5 Reasons To Hire A Real Estate Attorney Before You Buy

You’ve heard it a hundred times before: Buying a home is probably the biggest purchase you will ever make. It is also, undoubtedly, the most complex. As such, making even minor errors during the home-buying process can have serious legal ramifications down the road. That is why many buyers seriously consider hiring a real estate attorney before they sign on the dotted line. Here are five good reasons why they (and you) should consider it also.

1. Get Someone On Your Side

Because they have the same objective of gaining a profit from the deal, agents and sellers often team up and encourage prospective buyers to pull the proverbial trigger as soon as possible. A real estate attorney, on the other hand, can serve as the voice of reason if everything is not as it seems. As a completely dispassionate party, he or she will peruse the purchase contract and let you know if the arrangement is fair.

2. Avoid Potential Pitfalls

To the untrained eye, a purchase contract for a home reads like any other legal document. But to a real estate attorney, the deliberate use of inaccurate and/or ambiguous legal language can alter a tacit agreement between a buyer and seller. That is why attorneys in most states are permitted to change the legal language in a contract or even to void a purchase under state laws. Only a trained professional that is familiar with the process and the documents involved can catch these inconsistencies and correct them before the deal is done.

3. Protect Your Rights

Some brokerage contracts that are considered standard or “boilerplate” do not offer buyers the protection he or she deserves. An experienced lawyer can review the document and make changes as needed.

4. Save Yourself A Fortune

While costs vary based on the size and complexity of the deal, the average attorney charges a few thousand dollars for his or her services. When taken as a percentage of the deal, the total bill often comes out to around 1 percent of closing costs. In other words, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to how much you could potentially lose while making a misguided mistake.

5. Peace Of Mind

Buying a home is hard enough without having to worry about the fine print. An experience real estate attorney can allay any fears or concerns you might have about making the single largest purchase in your life.

For these reasons and many more, potential homebuyers should consider hiring a real estate attorney before they sign anything.