Everything You Need to Know About Working With a Real Estate Attorney

Buying or selling a home can be a stressful, emotional, and confusing process. It’s to be expected, of course. Every real estate transaction involves both property and law, but perhaps most importantly, a person’s memories and lifestyle.  Fortunately, the entire experience can be made so much easier, simply by working with the right team of professionals. This includes your Realtor, your mortgage representative, your inspector, and more. Among them, real estate attorneys may be one of the most influential players on your team. They are trained to deal with all of the stress and questions that come about, but they also protect you from the legal pitfalls that can happen.

When you read through the typical steps of a real estate transaction, it seems to be a relatively simple process. In real life, however, it’s not quite so black and white. Without a real estate attorney to guide you and help manage the process of negotiations, you could be facing disastrous consequences.  

Real estate attorneys recognize issues that many homebuyers would otherwise overlook, such as a contract that doesn’t address certain legal issues associated with the property you are buying (or the transaction itself).  For example, homebuyers have been known to get caught in a sale that involves an expired power of attorney; that is, the seller no longer has the authority to actually sell the property. Other examples of legal conflicts that may occur include zoning that is inconsistent with your intended use, disagreements over which fixtures stay or go, an incomplete or inaccurate legal description of the property, and more.  These issues can cause a range of problems, some of which could be financially catastrophic for you. Whether they are intentional or a simple detail that has accidentally fallen through the cracks, make sure that you are working with a professional to help you recognize and remedy them.

Homebuyers and sellers should both seek the advice of an experienced real estate attorney.  Brokerage agreements need to be carefully explained, in plain terms, as do questions about the tax consequences of a transaction. Your attorney will also guide you through the purchase agreement – the single most important document of the home buying transaction.  With purchase agreements, attorneys can help you make any necessary changes or additions to the contract to address all sorts of issues or questions that come up.  For instance:

• What are the legal consequences of rescinding your offer? Will you lose any money if you do so?  
• Do the buyers have plans to alter or change the property?  If so, are there any legal restrictions that will affect your ability to do so?
• Has the seller altered the property?  Are there any hidden changes?  If so, were these updates done lawfully?
• Who is responsible if a buyer has an engineer or architect inspect the property and dangerous structures are found?  
• Who is responsible if a property is found to contain hazardous waste?

These are just a few of the legal questions that could come up that only a real estate attorney will be able to help you navigate.  

Once all of your negotiations are final and you’ve made your additions or changes to the purchase agreement, most of the action goes on behind the scenes. You won’t need to worry about many of the details until the day of your closing appointment.  Closing processes are complex and can be very confusing. You can expect to see a series of debits and credits, and numerous legal documents requiring your signature.  An attorney can really save you here, as they can explain the amount, fairness, and nature of all closing costs so that you don’t agree to pay something that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Seeking the advice of a real estate attorney is one of the best things that you can do when it comes to selling or buying a home.  Without an attorney, your rights may be at risk.  A lot of conflicting interests, parties and disputes come up during the process, and an attorney can help guide you through it, both lawfully and comfortably, serving only your best interests.    

This is one of the many benefits of working with a qualified Realtor who is experienced in the local market. A strong professional network is not only an asset to the Realtor, but also to his or her clients.

If you are thinking of buying or selling in or around Chicago, contact me at 847.226.8681. I would be thrilled to help you make your next real estate transaction a smooth one, and I would be happy to recommend a real estate attorney who will do the same.