance policy when you purchase real estate.  See https://www.middlesexcountynjrealestateattorney.com/2016/08/ In that blog, I detailed the failure of a title settlement agent to satisfy the prior owner’s mortgage, with the result that the new owner was served with a foreclosure complaint. Boundary line

The closing date for a real estate transaction is typically agreed by the parties and set forth in the contract of sale. Traditionally, that date has been a target date, without any penalty if either party is unable to close title.  This allows leeway in the event of a personal emergency such as a hospitalization or last

The concept of merger in real estate law is a tricky one but important for real estate investors to understand.  Before the advent of municipal zoning, a property owner could divide a large tract of land into individual lots simply by having an engineer or surveyor prepare a map showing a grid of dividing lines

For all mortgage applicants after October 3, 2015, the Closing Disclosure form will answer many common questions and give protection as to essential terms.  This five page document must be given to borrowers at least three days prior to closing.  By comparing the Closing Disclosure to the Loan Estimate received by applicants when they applied

In a purchase transaction I handled last year, the new survey showed that the house being purchased was more than two feet onto the neighbor’s property. As a condition of proceeding with the closing, I required the seller to obtain a written easement from the neighbor permitting the encroachment to remain, running with the land.

A year after you close title to your new home, a process server delivers a foreclosure complaint to your door. You notice that your name is listed as a defendant as well as the name of your seller. You see that the plaintiff holds a mortgage on your home that is in default but you