Hiring a Real Estate Attorney

Hiring a Real Estate Attorney

by Kelly Thacker

When you decide to buy or sell a house, you may have questions regarding legal issues. Sometimes it's a good idea to have an attorney present for the signing of certain documents. Sometimes you may just need someone like an attorney look over everything and make sure that there aren't any legalities that are being overlooked.

You may get advice from a lot a people during the home buying or selling process. Mortgage brokers, realtors and employees of the title company might all let you know what you need to do next. But, keep in mind that none of these people are actually qualified to give you legal advice. Only an attorney is qualified to give legal advice. One piece of advice you can get from your broker or realtor is an attorney referral. You should look for an attorney in your area that specializes in real estate law. If you're lucky, you can find an attorney who is also a real estate broker or agent. People like this generally keep up with the changing laws and systems that are in place to ensure that the real estate sale is fair on both sides.

When you get your list of attorneys, call each one. Ask any questions that you might have and gauge who you like based on how they answer your questions. They probably won't specifically give you answers, but they'll be able to tell you what they can do for you. Ask how much each charges hourly. Then, explain your situation and what all you need done. Get an estimate of how long all of this will take to get an idea of the cost. Some will charge one flat fee to do everything that you need regarding the buying or selling of the property.

So, what are some problems that you might run into as a buyer or seller? There are a lot of legal documents to sign during the negotiation phase of buying or selling a property. When you're selling, you usually will sign an agreement with the realtor and the mortgage broker. Sometimes they will use a standardized form that doesn't take into account any special circumstances. They may have it set up so that they get paid regardless of what happens in the process. If you take your property off of the market or decide to change companies, you could end up still paying the original broker or agent. You could get stuck paying them more than one commission or paying it when the property doesn't sell.

The bottom line is that a lot can go wrong for you when buying or selling and it's best to have legal representation when dealing with these problems that can pop up. You'll need advice along the way, so it's probably best to make that advice professional advice. The Salt Lake City Court Reporters at Thacker + Co bring you this information to protect you in the home buying or selling process.