Real estate transaction law overview helps the consumer fully understand federal and state statues enacted to protect the public from harmful business practices and procedures. Although certain requirements established by one state may significantly differ to another state, federal guidelines do apply to all states.There are many factors to consider in a real estate transaction law overview. Consult with a Real Estate Lawyer for a complete analysis of real estate transaction law overview.

Real Estate Transaction Law Overview covers an extensive range of topics that essentially govern, by establishing acceptable, but just as importantly, uniformed standards. These guidelines are to ensue that each and every person shall have the same opportunity to receive professional and ethical services along with full disclosure, without any type of discrimination.

• Predatory Lending

• RESPA

• Mortgage Fraud

• Fair Housing Act

• Contract Law

• Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act

• Privacy Policy Disclosure

There are many other statutes and factors to take into consideration. By consulting with a Real Estate Lawyer the process of buying or selling a home can be accomplished with a higher degree of success, within a shorter time frame, and to the satisfaction of all parties involved. Any real estate transaction deserves the professionalism that a Real Estate Lawyer can provide.

Are you either borrowing money or lending money secured by a promissory note? It is important that you have your note prepared by a Lawyer. An unintentional oversight within the body of the note could dramatically alter obligations and rights for both parties. Most people think of a mortgage when making monthly payments for any type of real estate. Actually, it is the promissory note that payments are truly being applied to. It is only because of popular nomenclature do we refer to “paying the mortgage”.

A promissory note is the written obligation of a borrower to submit agreed upon payments to the lender. Contact Lewis & Pfanstiel, P.C., LLO to properly prepare or inspect a promissory note.  Appearing relatively simple in concept, a promissory note is very complex in construction and application. Great lengths must be taken to construct the document in its proper legalese. Only a Lawyer should draft and consequently complete the recordation to avoid potential litigation as a result of contested forms or content. You must, in addition, ensure that the particular terms and conditions comply with all federal and state laws.

This is the mortgage document. It is recorded among the land records, and your lender will keep the original. When you pay off the loan, the lender will return it with the promissory note. This document is rather lengthy -- and quite legalistic. Make sure that the person conducting the settlement fully explains all of the ramifications and conditions contained in this document.The deed of trust helps to verify and protect your legal interest in a property. Contact Lewis & Pfanstiel, P.C., LLO for a further explanation on what is a deed of trust.

Basically, so long as you make your monthly payments on a timely basis, you should have nothing to worry about. But once you are in default (a term which is defined in both the note and the trust) then many of the provisions of that deed of trust become operative -- such as the right of the lender to ultimately foreclose on your property.  It should also be noted that you cannot deduct any mortgage interest for tax purposes unless your property is secured by a deed of trust. That means that the deed of trust must be recorded in land records.

Property easement is a right to use some part of a property for a specific purpose. A survey will define the property lines to hopefully prevent any questions of land ownership.An express easement may be contained in the deed to the property or in another document. Some examples include:

• A utility company can run power lines on a property
• Adjacent property owners may enter into an agreement to share a common driveway that extends over both properties
• An implied easement or prescriptive easement may arise when a use of property continues for a certain period of time

For example, if a neighbor has been crossing the corner of a property for years, the neighbor may have acquired a prescriptive easement to continue to cross the property in the same manner.  A right-of-way is a type of easement that gives someone the right to travel across property owned by another person.

Has someone encroached upon your land? Contact Lewis & Pfanstiel, P.C., LLO for all issues pertaining to land/property easements law.

Property liens are defined as a charge on property to satisfy a debt or other obligation. An owner may agree to place a lien on real property in order to obtain mortgage financing to purchase the property.  A lien on real property may also result from a debt of the property owner that is not directly connected to the ownership of the land. Examples include:

• Unpaid federal and state taxes, such as income tax, sales taxes, and the like, may become a lien on the taxpayer’s property if the taxing authorities follow certain procedures.
• The court in a divorce case may award one spouse ownership of the marital home, but grant the other spouse a lien on the property to the extent of the spouse’s interest in the property at the time of the divorce.
• If a debtor owner fails to pay a debt, and the creditor goes to court and obtains a judgment, the law usually permits the creditor to file that judgment in the land records so that it becomes a lien on the debtor’s real property.  If the debtor sells the property without satisfying the lien, the lien isn’t discharged and it may still be satisfied by a sale of the property, even after it’s been sold to a new owner. In most transactions, a bank or other mortgage lender will not provide mortgage financing until all liens on the property have been removed.
• A worker or business supplying building materials may have a mechanics' and materialness’’ lien for the construction or improvement of real property.