Buying and Selling Property on Long Island

Whether you’re a first-time home-buyer or a veteran homeowner searching for a new home, buying property on Long Island may differ from buying property anywhere else, but your options are endless — varying from single-family homes, multiple family dwellings, condos, co-op and apartment style living. With over 10 townships and 500 communities, at Joan Agostino PC, we want to be your real estate attorney on Long Island who helps you buy or sell the home of your dreams.

What’s the Long Island home-buying process?

Accepted offer: The buyer and seller mutually agree on a sales price for the home.

Home inspection: The buyer hires a professionally licensed home inspector to see if there if there are any significant problems with the home such as potential gas leaks and structural issues. If the inspector comes across any major problems, this will be discussed with our real estate attorney on Long Island.

Contract signing (buyer): If major problems do not arise during the inspection, the seller’s attorney will prepare a contract to be sent over to the buyer’s attorney. An appointment to sign the contract will be made by the buyer’s attorney which will then be gone over with the buyer. If all are in agreement, the buyer will sign the contract, and the attorney will send the contract back to the seller’s attorney.

Contract signing (seller): Once the contract is gone over with the seller and the seller’s attorney, the seller will sign the contract and the seller’s attorney will resend the contract back to the buyer’s attorney.

Mortgage process: When the buyer gets ahold of a copy of their contract, they hand it over to their loan officer, and the mortgage process begins. In about two to four weeks, the buyer will receive their mortgage commitment.

Bank appraisal ordered: When a mortgage is received, the bank will send out an appraiser. The buyer’s agent/attorney will meet with the appraiser and conduct a home inspection and take pictures. The appraiser will then pull together comparable homes and make adjustments. If a home comes in lower than the accepted offer, the seller can either accept or decline the lower price. If the seller declines, the deal is dead, and the buyer has to restart their home search.

Mortgage commitment issued: Once it is issued, the buyer will have to immediately give the bank whatever they need so the file can be reviewed.

Title search: This is conducted by the buyer’s attorney once the buyer receives their mortgage commitment. The search is to see if there are any liens on the property, to make sure the current owner is the actual owner, and to see who owned it before. If there are liens, they must be paid by the current owner or the home won’t close. The seller is responsible to deliver the property to the buyer with a clean title.

Clear to close: The mortgage file is looked at by an underwriter who then goes to the bank and for a clear to close.

Closing day: On this day, the seller’s attorney, buyer’s attorney, bank attorney, and title closer must show up together with the buyer and seller to close on the home.

Documents to sign: Both the buyer and seller will have documents to sign.

Buyers get the keys!

The Long Island home-selling process is pretty similar to the home-buying process, of course without a few steps. Are you wondering if you can sell your house “as is”? Request an appointment with our real estate attorney on Long Island if you are planning on buying or selling a home.