If you're buying a home, you should always use a real estate attorney to help you through the process. Even the best home-buying experience comes with a lot of complicated language and legal jargon, while some unscrupulous sellers take advantage of naïve home buyers who don't hire an attorney.
Here's exactly how a real estate attorney can help you:
Negotiating the Purchase and Sale Agreement: The first important hurdle when buying a home is the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S). The P&S outlines how long you have until closing, any repairs that the seller needs to make to the home, how much deposit is required and when, and other important information. Use a real estate attorney to make sure that important items are addressed in the P&S.
If you don't have a real estate attorney on your side to insist on the proper language to ensure repairs are completed in time, or to negotiate reasonable deadlines, you might find yourself in a P&S whose terms you simply can't meet. If you default on a P&S, you typically lose your deposit, so make sure you consult a real estate attorney to ensure the terms of the P&S are agreeable to you.
Protecting Your Interests: The seller is interested in protecting his interests, not yours, and the seller will have a real estate agent working on commission on his side. A real estate attorney examines all the legal documents before you sign them and can ensure that you're not signing something that isn't in your best interest.
A real estate attorney is also better equipped to negotiate with the seller's attorney; something that most buyers can't do successfully because they're too emotionally involved in the purchase. Always make sure you consult with a real estate attorney before you sign any legally binding documents to avoid signing a contract that puts you at a disadvantage.
Administering Escrow and Ensuring That Payouts Are Properly Distributed: Retaining a real estate attorney also means you don't have to worry about payouts being properly disbursed. When you have a real estate attorney, you must secure financing and provide a deposit, but the attorney handles the payoff and disburses any funds to the sellers, inspectors or title examiners. You don't have to worry about whether something was paid properly; that's the real estate attorney's job.
If funds are being held in escrow as part of the sale, a real estate attorney has the authority to administer escrow. The attorney can then disburse funds as appropriate according to the terms of the escrow.
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