“CEMA” stands for Consolidation, Extension and Modification Agreement, and is used to save mortgage tax in certain situations. Sellers sometimes use this process and procedure to refinance real estate located in New York State because, when recording a New York Consolidation, Extension and Modification Agreement, they pay only the mortgage…
Why do so few people choose to control the disposition of their own estates after they die? Perhaps you fear death, you procrastinate, you are too lazy to think about your death, or you think that a will is unnecessary or too expensive. Why haven’t you e-mailed your lawyer, called…
Buyer Beware: When buying a small business in New York be sure that your small business attorney follows the New York State Bulk Sales rules. Prior to 1990, Article 6 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) regulated bulk sales– the transfer of large pieces of inventory, notes, etc. Article 6…
You have relatives in Greece, but need them to sign a deed in a form recordable with the New York State courts. How, in today’s age, where people move, fly and otherwise re-locate, do we get them to sign a deed without coming back to Rockland County? How do we…
If anyone has ever closed on a HUD inspired (guaranteed) loan, you know that there are millions of forms that are designed to provide notice of the borrowers’ rights and responsibilities. The prevailing view of policy makers was let the borrower beware, give them notice, and then let them make…
Citibank took a bold step to solidify and quell the concerns of its mortgagors by halting foreclosures, and voluntarily considering how to modify the terms of its mortgages on a wholescale scale. According to the WSJournal, the US Government is considering various ways to fix the problem from the top…
As the credit markets continue to shrink, and access to credit tightens up further, some of our clients are turning to seller financing, which is sometimes acceptable in small real-estate transactions. Indeed, the WSJournal reports that large commercial real estate transactions are also including seller financing as an option. According…
That is the question that many home owners, politicians, and policy makers are worried about these days. With various federally guaranteed and initiated plans designed to help homeowners in this time of falling home values and prices, how are we going to decide which homeowners should get assistance, and which…
To follow up my prior article on reverse mortgages, you should be aware of this interesting and informative article from the NYTimes., which gives you an interesting view of the types of products, the costs and risks associated with such investment stategies. Good luck.
To follow up on other stories in this blog, Short Sales gets very complicated and uncertain if there is more than one lender involved. Be sure that you are negotiating with the primary lender because junior lenders often absorb most of the loss, but you will need their approval too.…