Thinking of buying your first home?  Just finished buying your first home?  Well, there is a huge difference between the two.

In the first instance the person/people are full of hope, excitement, and a whole host of other, mainly positive feelings.  The second group, those who have just finished with the process of purchasing their first, second, or third home, may be feeling a bit different.  Probably tired, frustrated, and a bit relieved.  Certainly, if the second group hired an attorney, they may be a bit less tired and frustrated, and a bit more relieved.  One of the last things on most people’s minds after the sometimes lengthy process is what documents are important enough to keep in a safe place for a long time.

Anyone that has purchased a home before knows that there is a lot of paperwork involved.  If you are getting a mortgage through a lender, then the paperwork can be overwhelming from the start to the finish.  It can seem like eons before the closing takes place, and that is if everything goes smoothly.  If a bank is involved, the closing will involve a stack of papers to sign.

At every closing that I have been to where a mortgage is involved, the bank attorney gives the home buyers a package that contains an original copy of important papers.  This package will include a copy of 2 very important documents, the Note and the Mortgage.  The Note is the homebuyers’ promise to pay the loan back to the lender, and the Mortgage is the lender’s security interest in the property if the home owner fails to pay the loan back.

There are some other important documents that home buyers should be aware of as well.  These include copies of the deed, survey, statement of sale, HUD-1, and the abstract of title.  The survey and abstract are important to hold on to and should be able to be located in the future in the event that the home is sold. By being able to locate these documents at the time the home is being sold, people selling their home can save themselves hundreds of dollars by avoiding the need for a new survey or creating a new abstract.

Christopher Stringham

Email: cstringham@mcvlaw.com

Phone: 315-471-1664

Christopher Stringham graduated from Western New England College School of Law in 2010 and was admitted to the New York State Bar as well as the United States District Court, Northern District of New York in 2011. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, Onondaga County Bar Association, and the Injured Workers’ Bar Association of New York. He has been a member of Meggesto, Crossett & Valerino, LLP since October 2010.