Life-changing financial decisions should never be made lightly. Oftentimes, it helps immensely to have a professional help guide you through the decision-making process, helping you weigh out the pros and cons so that you can come to a thoughtful, well-rounded conclusion.
Naturally, buying and selling a home falls under this category. Just as a real estate agent will help you get your house inspected during your due diligence period and guide you through the pre-closing process, a real estate attorney can help with a number of activities during the buying and selling process.
Today, we’re going to take a look at some of the things real estate attorneys can help you with when buying or selling your home.
- Reviewing Purchase Contracts
Purchase contracts are fraught with complicated legalese that’s beyond most people, yet they’re the most important part of the buying and selling process by far. Fortunately, this is a key area where a real estate attorney can help you. Attorneys can review the terms of the purchase contract and even draft their own. Real estate agents cannot draft purchase contracts, but they are permitted to fill out certain templates jointly approved by North Carolina’s Bar Association and the Association of REALTORS©. If there are specific terms you’d like to include in a purchase contract, it’s wise to hire an attorney who can help you do just that.
Several issues that are frequently addressed in purchase contracts include the seller’s responsibility to cure title defects that will protect you from future problems with the property, your timeline for closing on the property, and terms that allow the buyer to withdraw from the contract without penalty prior to the expiration of due diligence.
- Closing
Closing your home is another instance when you’ll be inundated with pages of hard-to-understand legal language. Instead of letting it overwhelm you, you could hire a real estate attorney who can help walk you through the closing process and explain the content of these documents in plain English. In North Carolina, attorneys are required to conduct closings, and only attorneys are permitted to explain the legal content of the closing documents.
If you’re a first-time homebuyer, then an attorney could be especially useful to you. Since you’ve never gone through this process before, you may find it to be complex and intimidating, so let an attorney do the heavy lifting for you. They’ll conduct a title search and work hand-in hand with your lender and real estate agent so that nothing slips through the cracks.
- Illegal Tenants
It sounds crazy, but it’s true: sometimes an in-law, family member, or family friend will refuse to leave the property that’s being sold. In these cases, you’ll most definitely need an attorney to help properly evict that tenant before the closing can occur.
- Other Scenarios
While the purchase contracts and closing are the most important pieces of the home buying and selling process, there are a few other instances where it might be helpful to have a real estate attorney. These situations include, but are not limited to, buying a home that is subject to another person’s right to use the property (otherwise known as an easement), buying commercial property, and special considerations when buying property on a lake or other waterfront.
More Questions about Buying or Selling?
Give us a call or text us at 704-663-1600 today to schedule a consultation, and we can answer further questions you may have about buying or selling real estate.
Thomas & Webber Law at the Lake
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