The Home Sale Pathway™
Your home may be your single largest investment, and the decision to sell your home is significant. Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, S.C. can help protect your financial interest in your home and simplify the process of selling your home. You can place your confidence in our experience as legal advisors on the path to selling your home.
It is our goal to help you complete the sale of your home without concern or worry. In order to complete this goal, there are a number of steps to be accomplished. Here is an outline of the services we provide to complete the pathway to selling your home:
- Discussion of your goals in selling your home and preliminary matters
- Review the Offer to Purchase and contingencies in the Offer
- Pre-closing matters
- Closing
During our initial conference, we will provide you with an overview of the process we use to assist you in the sale of your home. We will review or negotiate the listing contract with the broker, prepare or review the real estate condition report, evaluate a potential buyer's offer to purchase, and review buyer's contingencies. We will discuss the tax consequences involved in the sale of your home.
The high-quality legal services that we offer can help insure the efficient sale of your home. We look forward to meeting you and helping you move with confidence to the sale of your home.
I. REVIEW THE OFFER TO PURCHASE
Receiving an offer to purchase is the first step toward the sale of your property. Upon receipt of the offer, you will have a window of time to review the offer, consider the contingencies, and make a counter-offer, if necessary. We will review the offer on your behalf and discuss with you the effect of the contingencies and warranties and representations set forth in the offer. If the terms within the offer are not acceptable to you, we will prepare an appropriate counteroffer which may change the purchase price, modify the representations and warranties, or amend the buyer's contingencies to close. These steps are designed to fully advise you with regard to an offer from a prospective buyer.
II. PRE-CLOSING MATTERS
After the offer has been accepted, there are a significant number of tasks that must be completed before the closing date. In order to facilitate a seamless closing, we will order the title insurance commitment, we will work with you to obtain lien waivers for work performed in the last six months, contact the municipality regarding taxes and assessments, and obtain a pay-off statement from your lender. When we receive the title insurance commitment, we will take action to determine that the title commitment complies with your obligations under the Offer to Purchase. Finally, we will prepare the documents to be signed at closing, including the deed by which you will transfer title to the buyer, a closing statement identifying the sales price and the appropriate pro-rations (such as real estate taxes and utilities), and the other documents required by the title company and the State of Wisconsin to transfer title to real estate. We have designed these steps to complete a smooth sale of your home so that you can concentrate on other matters, including moving into your new home.
III. CLOSING
The closing generally will take place at the title company or the bank, but sometimes Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, S.C. may serve as the closing agent. As we will be preparing many of the closing documents beforehand, the actual closing day should consist of a signing of the documents that you have previously reviewed. Because of unexpected circumstances, however, our presence at closing can assist in responding to any questions that may arise at closing. At the closing you will receive a certified check (or wired funds) to complete the sale of your home.
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.