Residential Real Estate Legal Services
The first question you have to ask yourself is simple: "Why do I need a real estate attorney?". The fact is most people do not hire an attorney to represent them in a real estate transaction. It is also a fact that we have record number of Americans who have lost their homes to foreclosure and/or have had to file bankruptcy because of a real estate transaction gone wrong. Not hiring a real estate attorney to help protect them may have saved them some money up front but ended up costing them dearly in the end.
When you are dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars don't you want to make sure that everything has been done correctly? Don't you want to make sure that you have been protected? Don't you want to understand the rights and obligations that you are agreeing to?
If you don't read your closing documents or if you don't understand them, you have no way of truly understanding the risks that you are taking. You can't rely on your real estate agent, loan officer or closer because none of them are attorneys and are not qualified to advise you regarding legal issues.
We all have heard the terms "SubPrime Mortgages", "Predatory Mortgages", "Pick'N'Pay Mortgages" or sometimes collectively referred to as "bad mortgages". When a consumer is facing a foreclosure or bankruptcy because of a real estate transaction that went bad, the first thing we often hear is "I was suckered in, I didn't understand what I was signing."
While that may be true, that fact is you should never sign legal documents without reading them and understanding them. Often it is necessary to hire an attorney to review them for you. That is what attorneys are trained to do.
Sometimes consumers are disarmed by being told to not worry,"These are just standard documents". I don't think that the homeowners who signed "standard" documents take much solace in that fact after they have lost their home to foreclosure or have had to file bankruptcy.
The bottom line is don't obligate yourself to deal where you are promising to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars without knowing what risks you are taking and doing your best to legal protect yourself if trouble arises down the road. Unfortunately, millions have found out that real estate deals can go bad and the impact can be devestating.
Don't make the same mistake twice - hire a knowledgeable, experienced real estate attorney today so you understand the deal and provide you with the best protection possible from future disasters.
For Buyers
Millions of Americans purchased homes during the residnetial housing boom in the early 2000's. Unfortunately, most did not read or truly understand what they signed. They relied on their real estate agent, loan officer and closer amongst others to assist them in the process. None of them can legally protect the buyer. Only a lawyer can review, explain and legally protect the buyer. By not understanding the legal consequences of their purchase, many of these purchases ended in disaster.
Buying today is even riskier due to the great number of non-traditional residential real estate transactions that dominate the market (short sales and foreclosures).
The following documents should be legally reviewed before signed and/or accepted.
- Lisitng Agreement;
- Purchase Agreement and all addendums;
- Title Commitment;
- Loan documents; and
- Closing documents
Once a document is understood, options to minimze risk (including re-drafting) can be considered.
NLF provides buyers many options for buyers, including flat fee options. Our attorneys can represent a buyer from start to finish or can represent a buyer for specific segments of the purchase process.
Alternatives to Traditional Purchase/Sales of Real Estate
During periods of time when traditional mortgage financing is restricted, non-traditional options are sought by buyers and sellers. Buyers may not be able to qualify for a traditional loan or the costs or interest rates assoicated with the loan are too high. Sellers are looking to expand their pool of potential buyers. When traditional mortgage financing is unavailable to many buyers the pool of buyers shrink, prices drop and sellers experienced problems selling.
One option that buyers have historically turned to buy using a contract for deed. While this can be a viable tool to purchase/sell real estate, both the buyer and seller must understand the advantages and disadvantages before deciding whether it is an option they want to consider. Both must also realize that proper drafting of the contract for deed is essentail to minimizing risks.