What to Look for When Hiring A Real Estate Attorney
When it comes time to buying or selling a home, you’ll be dealing with many professionals. But real estate agents and loan officers are just some of the professionals involved in the typical real estate transaction. Attorneys are also an important part of the equation. Real estate can be a tricky business. The purchase and sale process moves quickly, encountering many issues on the way that require prompt attention. This is where an experienced attorney comes in. A good real estate attorney anticipates what is coming and takes proper precautions to avoid problems. For these reasons, it is important to retain an attorney experienced in real estate.
Once you have contacted and retained one, you should expect your attorney to protect your interests. An experienced attorney will do this by doing the following:
Carefully examine your contract and discuss it with you in detail to make sure that the underlying agreement meets your expectations. If anything is missing from the written agreement, or if there is ambiguous wording, your attorney can make appropriate revisions. Your attorney should also keep track of important contractual dates (ex: inspections and mortgage approval) to make sure that they are not missed.
Carefully examine all inspection reports (structural, pest, radon, well water flow/quality, septic, etc.), discuss any issues with you, solicit work/ repair estimates (typically with the realtor’s assistance) and negotiate a mutually agreeable compromise with the other party’s attorney where necessary.
Assist in obtaining title insurance as required by the lender and in clearing up any existing title issues or defects.
Monitor your mortgage approval date and work closely with your loan originator to assist with further contractual revisions that may be necessary if the mortgage loan product or seller contribution amounts change. Once commitment is in hand, the expiration dates of mortgage approval and interest rate lock-in must be carefully observed. To avoid additional costs, its important to push the transaction to a closing table before either one of these dates lapse or expire.
At times purchasers will want to move possessions into the property before the final closing. An attorney can prepare an agreement to accommodate the arrangement, On the flip side, a seller may want to remain in the property for a fixed number of days after a final closing. Again, assuming that this is acceptable by the purchaser, it is imperative that a well-crafted agreement be put in place at the time of closing to protect the client under these circumstances.
In sum, it is impossible to understate the importance of selecting the right real estate attorney to represent your interests in the purchase or sale of your home. Not every real estate transaction goes exactly as planned and it is when the “unexpected” occurs that having experienced legal guidance yields huge dividends.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to be educational and is not intended to be legal advice, which can only be given after an attorney-client relationship is established.
