I’m new to investing. I found a 2 family deal in E.Orange NJ. The seller is assigning the contract to me. The assignment fee is $6K. They made me send the $6k to thier attorney to be kept in an escrow account. The money will bw returned if the deal fall through. I’m paying cash.
Do i need to get an attorney to help me with the closing. The Wholeseller told me that I can use the same title company they are using and pay only $300. Is this advisable? Is the same title company gonna guarantee that the property if free of any liens. Moreover is my $6K under any risk of getting lost.
Thanks.
Title companies are usually safe and you might want to check on the reputation on this particular one. They have to obide by certain rules or they would be out of business pretty quickly if they don’t do things legally.
An escrow account is untouchable - the only way the money is going to be released is either by execution of the contract (and the money is applied to the purchase) or by mutual signed release by both parties.
I usually don’t have a problem using the seller’s title company, if that makes things easier and saves money! :biggrin
It is the title company job to make sure the title is marketable and disclose any liens. You will have to read the title work carefully. If the title company issues a title policy, with no exclusions, you will be safe. If anything comes up after the sale about title, you can go after the title company.
Thanks a lot. I can’t wait to get my feet wet in this deal.
CoolJay, where are you in NJ. I’m doing some things up in Morris,Passaic,Bergen Counties and could always use a friend in the field. I’m a real estate appraiser by trade, but landed a sweet deal in Dec. 2009. My business got busier last year so I got away from the Investing side of things, but I’m getting back with a deep pockets friend so we’re looking for projects. Let me know. Dave