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Real
Estate
(Including a full service
title insurance
agency)
There is an
old maxim that lawyers will complicate any real estate project
and kill the deal. This idea belongs on the trash heap of “urban
legends.”
In my 25 years
of practicing real estate law, I have saved my clients uncounted
sums of money, helped them to avoid heartache and frustration,
and smoothed the typically rocky path of purchasing or selling
a home.
In fact, I
cannot recall a single occasion when relying exclusively on a
marketing expert (the real estate agent) for legal advice proved
a better strategy than enlisting the counsel of a qualified lawyer.
The home is sold. One day a process server shows up at the door. The Seller is being sued for fraud. Why? Unknown to to the Seller there was a leaky pipe under the kitchen sink. Ten thousand dollars, two years and a tree-day trial later, the Seller is vindicated. With good advice this would have been avoided. This is a true story.
A Buyer sues the Seller for failure to disclose termite damage in the basement. Months later—after several experts and lawyers battle it out –the damage, which was minor, is determined to be old water damage. The Seller’s error was poor counsel in completing the “Property Disclosure” form. This is a true story.
Six months after the home was sold a drain backed up. After extensive excavation a tree root is discovered to have grown through the main drain pipe in the yards. A law suit is filed against the Seller. This is a true story.
A home is sold, then sold again two years later, then sold again ten years later. The original Seller had not’t even seen the home in 12 years. Then a defect in the title is discovered from 20 years earlier. The original seller now finds himself at the wrong end of an expensive legal action. Why? Because he was advised improperly on the correct manner to convey the title.
Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Like many others, you may have chosen to sell your home without a real estate agent. While real estate commissions could run $9,000.00 (for a $150,000.00 home), the services of your real estate agent don’t include protecting you from the legal consequences of selling your home. In fact, the contract you sign when hiring an agent to list your home specifically says, “Agents are trained in the marketing of real estate.” It further states that agents ARE NOT trained to provide legal advise. Then in big, bold, letters, it warns that if Seller does not contact a lawyer, “THE SELLER IS ACTING CONTRARY TO THE ADVICE OF THE COMPANY.”
Real Estate Brokers know that selling a home has numerous legal crocodiles that only experienced legal counsel can avoid. Selling a home with or without an agent is usually just a question of whether or not you can find a Buyer. But selling a home without experienced legal advice can be devastating.
When you sell your home you will sign a six page Real Estate Purchase Contract (the REPC). At the very top of that contract, which agents are required to use, it warns that if you want legal advise see a lawyer. What rational person would not want legal advice in signing a six-page contract dealing with a $100,000.00 or more asset? As a lawyer, I can legally change that contract—a real estate agent cannot. And, the REPC is just the beginning. From start to finish, you are dealing with a hundred thousand dollar, or greater, asset that invites dispute, even litigation.
Nor does it
cost anywhere near what most home buyers and sellers would expect
to consult a lawyer. I highly recommend my article, The
Dogs and Cats of Selling or Purchasing a Home.
Thank you,
Gregory P.
Hawkins
Your Family’s Lawyer™ |
