The Home Ownership Pathway™

Whether you are moving into a new home or a condominium, building a new home, or purchasing a vacation property, Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, S.C. has the experience to help make this a pleasant and a stress-free experience. You can place your confidence in our experience as legal advisors on the path to purchasing your home.

It is our goal to protect you from costly hurdles and potential pitfalls in the purchase of your new home. Here is an outline of the services we offer to complete the pathway to home ownership:

Discussing your goals in purchasing a new home
• Preparing the offer to purchase
• Securing financing and other pre-closing matters
• Reviewing closing documents and attending the closing

During our initial conference, we will provide you with an overview of the process we use to assist you in purchasing the new home. We will discuss the expenses associated with the home purchase, possible complications that may arise, and means to avoid complications. We will explain who is responsible for identifying and correcting certain kinds of defects and the advantages of obtaining a professional home inspection. Further, we will summarize the tax advantages of homeownership and discuss financing.

The high-quality legal services that we offer can help insure that that you won't face expensive problems later so you can enjoy your new home without worry. We look forward to meeting you and helping you move with confidence to the ownership of your new home.

I. PREPARING THE OFFER TO PURCHASE

After our initial conference, we will begin preparing an Offer to Purchase. We pride ourselves on our prompt preparation of offers to purchase, and will literally "drop everything" to ensure that your offer is drafted and received quickly by the seller. Our legal expertise allows us to review and determine which conditions and seller's warranties and representations to include in the offer. This initial offer may not be accepted by the seller, and the seller may make a counteroffer changing the price, the seller's warranties, or including various closing contingencies. If this situation occurs, we can negotiate the terms of the deal and advise you as to the rationale and effect of any changes in the conditions requested by the seller.

II. SECURING FINANCING AND OTHER PRE-CLOSING MATTERS

Upon acceptance of the Offer to Purchase, the clock begins to run to satisfy the contingencies set forth in the accepted offer. The contingencies may include obtaining financing, inspecting the property, or selling your current home. We can advise you as to how to satisfy the contingencies by the required dates. We can assist you in finding financing and advise you on the types of loan programs which may be available to you. Depending on your marital status, we may advise you to take ownership in a certain manner to assure that title to the property is secure for you and your family.

Depending upon the type of property you are purchasing, residential, lake home, condominium, or vacant land, there may be unique concerns to the property, including zoning concerns, questions about the condominium association, and uncertainty about the buildability of a lot. We can guide you through this maze of questions by contacting the municipality to verify the property's current zoning (and any pending zoning changes), advising on the role of a condominium association and the limitations imposed on your rights to use the condominium, and obtaining approvals for the building of your new home.

III. REVIEWING OF CLOSING DOCUMENTS AND ATTENDING CLOSING

Upon satisfaction of the contingencies set forth in the Offer, you will be at the stage of purchasing the property. In order to complete the closing, the closing documents will be prepared for review. The closing documents generally include the title commitment, the closing statement, the deed and real estate transfer return, and the documents related to your financing, including the mortgage and promissory note.

Review of these documents can be overwhelming, and the purpose of each document may not be clear. Either at the closing or sometime before, we can review the documents with you, advise you on the effect of the documents, inform you of any unusual easements, private covenants, or subdivision regulations, and determine whether the closing documents conform to your expectations as set forth in the Offer to Purchase. In addition, after closing you will receive a final title policy, which is often not available until several months after closing. We can review the final title policy to confirm that the policy fulfills the seller's obligations to you.

If you are interested in setting up an appointment, please contact the real estate attorneys at Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, S.C. - Robert R. Henzl, James W. Hill, and Cheryl A. Hagen.