We have the knowledge and experience to represent our clients in sales, acquisitions, financing, leasing and tax-free exchanges of real estate.  Silver & Silver LLP represent both buyers and sellers in residential, commercial and industrial real estate transactions.

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

Are you in a position to refinance, purchase, or sell your home?

Real estate transactions must be handled correctly the first time or else problems hidden in the little details within those tall stacks of documents can amount to frustrating and possibly long-term problems. The law firm of Silver & Silver LLP is knowledgeable, experienced, and caring and will approach your real estate issues with confidence and tenacity.  The attorneys and professional staff concentrate on answering all of your questions and explaining the process in an in-depth manner, in order to resolve the anxiety that oftentimes accompanies real estate transactions.
Silver & Silver LLP provides a full-range of residential real estate services to sellers, buyers, borrowers, and lenders alike. We offer affordable flat fee arrangements for real estate closings and our attorneys are always available to discuss your transaction or questions.
We respect the value of your time and money, and will work diligently to handle your real estate transactions as smoothly and efficiently as possible. More importantly, our commitment to excellence means that Silver & Silver LLP will handle your transactions correctly the first time, alleviating any future concern over errors.
We promise that you will be impressed with the hands on and professional nature of our real estate services.

Residential Purchases/Refinances

The home buying or refinancing process can seem very confusing. We hope that our office can make the entire purchase process easy and enjoyable for you. There are a few things to remember.

In most situations, the lender’s attorney and your attorney will be the same. Our office represents most lenders in the State of Connecticut and will also represent your own interests. This will reduce the attorney fees paid by you at closing because even if you want to have your own attorney, separate from the lenders, you will be required to pay for the lender's attorney in addition to your own attorney.

Your application to your lender for a home mortgage loan leads you inevitably to the closing attorney’s office. You undoubtedly have questions as to what the role of the closing attorney is, what tasks the closing attorney will perform, and what will take place at the closing. First, understand that the closing attorney represents the interests of the lender. However, if your loan transaction is a common Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/FHA transaction, the loan documentation and the promises and obligations you are asked to make are uniform throughout the state, and in most instances, throughout the country. Therefore, your interests are protected by the uniformity of the documents you will be asked to sign, and their regulation by state and federal agencies. In most situations in Connecticut, the Lenders’ attorney will also represent the interests of the Buyer/Borrower.

Our firm makes every effort to assist borrowers in the mortgage loan transaction. Sometimes issues arise regarding the record title to a borrower’s property. If there are title issues or issues involving inaccuracies, we work with the buyer/borrower and keep them informed of all relevant issues. When possible, we seek to resolve title issues and disputes as reasonably as possible.

The mortgage loan closing process may sometimes seem complicated and confusing. However, you will find that a few minutes of simple explanation can almost always relieve any anxiety or confusion about the process. We look forward to seeing you at your closing.

Closing Information Form – Purchases/Refinances

Mortgage Calculator

The Fees

The fees quoted to you by your lender include a variety of items. Those which involve our office may include the following, and are standard transactional items for representing the lender and buyer in residential loan transactions:

• Legal Fee: May include any or all of the following: title search review, loan document preparation, title certification, communications with borrowers, sellers’ attorney, broker, etc., conducting closing, payoff of all liens and other matters relating to the loan closing.

• Title Search: A copy of the Land Records reflecting the title history of the property.

• Title Insurance: - The lender requires a loan policy of title insurance for the loan amount in order to protect their interests from issues relating to the title to the property that could not be determined from an examination of the record of the title. Silver & Silver LLP will also issue a policy to protect your interests.

• Recording Costs/Courier & Certified Copy Fees: These include the cost to courier the mortgage payoff, if this is a refinance, to your existing lender. Separate fees may be charged to deliver the loan documentation to your new lender, who expects to have all executed documents to them within twenty-four (24) hours of closing. These charges also include those to record the mortgage, and other transactional documents at the Town Clerk's office, and obtaining Town certified copies that may be required in certain transactions by your Lender.

This is a list of some of the items that you may be asked to pay in a normal residential loan transaction.  This explanation should serve as a brief overview of the items described above, however, every transaction is different therefore, these items are for informational purposes only and subject to change.  For a further explanation, please contact your lender or our office directly.

Title Insurance

Since the early 1980's, almost all lenders nationwide have required title insurance as a prerequisite to accepting mortgages on residential and commercial real estate. Although title insurance companies have been writing such insurance since the late 1800's, its popularity has grown with the onset of secondary market mortgages. These are mortgages which are originated locally, and sold nationally to investors in the same way that bonds, and other securities are sold. Real estate title insurance, very simply, is an insured statement of the conditions of one's title or ownership rights to a certain piece of real estate. The policy guarantees that the property being purchased or mortgaged is free from undisclosed liens or rights, and it guarantees additionally, that any confusion as to rights of ownership, will be resolved in favor of the party owning the real estate, or the company will pay up to the policy limits to the policy holder.

A party purchasing real estate is always offered the opportunity to purchase an Owner's Policy of Title Insurance by the party conducting the real estate closing. For example, you have decided to purchase a house in New Britain, and are obtaining a mortgage to help you finance the purchase from a bank or mortgage company. The lending institution will require an attorney or title agent to research the title to the property, and issue them a Lender’s Policy of Title Insurance. This assures to the lender that the property is or will be owned by the purchaser, and that no defects, liens or encumbrances exist on the property that would adversely affect the marketability of the title. Furthermore, the Lender’s Policy guarantees that the mortgage will be recorded properly, and secures the property for the repayment of the loan. Since the closing attorney is already issuing a Lender’s Policy of title insurance, the buyer has the opportunity at that time to obtain an Owner’s Policy of title insurance, at a cost substantially less than the buyer would pay, if the policy was not written simultaneously with the Lender’s Policy.

The Owner’s Policy of title insurance insures that the owner has good and marketable title to the property, free from any encumbrances or liens that would adversely affect the property, with the exception of defects or liens made known to the buyer, and insures to the owner that if any such liens, encumbrances, defects or other title problems become known, the title insurer will defend the buyer’s title to the property.

In many instances, we are asked whether or not title insurance is necessary or advisable for the owner to purchase. We recommend the purchase of the title insurance, for a few simple reasons. First, the premium for purchase of the title insurance policy is a one-time charge. Since the purchaser is usually borrowing money to finance the purchase of the property, the majority of the cost of the title insurance policy has been paid for by the premiums of the Lender's Policy that is required by the lender. Usually for an additional few hundred dollars or less, the owner can insure against a variety of problems that could arise in the future, as relates to the property. These items include forged documents in the chain of title, signatures of mentally incompetent persons or minors which are unknown to the party reviewing the title, mistakes or inaccuracies in recording of legal documents of title at the Land Records or in the Probate Court, fraud in the execution or in the handling of a transaction in the Probate Court, undisclosed or missing heirs, fraud in the execution or in the handling of a transaction in the prior chain of title, invalid divorces or misrepresentation of marital status of the parties signing the documents, unpaid taxes which were not paid prior to the purchase of the property, and most importantly, clerical errors in the public records and claims of parties unknown because their claims have not been filed in any indices of public record in the State of Connecticut. The Lender’s Policy of title insurance does not protect the buyer, and can only be claimed against if the lender suffers a financial loss because of a title defect that adversely affects a foreclosure of the buyer’s mortgage. These are just a few of the issues which can arise in the title to anyone's real estate in Connecticut, and in other parts of the country.

Our office has seen many defects in titles which could not be revealed by examination of the Land Records and Probate Courts. These defects arise at a time after the transaction has taken place, and often purchasers suffer significant losses, as a result of them. That is why owner’s title insurance makes a great deal of sense. Title insurance, like any other insurance, protects against the eventuality of an unforeseen and an unfortunate circumstance. For more information on Title Insurance, go to our section on Resources, and go to the CATIC website.  You may also visit the Title Insurance Premium Estimator link below to calculate the estimated cost of title insurance for your transaction.  Please feel free to contact our office with any additional questions you may have regarding title insurance.

Title Insurance Premium Estimator

Residential Sales

The law firm of Silver & Silver LLP can represent you in the sale of your real estate and to make the entire process easy and enjoyable for you.  Our office can represent you for a reasonable fee, and give you the comfort you need to proceed confidently toward the sale of your home or investment property.  In most areas of Connecticut, licensed Realtors prepare the Purchase and Sale Agreement, however, we can certainly provide assistance and guidance in connection with this process. 
In addition to contract review, the law firm of Silver & Silver LLP provides other services when representing sellers of real estate, including:

• Resolving issues which may arise during the pendency of your sale.
• Explaining the mortgage process, and assisting you in understanding just what your buyer’s lender’s requirements mean to you.
• Assisting you in resolving and clearing any issues that may be found in the examination of your property’s title.
• Preparation of the deed, title affidavits, and other closing documents needed to be provided from you to your buyer.
• Assisting in the coordination of the closing, represent you at the closing, review all closing documents, and explain their meaning and significance to you.
• Answering any questions you might have, and resolving disputes that may arise, at any time during the closing process.

Please call our office to discuss how we can represent you, and what our fees are for this service. We look forward to working with you toward a smooth closing process.

Closing Information Form – Sales

The Closing Process

Silver & Silver LLP has been helping clients with their real estate transactions for years. To assist our clients with the closing process, we have put together a small yet concise summary of what transpires during the closing process.
The "closing" is the actual purchase and sale of the property, where the transfer of title will occur. It is common for the real estate agents involved in the transaction to also attend the closing. The closing will often be held in the office of either the buyer's or seller's attorney. On occasion, the closing may occur at the lender's or lender's attorney's office, or at one of the real estate agents' office.

At closing, the seller must sign the deed transferring title to the buyer. The seller must also sign an affidavit disclosing whether any repair or construction work has been done on the property, whether the seller knows of any disputes over the location of the boundary lines, or whether the seller knows of any potential defects to title on the property. On the other side, the buyer must sign all of the mortgage documents, including the mortgage note and deed, provided by the lender. In addition, at the time of the closing the buyer will be required to produce the balance of the purchase price, that amount which is not covered by the mortgage money being borrowed. These funds are typically accepted in the form of a bank or certified check.

At the end of the closing, both the buyer and seller will sign a HUD-1 Settlement Statement, disclosing all of the financial aspects of the transaction. Copies of the HUD-1 will be provided by the closing attorneys for all parties, and will be submitted to the buyer's lender after closing as part of the lender's closing package. The buyer's attorney will disburse the funds from the lender along with funds from the buyer. After this exchange of funds occurs the transfer of title will be complete.

Buying or selling a home is typically one of the largest investments and/or transactions in an individual's lifetime. Here at Silver & Silver LLP we understand the anxiety this situation may produce and seek to ensure that the process is as smooth and worry-free as possible. The process of buying or selling a home is not a transaction that should be trusted to anyone but the most experienced real estate attorney.  Silver & Silver LLP is committed to excellence and providing a high quality of service to all of our clients.
Contact Silver & Silver LLP today to schedule a free initial consultation with our experienced real estate attorneys. Let Silver & Silver LLP help you make your purchase, sale, or refinance a success!

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

The law firm of Silver & Silver LLP provides assistance to clients with the purchase, sale, and leasing of commercial real estate. Commercial real estate transactions involve complex documents which are often the product of a significant amount of negotiation between the parties to the contract.

Land use and zoning laws, permits, variances, approvals from state and local agencies, and environmental issues must be thoroughly reviewed, considered, and taken into account before drafting or signing any legal documents.

Silver & Silver LLP always ensure that commercial real estate transactions are completed professionally and correctly the first time. We assist our clients throughout the entire real estate transaction, from drafting a letter of intent, to the modification of purchase agreements, and the preparation and review of leases.

Whether you are the buyer, seller or bank in the transaction, at Silver & Silver LLP, we have the real estate knowledge necessary to make sure that the purchase, sale, or refinancing of your commercial property is conducted smoothly and efficiently.
Throughout Connecticut, we offer a full-range of commercial real estate-related services including:

• Commercial purchases, sales, and refinances
• Title services, title examinations and opinions
• Commercial lease negotiations
• Land use and zoning approvals from state and local agencies
• Environmental codes and compliance
• Multi-unit housing and mixed-use properties
• Variances and rezoning
• Easements
• Commercial closings
• Commercial litigation
• Foreclosures
• Condominium declarations and by-laws

At Silver & Silver LLP, we understand that the success of your commercial transaction often hinges on our attention and dedication to even the most minute of details. We know how important your transaction is to you and always treat it as if it were our own. Our goal is to achieve the client’s desired results while always ensuring that the client understands all of the relevant issues surrounding their transaction.

Customer service is our priority and a point of emphasis throughout our practice. At Silver & Silver LLP, our commitment to excellence is evidenced in every matter we handle. Our personable attorneys keep all clients fully informed regarding the status of their commercial real estate transaction and do their best to remain as accessible as possible. Phone calls and other inquiries are a top priority and at all times responded to in a prompt fashion.

Contact Silver & Silver LLP for a free initial consultation and to learn more about the services we can provide.