Transactional Real Estate Services

At Schuh & Goldberg, LLP we perform many services incidental to our areas of practice.  We are the perfect fit to document almost any transaction between parties.  This includes ..

• Contracts to buy and sell real estate
• Agreements
• Promissory Notes with Amortization Schedules
• Lease agreements
• Mortgages
• Closing Statements

Mortgage Foreclosures

We can enforce your mortgage through an Ohio real estate foreclosure and, if warranted, move the Court for the appointment of a receiver.  Ohio real estate foreclosures are usually handled in 3 stages:

We begin the process by obtaining a title examination from which we can determine any and all parties who may have an interest in the real property.  Finding out who might assert an interest in the property and then serving them with the complaint and a summons is the key to a good foreclosure.

The 2nd stage of the foreclosure is bringing the matter to a judgment.  If the debtor has filed an answer to the foreclosure, then we usually counter that with a motion for summary judgment supported by your affidavit with respect to the validity of the lien and the balance.  If no answer is timely filed we quickly move for a money judgment by default and a decree in foreclosure that orders the property sold.

The 3rd stage is bringing the real property to sale.  In Ohio, the sheriff of the county hires 3 appraisers who do an appraisal (exterior only).  After publishing the property for sale in a newspaper of general circulation, the sheriff auctions the property with a minimum bid being 2/3rds of the appraised amount.  Usually the plaintiff will credit bid and buy the property back.  After expenses of sale are returned we submit the orders that a) order the title of the real estate to be conveyed to the purchaser and 2) order the distribution of the proceeds of the sale in their ordered priorities.

Mortgage Lien Avoidance Matters

John A. Schuh represents several Ch. 7 bankruptcy trustees and has lectured attorneys in the S.D. of Ohio on mortgage lien avoidance issues that arise pretty frequently in bankruptcy cases.  There are many reasons why a mortgage lien can be avoided or otherwise declared to be ineffective.  

Many of these deal with issues that arise because the notary public who signed the mortgage handled the matter incorrectly.  For example, if the notary fails to state by name the person whose signature he/she is acknowledging, i.e. the blank acknowledgement cases, then the mortgage is, by state law, not entitled to be recorded and even though it actually is recorded, a person having the status of a bona fide purchaser is blind to it. Also the phrase “acknowledged before me” has a special statutory meaning under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 147.541, and the phrase “witness my hand” failed to meet the statutory requirements for the mortgage to be recorded.

There are many intricate points of law that the lawyers at Schuh & Goldberg, LLP know.  Call our friendly staff for a consultation.