LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Showing posts with label residential transaction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label residential transaction. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 01, 2020

LIEB Permitted to Close Real Estate Deals by NYS

On April 2, 2020 we received word from NYS Empire State Development that "[r]eal estate law practices are deemed essential if it is necessary to be in-person to do the work."

LIEB can close your deals in-person. 

Make no mistake, we are a leader in remote closings, but sometimes lenders and title underwriters won't permit such a closing and we have been struggling to find a solution. So, rather than guessing, we made request of the Empire State Development to tell us. This is something every business must do before acting because the penalties are outrageous for non-compliance

We just got our answer and we are already scheduling closings. 

Some people might say that this is a terrible move for a public health advocate. However, my favorite professor during my Master's program taught me to never ignore any of the dimensions of health while only focusing on physical health. Yes, the physical dimension is important. Yet, one can never ignore the spiritual, emotional, social and mental dimensions as well. To that end, there are people who need to close their real estate deal to be healthy. They may be living in limbo with no place to go, there can be financial stress of continued home ownership, there could be too many people occupying one space, or a plethora of other reasons that a closing is necessary.

Remember not to judge someone else's circumstances. 

We will be sure to keep social distance and avoid any gatherings to never forget the physical health needs of our team, our clients and ever other individual who is involved in our closing process.




Thursday, January 09, 2020

Real Tips Real Estate: Closing Dates

A highly popular question in the transactional area of law. Does "on or about" or "on or before" mean on that date, around that date, within 30 days of that date? How can a buyer or seller plan for the closing date? Andrew Lieb, Esq explains what these terms mean and how to set expectations for buyers and sellers in this 3 minute clip.



Monday, November 11, 2019

LLC Owner Disclosure in Condos - Avoid the Bad Advice

News media is reporting that "Condo Buyers Can Keep Purchases Secret, N.Y. Tax Officials Say in Reversal," but is that true?

For reference, see Law Alert: LLC Owners ID Must be Disclosed in Real Estate Deals where we discuss S1730 requiring disclosure of the beneficial ownership of a one-to four-family dwelling unit owned by a LLC on real estate transfer tax forms.

It is noted that the guidance referred to by the Journal cannot be located besides through the use of deduction from a careful reading of the Department of Taxation and Finance website where the term condominium was removed from its "Important Notice regarding conveyances to or from a limited liability company." That being said, real estate professionals are reminded that S1730 wasn't the only law concerning disclosure of owners of LLCs.

Instead, FinCEN had previously issued Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders that requried such disclosure.

As a result, regardless if the Journal is correct, which remains questionable because it involves an interpretation of S1730, which is the perview of the judiciary, not the executive branch, disclosure remains required for purchases of $300,000 or more in Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, or Manhattan in New York City, New York.

 

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

LLC Anonymity in Real Estate Transactions Is No More

Your Guide to Buying a Flip at the Right Time

Did you know that if a buyer’s contract of sale is dated within 90 days of the seller’s deed, the buyer may not be able to get a mortgage commitment? Underwriters at mortgage lenders have policies against issuing loans when the dates between the prior deed and the current contract of sale are too close in time.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in Dan's Papers here.