All About Hiring Real Estate Attorney
Posted on February 28, 2009
Filed Under Real estate Foreclosures |
No real estate course or effective seminar is a substitute for a good attorney. Finding a good real estate attorney could be difficult, since most of the attorneys are not themselves investors or familiar with creative transactions. Most attorneys would give you just advice to keep them from getting sued, but not enough advice to show how you could make more money out of a deal.
A good real estate attorney is one who counsel you of the risks suggest alternative ways of doing real estate transaction and charges a reasonable fee for doing so. A bad real estate attorney either says nothing, points out problems without offering solutions or even systematically kills the deals. This is why attorneys are often referred to as “deal killers”.
Ask few other investors in your area who they use as an attorney. Join a local real estate investors association and also ask for referrals. Ask local real estate agents and title companies for referrals. Do not open up the Yellow Pages and pick someone who just claims to be a real estate expert.
When interviewing a potential attorney, ask the following questions:
⢠Do you have a rental property?
⢠How many closings do you normally do per year?
⢠What sort of odd transactions have you done recently?
⢠Have you done any evictions? Or other foreclosures? Zoning board appeals? Condo conversions?
⢠Can you explain to me the following concepts: lease/option, wraparound mortgage, installment land contract?
Get a feel for the experience and personality of the attorney. A good attorney on your side is value his weight in gold, particularly if he could ever do creative closings.
vknarayana
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/all-about-hiring-real-estate-attorney-130892.html
Comments
11 Responses to “All About Hiring Real Estate Attorney”
Leave a Reply
Do you think hiring a real estate attorney is a good idea when closing on your home?
We will be closing on our new home next month in Northern VA. As first time home buyers, we are not sure if we do require a real estate attorney in understanding legal issues pertaning to the settlement. How much do these attorneys typically charge and is it really imperitve that you hire one?
PS: I forgot to mention it is a new construction.
We did get a pre-dry wall as well as pre-settlement inspection.
I dont know. but dont take advice from a real estate lawyer bc the industry needs any money it can get. they'll make u pay for the air they breathe
References :
The bank or lender provides the attorney and they will include the fee with the closing costs. The attorney files the paperwork with the courthouse.
References :
Absolutely! Ask friends and family for recommendations or ask your Realtor for a list of attorneys he or she works with regularly. Call them all to get estimates of the charges. I'm in the NY/CT area and a typical fee is $500-$1000+, but it's worth every penny…they will check to see if there are any claims on the property, etc…you don't want to purchase a property that has an unsatisfied mortgage or other lien and then be stuck with that burden. Good luck!
References :
If you are working with a REALTOR they have already spoken to you about a title company-the good news is there is a real estate attorney behind every title company so if you have questions ask for their attorney. Good luck and happy housing!
References :
Even if all you do is to get an attorney to review the paperwork, make sure he/she is real estate able, it is wise. Do NOT go into such a high value agreement or contract/mortgage without the consult with a real estate attorney. If you can't afford one…you don't need to be buying a house.
In mortgages…there are soooo many "hidden agenda" and with today's low standards of moral ethics in business practices…COVER YOUR BUTTS.
References :
Life
Not if you are going thru a title company and you get an insured title.
Of course, you may misunderstand the settlement but the title company can explain each item on the HUD form and how it affects you.
Also, you will have to evaluate whether you are paying a fair price for the house.
An independent inspector or appraiser might be more valuable than a lawyer in evaluating the deal.
References :
Well everytime I close a home I never do it without my prepaid legal membership idk if you have one but I highly reccamond it and its very low cost and get unlimited phone conslutation and get to fax over documents
References :
You do not need an attorney if you are property advised by a honest, credible agent. Depending on the property, etc. etc. etc. just make sure you close at a good Title or Escrow Company. The important thing is make sure you get an Extended Title Insurance Policy regardless of who pays for it. It is simply cheap insurance you can't afford not to get. I'm sure you have already acquired a Home Inspection aside from the required VA requirements??
References :
Consider a few things.
A. This is probably the biggest investment you have ever made.
B. You have never done it before. Do you know what title insurance is? Do you know what "exceptions" are in a title policy? Do you know what kind of deed you should receive? Do you know the difference between a general warranty deed and a special warranty deed? Do you know what a trust deed is? Do you understand how escrows work? What happens if your lender changes its mind or doesn't approve the deal?
C. The real estate brokers don't get paid unless the deal closes, so guess how often they advise buyers to object to something at closing. By the way, do you know what a closing is? Do you know what happens at closing?
D. Remember that the real estate agent is usually the agent for the seller, not for you, and the title company lawyer gives legal advice to the title company, not you.
I will admit that my view is biased. I am a real estate lawyer on the west coast, and mostly I work on commercial transactions. I don't usually get involved with residential transactions, except when one of my regular clients asks for advice. My regular clients who develop real estate for a living think they need my advice on transactions. They think that they cannot afford to do a deal without consulting me. Two months ago I was hired by a lawyer to help her with her residential real estate deal sale. She doesn't do real estate transactions and thought my advice was worth my fee.
Some real estate brokers hate having lawyers involved in transactions because they say the lawyers keep finding problems, and they slow the deal down. Even worse they may "kill the deal," I plead guilty to those accusations, but I don't apologize for it. Some deals need to be killed, and it's just too bad if the broker doesn't get a commission.
The common practice varies from state to state, but in many states, 99% of the residential real estate transactions happen without a lawyer's involvement, and the great majority close without any problems. Unfortunately, if there is a problem and there is no lawyer checking the deal for the buyer, the problem can be very expensive.
Here is an old saying in real estate that you will never hear from a real estate agent/broker. "You can afford to pass up a good deal, but you can't afford to make a bad one."
If you hire a lawyer it will probably cost at least a thousand dollars. It could be more if there are problems that need to be fixed. Ask the lawyer in advance for an estimate. Find one who specializes in real estate; ask another lawyer for help finding the right person; or your local bar association may have a referral service. The choice is yours, but I wish you good luck in any event.
References :
Definitely not required unless you're the type to sue or go after people if something was done incorrectly.
As long as you pay for title (and therefore the title insurance fee) you're guaranteed there are no other liens on the house.
The only other thing that could go wrong is with your broker or lender, occasionally they won't get the funds to buy the house on time or something… usually nothing to stop you from owning the home (though somtimes it's a day or two later than you'd planned). If you trust your realtor and/or builder I wouldn't bother.
References :
I decided to buy my first home at age 23, researched for real estate brokers (decided to go at it on my own since the first couple were pushing me to put offers on houses I wasn't sure about), and I researched for a good, reputable, non-rip off title company. Everything went through without a hitch… no attorney required.