Why Should You Hire An Attorney To Buy or Sell Your Home?

Answer: Because you do not want to risk flushing your money down the toilet.

     You have probably heard people say that you don’t really need a lawyer for a real estate transaction.  Or you may be under the impression that real estate closings are easy for lawyers, and your real estate lawyer really isn’t doing much other than collecting a check at closing.  To be honest, I hope and pray that your lawyer does not have much to do, because a smooth transaction makes the herculean task of moving a lot less stressful.  Unfortunately, most real estate transactions will involve some unexpected hiccups, and that’s when having an experienced real estate attorney will save you from suffering a potentially catastrophic loss.

     Take for example the story of military veteran Danny Shedd, whose story is told in an article published by Vice.  (click the link to read more)  The article describes how Shedd is currently being evicted from the home he purchased, because the deed he received at closing incorrectly described some swamp land somewhere in the woods rather than the property he was trying to buy for his family.  This type of mistake is exactly the type of error that your real estate lawyer can identify and deal with before you hand over your hard earned savings for unihabitable swamp land.  If you tell me that I can spend $500 to save a little over $172,000, I would ask you where I mail that check!

     The bad news is that the best result Shedd can hope for is a refund of his purchase money from the Seller.  Even worse is that it will not be cheap to arrive at that result, and now he has to find a new home for his family. probably not be cheap for him.  Had he been represented by an attorney in the transaction, the mistake would likely have been discovered before Shedd plunked down $172,425 in cash for the wrong plot of land.

    If you have questions about real estate closings, or any other real estate matter, as always, you can contact me at patrick@loftus-law.com or 773-632-8330.  To see what my clients have to say about me, please visit me at avvo.com or on my Google + page.

     Shout out to Vice for the good content.