Is A Real Estate Lawyer Necessary For A New Home Purchase?

Posted on: 28 July 2017

When seeking out homes for sale, there's a lot you can do on your own, but expert help can take you further. A real estate lawyer can represent such expert help. But you have to ask yourself, do you need such a lawyer? And what can a real estate lawyer really do for you?

Is a Real Estate Lawyer Important?

A new home comes with various legally binding contracts and documents. You'll find yourself signing a lot of paperwork. You may even need to draft documents for the seller to peruse and sign as well. There's a lot of help online as well as tutorials.

A real estate agent can guide you through many of these processes as well. In fact, the only real source of legal advice when it comes to purchasing a home should come from a legal professional who practices real estate law.

Much of what a real estate lawyer does can crossover with what other real estate professionals can do for you as well. For example, a real estate lawyer can do a title and tax search. These searches are incredibly important, but there are also services that specialize specifically in title searches and title insurance as well.

A title service can find problems, such as tax liens or complicated ownership claims. They may also find indicators of real estate fraud. These services can advise you on some possible courses of action if problems show up. A real estate lawyer can give you real, relevant legal advice on how to take care of these problems.

When Should You Seek the Help of a Real Estate Lawyer?

A real estate lawyer can help in many scenarios.

  • Help explain the legalities involved with the home buying process
  • Explain contracts and how they can affect you going forward
  • Draft contracts and documents for you, such as a Purchase Agreement
  • Submitting and making sure all the proper paperwork is present at closing

Many more benefits can come from utilizing a real estate lawyer. In the end, your specific home buying experience will dictate if you should consider a real estate lawyer or not. You can hire a real estate lawyer at any stage of the home buying process.

Your lawyer can help you from start to finish, or just show up for closing. You can even just consult if you have questions. If you feel you're getting along fine on your own, or your real estate agent does enough, then you may not need a real estate lawyer.

If you have questions or need further clarification on a legal aspect of buying a home, then you should certainly consider speaking to a lawyer. Do it before signing anything or going forward with the process if you have doubts or feel unsure.

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