Buying or selling a home is an expensive transaction and a large commitment and has the potential for large expensive problems before or after the sale if the parties don’t protect themselves. There can arise many legal issues during the real estate process and having a real estate lawyer review or draft the contracts before you bind yourself to the transaction, and assist you throughout the transaction, can save you from possibly being held in default before the sale even occurs or for liability for post-closing problems. For example, if a home inspector misses damages to the home, the buyer may be responsible for the repairs and have no recourse against the seller. If simultaneously buying a home while selling their own, a seller could be held in default, or even rendered homeless, by failing to include adequate home sale contingency provisions in the contract.
A real estate lawyer can take on many different tasks during the real estate transaction process. Generally, a real estate lawyer drafts or reviews real estate documents and contracts for the transfer of property. They also may review the property’s title history, assist with mortgage related concerns, review home inspection reports and negotiate repair requests and conduct the closing. There may be a real estate attorney for both the buyer and seller side, each representing their own client’s best interest.
When Do I Need A Real Estate Attorney?
A realtor or real estate agent is not a real estate attorney and while you can buy a house without a real estate attorney in New Jersey, it’s not recommended. While they may have expertise in marketing, or even brokering real estate deals, realtors will be the first to tell you that “I’m not a lawyer” when it comes to handling legal concerns or potentially sticky real estate situations.
Having an attorney from the outset of the transaction will put you in the best position to prevent legal problems by property drafting or amending the contract.
Buying or selling a house is a complex process. It is a legal transaction as much as it is a real estate transaction. Having an experienced real estate lawyer on your site from the beginning of the transaction, through the closing table, can potentially save you significant amounts of time, stress, and money. At South Jersey Law Center, it is our goal and our drive to protect our client’s interests, whether buyer or seller, all while fostering the process of getting them to the closing table. Give us a call today to discuss how we can help you with your real estate transaction.
When do you need to hire a real estate attorney? You should hire an attorney when there are contracts involved and probably a little before that, even hiring a home inspector involves a contract that should be looked over by your attorney. Some attorneys don’t just handle the documents, they facilitate the whole process, so you should consider hiring an attorney after finding the house you want to purchase or are ready to sell your home.
If you are purchasing a home, you may be asked to use the seller’s real estate agent to facilitate both sides of the transaction, however its recommended to use your own real estate attorney to represent your best interest in the real estate transaction.