One of the most important things you can do when buying a home is to hire a land use attorney. The reason is: There can be many things that can potentially go wrong during the buying process. You need legal counsel along the way to make sure that everything goes as planned and that buying a new home is a positive experience for you.
When purchasing your new home, your lawyer is there to help you understand the entire purchase process and how you will eventually gain title to the property. He will do a complete background check and determine if there are any liens, easements or covenants against the property. He will take care of preparing and registering all of the necessary paperwork. In addition, your lawyer will work closely with your bank or Mortgage Company to assure that everything is legal and correct. He will get you the proper title insurance, see that it is correct and attend the closing with you.
Your land use attorney will work with you and the seller and negotiate on your behalf. He will also make sure that the contract is a legal document and that it follows all state laws. He will check for any liens or easements pending on the property and give you expert advice along the way. Your lawyer will also be there to review the contract thoroughly and check for any adverse legal terminology or binders within the contract. He will make the necessary adjustments to the contract and insert anything additional that you may want to add.
You are not required to have a lawyer when you purchase a home. However if you don’t have one, you run the risk of purchasing a home that has something adversely wrong with it. By having a lawyer review all of the documentation before you sign on the dotted line, you are much less apt to deal with liens, judgments or defects in the home later on. Also, a real estate lawyer will make sure that you have adequately completed and submitted all of the necessary documents required by your country and state.
Making sure that all of the paperwork is done correctly is one of the most important things that a land use attorney can do for you. Incorrectly filed documents can cause you much grief down the road. An improperly transferred deed of trust can potentially cause additional taxes to be levied against you. Fines can be incurred if building permits are filed correctly. And, easements that aren’t discovered and disclosed can be a real head ache later on.
