Attorneys Chip Reinhardt (Profile, E-mail) and Dan Milam (Profile,E-mail) head up the RMF&I real estate area of practice .  Chip and Dan operate primarily out of our downtown Durham offices, although we also handle closings through our unstaffed conference room on Morreene Road.  Chip has been handling Durham area residential and commercial title examinations and real estate closings since 1976, while Dan has been similarly handling residential and commercial title examinations and real estate closings since 1987.  Chip is the only North Carolina board certified specialist in residential real property law in Durham, and one of only two North Carolina board certified specialists in commercial real property law in Durham.  Chip’s board certified specialties include both residential real property law and commercial real property law.  For more information on board certified specialists, check out the NC Legal Specialization website.  Chip administers his real estate practice with the assistance closing secretary Karen Davis.  Dan administers his real estate practice with the assistance of closing secretary Jennie Logan.

The firm does not, except in very rare cases, handle any residential landlord/tenant matters. Readers with an interest in that subject are referred to the North Carolina Bar Association online pamphlet on Landlord and Tenant or to the available online resources at the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. However, the firm does handle commercial leasing matters, and readers needing advice or representation (of either lessor or lessee) regarding a commercial lease should contact either Mr. Reinhardt or Mr. Milam.

This page is devoted to providing information about and links to North Carolina real estate law matters.  The Real Estate Topics page will contain postings on particular subjects of real estate law.  The most recent postings will be at the top of the page going to the oldest near the bottom.  Postings too old for the page, but still relevant, may either be deleted or may be made available in a file downloadable format in the future.  The Real Estate Link Pages  are a comprehensive listing (with links to their Web sites, if available) of real estate brokerage companies, mortgage lenders and other interesting real estate Web links.  Check the link pages out before you leave.

Readers of this page should be aware that, in North Carolina, the real estate attorney handles both the title examination of the property and the closing.  This concept often seems unusual to buyers relocating to our state from “title company” or “abstract” states.  In “title company/abstract” states, the title insurance company does the title search and closing, and the role of the attorney in these states, if any, is limited to rendering an opinion upon the findings of the title company.  In these states, the buyer never meets an attorney and rarely, if ever, encounters a real estate service provider which is looking out for the interests of the buyer.

For now, North Carolina has wisely decided to retain the older, but better, approved attorney system for residential and commercial real estate closings in our state.  Under this system, North Carolina title companies issue title insurance policies based upon the report and findings of a North Carolina approved attorney after a title examination conducted by that attorney.  (See our property survey page containing a special warning about survey coverage in owner title policies). Buyers appear for closing in the offices of the closing attorney, and after all documents required for closing are signed, escrow is usually closed immediately, documents are recorded and funds are disbursed.  Early in 2003, as a result of demands made on North  Carolina by the Federal Trade Commission, unlicensed and unregulated settlement services were allowed for closings in North  Carolina.  Stay tuned for consumer disasters to come in North Carolina.....

Under the current system, the Buyer is free to select any licensed and approved North Carolina attorney for their closing.  Sellers are also free to select counsel, if they wish, but the vast majority of North Carolina residential closings are handled by one attorney.  This sensible procedure recognizes that the sale and purchase of residential real property is usually not adversarial, since both parties are trying to accomplish the same goal.   Under the current North Carolina system utilizing licensed and approved North Carolina real estate attorneys,  total settlement service costs for buyers (that is, closing services, title examination and title insurance) are among the lowest in the nation.

For more information, you might want to check out a pamphlet entitled Buying a Home in North Carolina.  This pamphlet is produced for the education of the public by the North Carolina Bar Association, and can be found online (Buying a Home in North Carolina) or by contacting the North Carolina Bar Association.

Real estate work usually comes to our firm either by the direct contact of a buyer or refinancing borrower, or by referral from a real estate agent, mortgage lender or a national accounts title insurance company.  Although we have a very busy practice, we make every effort to close any real estate transaction in which our services are requested.  We have two closing offices.  For a purchase or refinance closing with Chip, to be held either at the downtown office or at our satellite conference room, please contact closing secretary Karen Davis to schedule the closing or for more information.  For a purchase or refinance closing to be held with Dan, to be held either at the downtown office or at our satellite conference room, please contact Dan, or his closing secretary Jennie Logan.  Please be aware that an attorney-client relationship for a residential real estate closing will exist between the buyer/borrower client and Reinhardt Milam Fisher & Idol, PLLC only when (1) the buyer/borrower client designates our office as the closing attorney  and (2) follows up this designation by scheduling and confirming an actual closing date with one of our offices.

The fees charged by our firm for residential real estate title examination and closing services are, in most cases, a fixed amount based on the type of transaction.  You can visit our Residential Real Estate Closing Fees page for a detailed list of our current fee schedule.

Fees charged for commercial transactions, again depending on the services requested, are either a percentage of the transaction or an hourly rate, both negotiated with the client on a case-by-case basis.
 

A Word About The Attorney-Client Relationship:   No attorney-client relationship exists between our firm and any visitors to this site until a visitor establishes personal contact with a firm attorney AND the firm attorney and the potential client both agree to establish an attorney-client relationship AFTER this personal contact.  Although we welcome e-mail from prospective clients, the sending of an e-mail to one of our attorneys does NOT create an attorney-client relationship.  Anyone sending us e-mail should provide their real name, address, phone number and correct return e-mail address, plus a brief description of the case and the name of the potential adversary party.