Real Estate

Residential Real Estate

Whether you're buying or selling a home, your team of expert advisors should include a real estate lawyer as well as a REALTOR®. When your REALTOR® has found the right house or the right buyer, we can review any offer you make or receive and make sure that your rights are protected and your duties clearly defined.

Buying a Home

  1. Help you understand the purchase and sale agreement, including how you will take title on the property.
  2. Do a complete title search and provide you with a title commitment which will discover all covenants, easements and liens recorded against the property.
  3. Prepare and record all the legal documents.
  4. Work with your lender to prepare the HUD settlement statement and complete the closing package.
  5. Attend the closing and review all the papers you will be required to sign.
  6. Arrange title insurance protection to protect you from losses due to title defects.
  7. Pay-off all municipal and other liens attributable to the prior owner, so you take title subject only to the liabilities you have accepted.

Selling a Home

  1. Review or prepare the purchase and sale agreement, including negotiating its terms.
  2. Prepare the deed and peripheral documents.
  3. Obtain a payoff from your mortgage holer.
  4. Deal with title issues as they arise and help correct them.
  5. Attend the closing and review all the papers you will be required to sign.
  6. Arrange for transfer of security deposits.
  7. Arrange for insurance certificates if needed.
  8. In Rhode Island, file with the Division of Taxation and obtain a Certificate of Withholding Due.

Landlord/Tenants

Nothing can be more frustrating to a client than a Landlord/Tenant case, and no area of the law is subject to so many misconceptions. Indeed, it is often thought of as an area of the law where form overrides substance. However, the general statutes of both Rhode Island and Connecticut outline the rights and responsibilities of both the landlord and the tenant. Paul represents landlords and tenants in both states.