From Handshake to Closing

Explaining the lawyer's critical role in documenting, reviewing, and negotiating the real estate transaction, this useful mentoring guide includes valuable sample language, examples taken from practice, and insightful tips and techniques for how to assist that client to make and close the deal.

Author Sidney G. Saltz, a veteran real estate lawyer, draws upon his years of practice lawyer to describe the typical situations and stages of a deal and how to get it closed, including:

• The role of the real estate broker and how to develop a lawyer-broker relationship that will benefit the client
• Pre-documentation documents: the term sheets letters of intent, or loan commitment
• Documenting the transaction and creating the "law" of the deal
• Reviewing and analyzing documents, illustrated by sample concerns and questions
• Effective rules for communicating comments to the client and to the counterpart lawyer, preparation for negotiation, and negotiating to documents
• Other issues, including due diligence checklist
• Preparing for and handling the closing
• Avoiding the pitfalls that can kill a deal

The author offers logical and wise commentary on the key steps in a real estate transaction, demonstrating how a thorough understanding of the fundamentals can successfully lead to a heartfelt handshake that completes the closing.