What Does A Real Estate Lawyer Do?

Whether you’re buying or selling a home, your team of experts should include a real estate lawyer. They will not only help you in finding the right house and the right buyer, but will also ensure you close the deal at a fair price.

The primary duty of real estate lawyers is to protect the financial interests of their clients. However, there are several other things that real estate lawyers do on a daily basis. Here are some of them:

1. Documentation

Drafting documents is one of the key responsibilities of real estate lawyers. These documents include preparing deeds for conveyance, leases and agreements for rentals, purchase contracts and financing agreements. While most states only allow real estate agents to perform such functions, licensed lawyers are equally eligible for drafting and revising documents.

2. Negotiations

Real estate lawyers are seasoned professionals who become experts in negotiations over time. Thus, when real estate lawyers are appointed, they are expected to work with other attorneys, developers, and brokers and negotiate on behalf of their clients.

3. Due diligence

In some cases, clients prefer negotiating with the buyer or seller’s agent directly. Hence, for them, real estate lawyers are only required to conduct due diligence for the deal. This means that they are only required to examine legal title issues, environment issues, reports and any other contracts or documents involved in the transaction. Since real estate lawyers are trained to spot these issues of examining legal title issues, environment issues, reports and any other contracts or documents involved in the transaction, they act as efficient guardians for the clients and ensure clients don’t fall into any unseen legal traps.

4. Litigation

While most real estate transactions work out in favour of both parties, some transactions don’t and such cases usually end in a lawsuit.

Here, real estate lawyers play a crucial role. They represent their clients in real estate litigation and increase the possibility of winning a case against the opposition.

5. Foreclosure

Real estate lawyers specialize in mortgage and trust deed foreclosure. Thus, in times of difficult economic periods, real estate lawyers are expected to guide clients correctly through the foreclosure process. For example, if the lawyer is representing a borrower, his primary duty is to make life difficult for the foreclosing lender by challenging any mistakes made in the foreclosure process.

All in all, the job is one that is transactional in nature and thus, their duties go much beyond litigation. As a real estate lawyer, one is required to perform a wide range of activities such as selling, buying, renting land, buildings, houses or natural resources.

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