The Importance of Mortgage Satisfaction: Preventing Last-Minute Delays
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.. A phrase you hope to never use as a seller. The Rolling Stones famously lamented "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,"...
Property Vesting in NC: An Overview of TIC, JTWROS, and TBE
A common question with every closing involving two or more buyers is “How would you like the property to be vested?”. There are several factors to...
How to Prepare for Dropping Interest Rates
You may be wondering why I’m bringing up refinances now when all we have seen are high interest rates. If you own a home and you closed in the last...
3 Common Mistakes You Need To Avoid When Drafting An Offer To Purchase And Contract
By the time my office gets a contract for a closing a lot has happened that we are typically not a part of and truthfully, after reading this...
A Business Owner’s Guide To An Operating Agreement
The early stages of organizing a new start-up can be a very exciting and overwhelming time for business owners. One of the most important...
Fraud Detection Alert: How To Protect Yourself
Realtors, Buyers and Sellers – be vigilant! As a party to a real estate transaction, you may be targeted by fraudsters and you must be extra...
Equity Check
Listing agents, make sure you're getting an accurate idea of how much your sellers owe on their mortgage when listing. The idea that the...
New Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI): Reporting to Begin in 2024
Small business owners take note – beginning January of 2024, all companies will be required to report certain information to the Financial...
HOW PROPERTY TAXES ARE COLLECTED AT CLOSING
Two things in life are certain: death and taxes. The tax part, at least, is also true for every real property transaction. It can be very...
EClosings: A New Digital Era for North Carolina Is Coming
I wish I had a dollar every time a client asked me at the closing table “Why so much paper?” or “I just bought my car signing on an iPad at...
Happy Estate Planning Awareness Week!
The third week in October is estate planning awareness week, so we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of why it’s important to...
Land Locked Property
Being able to legally access a property from the road, while often taken for granted, is of vital importance. For homes in subdivisions or...
SHOULD I BUY OR SELL NOW, OR WAIT FOR RATES TO DROP?
The real estate market is such a hot topic. Tune into the nightly news, pull up an online article, or just walk into your local coffee shop....
My Buyer is Not a U.S Citizen- What to Know
My buyer is not a U.S. citizen so what do I do? I get this question a lot. The answer is: not much at all. The better and uncommon question...
I’m Selling My Home, Do I need my own attorney or can I just use the Buyer’s attorney?
Many people don’t know that when you buy a house in NC, an attorney is involved. The Buyer chooses which attorney to close with, but what...
The Pitfalls of The Limited Personal Representative
A large part of our practice in our transactional department consists of curing title issues for real property that arise as a result of...
Explaining HOI
The price of everything has been on a steady uptick for years now. Insurance premiums included. Thankfully, many states govern when and by...
My Seller Left the Country, Now What?
I’ve tried very hard to educate my staff that there are a lot of aspects of a real estate transaction that we cannot control, but...
“Closing time, Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning’s End.”
While these are the words from the 1998 one hit wonder, it also applies to buying a home. A seller was once the buyer, but now someone else...
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designated assets are financial accounts that automatically transfer to a specific person upon the account owner’s death, such as...
HOA Late Charges & Lots of ‘EM
As an attorney who interacts regularly with homeowners in some stage of default, I encounter HOA arrearages on a fairly regular basis. When...
The Inevitable Closing Attorney Intake Process
Closing on a home whether you’re the buyer or the seller, can seem like a daunting process. The amount of time and effort both sides put into...
When Should I Send My Closing Proceeds Wire?
In the olden days of TRID, buyers would have their final cash to close numbers at least 3 days in advance of closing, leaving them plenty of...
Estate Tax Exemption Sunsetting in 2026
Many of our clients are concerned about avoiding estate taxes on their assets that they leave to beneficiaries at death. Fortunately, current...
Capital Gains Exclusions
Low inventory in the marketplace has been a leading topic of discussion in the market for years now. A variety of factors working in...
HEY, DOES THIS CONVEY?!
One of my favorite stories from closing (I honestly still twitch thinking about it) is the day I had to mediate a fight between buyers and...
HOA Mythbusters
Many people want a home that isn’t governed by an HOA, but that is very unlikely in our area. HOAs, Homeowner’s Associations, are everywhere...
Exchanging the 1031 Exchange
A 1031 exchange, also known as the like-kind exchange, is a helpful tool and tax strategy for real estate investors that sell properties and...
Remote Electronic Notarization – Remote closings this summer, right?
You may have heard by now that Remote Electronic Notarization will begin in NC on July 1, 2023. That means we can complete all closings via...
Escalation Clauses
In a time when we have a busy market with low inventory, everything seems frantic. Once a buyer finds their dream home, it’s human nature to...
Why are some buyers struggling to send wires?
Help us help your buyers ensure smooth sailing to the finish line. Despite our many warnings along the way to buyers that they must send...
The number one estate planning document you need and why
Our clients frequently ask us what we would recommend as the number one estate planning tool that every person should have. As attorneys, we...
YOU SOLD MY MORTGAGE ALREADY?
You just closed on your home last month and now you've been notified you'll be making monthly mortgage payments to a new bank. That fast?...
Can i buy or sell without a real estate agent?
There’s a lot of things in life where just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. I try and teach my children this daily....
POV: “I don’t know Escrow” Jackson Law: “No worries, We got you!”
Escrow is a term thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean when it comes to having a mortgage? It is often over-complicated, so here...
WHERE PROBATE AND SELLING REAL PROPERTY INTERSECT
When a loved one passes away, our job here at Jackson Law is to make the probate process as seamless and as easy as possible for our clients....
So, is it judgment or judgement, and what is it!?
When a transaction is on the way to closing, everyone in the deal is keeping fingers and toes crossed that there are no major snags....
WHAT THE HECK IS DUE DILIGENCE?!
Every state is different when it comes to real estate transactions. Some states you’ll close with an attorney, and some states you’ll close...
Always recommended – Owner’s Title Insurance
Owner’s title insurance is considered optional insurance, but we always recommend it here at Jackson Law. There are many reasons why we...
HEARING OFFICER DRAFT UP THE PARTITION PLEASE
One of the most effective legal remedies available for clients who are at an impasse on joint property ownership is a partition proceeding,...
WHAT DOES BUYING A FORECLOSURE MEAN?
Over the years you've probably heard agents or investors mention buying foreclosures, but that term can actually describe a few different...
WHY DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY TO BUY A HOUSE?
I call transactional real estate law “happy law.” I say this because in my line of work everyone has the same goal. Everyone signed up for...
wiring money? Don’t Panic! Just be diligent!
It seems like there is always some news story regarding wire fraud and how dangerous it is to send money via a wire transfer. However, wiring...
NEW YEAR, NEW PLAN
One of the easiest things to put off is executing your estate plan, but there are many reasons to put it at the top of your list for 2023! As...
THERE’S A POA, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a versatile tool that can help clients enter contracts or conduct affairs when their personal availability is...
Where are my docs?! Clear to Close Vs. Ready to Close
The process to get from contract to the closing table is full of twists and turns and high emotions. This post is going to dive into the...
What is FIRPTA and why should I care?
I'm trying to distill the takeaways from my experience in handling thousands of closings over nearly 20 years of practice. So, this is a long...
YOU’VE GOT 9 MONTHS! DON’T WAIT!
Families with small children know that estate planning is typically one item that baby books recommend checking off prior to the arrival of...
LET’S GET PSYCHED TO LEARN ABOUT CAPACITY
The world of real estate involves many walks of life buying or selling for a wide variety of reasons. For these parties to complete their...
YOU WATCHING ME?! SHOWINGS AND THE USE OF VIDEO/AUDIO EQUIPMENT
In a time where it seems everyone has a ring doorbell, nanny-cam, echo dot, Google home system, fancy baby monitor, (you name it!), it’s very...
To Get A Survey Or To Not Get A Survey? That Is The Question!
Buying a home can be overwhelming especially when you are inundated with charges from lenders, title insurance companies, tax offices, and...
Think Twice Before Adding Your Minor to Your Title
Many people consider deeding property to their children, grandchildren, or other family members. Why not? It seems reasonably prudent: Give...