A real estate lawyer works tooth and nail to document and review real estate transactions, for both buyers and sellers. These transactions include lease agreements, purchases, home inspections, and even appraisals. The lawyer also reviews any offers and makes sure that all your rights are protected and your duties are clearly defined.
In case things go wrong with your real estate transaction, your real estate lawyer will be there to file and defend you in court. Many real estate attorneys also help lenders undertake foreclose, while others help borrowers to defend their homes against foreclosure.
Here are the main duties of a real estate lawyer:
1. Drafting essential documents
Transfer of property is not always an easy process that you can do by yourself. The sheer volume of documents can be daunting and additionally, there are documents that need to be drafted and documented in a specific way. One of the key roles of a real estate lawyer is to draft documents such as deeds for conveyance transactions, purchase contracts, leases and rental agreements, financing agreements, and more.
2. Negotiating better deals
Experienced real estate attorneys have expertise with many types of real estate transactions. This enables them to provide clients with negotiation skills for better terms and conditions on real estate deals. This can involve working with other lawyers, brokers, investors and developers.
3. Reviewing transactions and contracts
Real estate attorneys offer clients the service of reviewing and consulting on various real estate transactions. Lawyers examine the property’s legal title issues, environmental reports and concerns, and any other documents pertaining to the transaction. In most cases, lawyers will find issues that the client didn’t recognize as areas of concern. They help ensure that a client doesn’t get duped into unforeseen legal traps.
4. Lawsuit representation
The role of real estate attorneys does not end with facilitating the smooth transfer of property from buyer to seller. It extends to the courtroom. When real estate transactions don’t work out, a real estate lawyer will help you with legal representation in court. Your lawyer will file a lawsuit on your behalf, argue your case in hearings, and file appeals if need be. Your legal representation will also consult with the opposing counsel to try and work out an out-of-court settlement.
5. Foreclosure
Many real estate attorneys work on cases relating to mortgage and trust deed foreclosures, especially in tough economic times. Some work to defend the borrowers while others work to enforce the foreclosure for the sake of their lenders. A lawyer representing a borrower will work to save the borrower’s home from foreclosure by challenging any mistakes made by the opposing counsel on the foreclosure process. They will also negotiate for a settlement agreement to halt the foreclosure agreement.
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