How To Hire A Real Estate Attorney

Are you wondering if you should hire a real estate attorney when you are selling your home on your own?  How do you find one?  At what point do you hire the attorney?  After reading this article, you will know exactly why you need to hire a Real Estate Attorney, when to hire one, how to find an attorney and how to make sure you have hired a great attorney.

Why You Should Hire a Real Estate Attorney?

When selling your home on your own, a good real estate attorney is the most valuable member of your team (besides yourself of course).  He/she is the only member of the real estate transaction that is legally obligated to protect your interests.  Everybody else is more concerned with making a buck and covering their own butt.

In my interview with Real Estate Attorney Zach Roth, he told me about a client who came to him after he had sold his house.  The client followed all of his real estate agent’s advice and did everything his agent asked of him…even filling out the disclosure paperwork.

Months after the transaction closed, the seller received a lawsuit notice from the buyer.  There was a defect with the property of which the buyer was not aware when the property was purchased.  The seller thought to himself, “This is not right.  I disclosed this to buyer and he could have backed out the transaction.”  The lawsuit stated that the seller never made this disclosure.

The seller called his agent and asked him to provide proof that the disclosure was made but the agent never provided the disclosure to the buyer or his agent.  Oops!  The agent never delivered the disclosure to the buyer.  Neither his agent, or the buyer’s agent “caught” this oversight.

That was not the only oops.

When the seller went to visit the attorney, he discovered that he had signed away the agent’s responsibility in this matter.  The boilerplate listing agreement contained a clause that dissolved any responsibility for the agent’s mistakes.

Now the seller is on the hook for something that would have been prevented had he hired a real estate attorney.

What Else Will A Real Estate Attorney Do For Me?

Real Estate Attorneys can offer a variety of services.  Some are title agents as well and can offer those additional services.  Many of these services are at a flat fee and some are by the hour.  The services most likely to be a flat fee are those that are predictable such as writing a sales contract, conducting title searches, etc.  See the list of services below.

Flat Fee Services

• Reviewing your agent listing agreement to ensure your agent is held accountable for any mistakes.
• Writing the sales contract once the offer is accepted
• Creating disclosures and ensuring your buyer receives them
• Escrowing funds
• Managing the closing process
• Researching the title
• Providing title insurance
• Writing the Quitclaim deed
• Executing final payments

By the Hour Services

• Assisting with the negotiation process.
• Clearing any discrepancies or liens with the title

When Should You Hire A Real Estate Attorney?

As you can see from the story above, you need to hire a real estate attorney as soon as you decide to sell your home.  Don’t call an agent (learn from the mistake above).  Don’t call your mortgage company.  Don’t call your real estate agent.

How Do I Find A Real Estate Attorney?

The best way to find a Real Estate attorney is through a reference from someone you know.  The easiest way to do this is to use Social Media.

Go to facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media site you use and just post this question, “Does anyone know a good Real Estate Attorney in the state of ______?”

Wait a minute, why did you say in the state of _____?

You don’t need to have a Real Estate Attorney locally…he/she can be located anywhere in your state.  While it is nice, it is not necessary to have someone locally.  All of your conversations can take place over email and over the phone.  The closing can take place at the buyer’s agent’s office, the title company’s office, or at any other convenient location the notary wants to meet you.

Note that some states may require the closing to take place at the attorney’s office.  You can find out about this limitation when you interview your Real Estate Attorney.

More than likely, someone will provide you with a name.  However, if you don’t get any names, then you can do some research on your own.  There are a couple of good websites that allow you to search for attorneys in your local area.

• Martindale – This website allows you to search by area of expertise and lets you know if the attorney has been reviewed by his/her peers and by clients. It gives you an aggregate of the reviews, but does not show individual reviews.
• Avvo – This site lets you post free questions to attorneys and find local attorneys by specialty. You can view internet reviews on the attorneys as well.

Can’t I Just Ask My Real Estate Agent For A Referral?

No!

Your agent aligns himself with people that will promote his interests, not yours.  Do you think an agent is going to refer you to a Real Estate Attorney who will yell stop every time she sees something that will cause you harm.  Not a chance.  Your agent does not get paid until the deal closes and the sooner the deal closes, the soon he gets paid.

What should I Ask A Real Estate Attorney

Once you have the names of a few Real Estate Attorneys, you are ready to call them to ask questions.  You want to ensure they are the right fit for you.  There are two important rules when making these calls.

1. Ask All The Questions You Have – Don’t hold back asking a question because you feel silly or don’t want to waste the attorney’s time. Attorneys like to show off their expertise and they are not too busy to answer your questions.
2. If Something Does Not Feel Right…Move On – Whenever you are interviewing someone and something does not feel right, move on to the next candidate. You may not even be able to articulate what does not feel right and that is fine.  You need to be comfortable calling the attorney any time to ask questions.  If you are not comfortable, you are not going to call the attorney or ask the questions you want/need to ask.

Once you get the Real Estate Attorney on the line, use this script as an introduction.

“Hi my name is _________, and I live in ___________.  I was recommended to you by _____________ (tell them if it was a website too).  I am getting ready to sell my house with/without a real estate agent.  I am looking for a Real Estate Attorney.  Do you have 15 non-billable minutes to answer some questions to help me determine who to hire?”

This short intro gives the attorney a lot of information about you.  It tells the attorney if you are local or not so he can immediately assess if he can help you.  It tells them how you found them (they like to advertise and this will help them).  Finally, it tells them if you are using an agent or not (If you are a Prudent Seller, then you won’t be using an agent….right?).  Finally, this lets the attorney know that you are shopping around and this conversation is not billable.

Now for the questions and the reason behind each question.

• Can you explain the Real Estate process to me and the assistance you will provide at each stage? You want an attorney that can simplify things and explain them in terms you can understand.   If you feel overwhelmed or confused after this question, that is a clear sign you should say, “Thank you for your time, good bye.” The real estate sale process seems complicated but is really easy.  If someone makes it sound complicated, that is a red flag.
• Can you go through the list of services you will likely provide me and the price for each service. Also make sure to tell me when I will be billed for each service?  When he is done with this question, ask him if he could email that to you as well.  This question will let you understand where your money is going and when you will have to write checks.
• Do I need to hire a title company if I hire you? Some attorneys are title agents and can provide the title services and insurance while others are not.  Ideally you want an attorney can handle everything.
• If yes, do you have 2-3 title companies that you would recommend? You want to ask for multiple companies here for two reasons.  First, since you are talking to more than one attorney, if the same title company names keep coming up this is a sign that they are good.  Secondly, good attorneys grow their business by helping others…including other professionals who are trying to build their business.  If your attorney is not willing to recommend anyone, likely there is no one willing to recommend him/her.
• When I call to ask questions, will you charge me? Once you engage (hire) your attorney, you will be a billable client.  You want to know when you will be billed and for how much.
• What happens after I hire you? If the Real Estate Attorney tells you nothing will need to happen until you get an offer, this is also a red flag.  Your attorney should take the time to prepare and advise you on what to do and how to do it.  He should have a conversation with you about your disclosures and what you want in your sales contract.  This will ensure you are not making any mistakes up front that you will have to pay your attorney later to fix.  It will also ensure that you can turn the sales contract around quickly right after you have an offer.
• Where will the closing take place? This is especially important if you have an attorney in another town.  It is also important if you have a title company in the mix as the closing could take place at the title company’s office as well.
• (Optional) Can you also handle ________? While attorney’s have a specific scope of duties, they can also preform services outside of that scope for a fee.  If you are uncomfortable in any aspect of the transaction, you can ask your attorney to handle that for you.  For example, some sellers don’t like to negotiate and they arrange for all offers to go through their attorney.

Click here to download a PDF of the questions you should ask a Real Estate Attorney.

 

Can’t I Just Buy My Real Estate Forms Online And Skip The Real Estate Attorney?

If this is your first home you are selling on your own, then the answer is no.  Go to the Real Estate Attorney, pay for the forms and get their advice. If you have sold homes on your own in the past (or are an investor), then you can visit a website, such as www.nolo.com (affiliate link) and find both free and paid for standard forms to use in your transaction.  Remember, only do this if you have experience selling your home on your own.

Executive Summary

A Real Estate Attorney is the most important member of your team after yourself.  Make sure to hire the attorney as soon as you decide to sell your home.  Get names from referrals on Social Media or websites such as www.avvo.com.  Have the attorney walk you through the process when interviewing him or her.  If possible, find an attorney that can act as the title agent as well.  Click here to download a PDF of the questions you should ask a Real Estate Attorney.

Your Feedback

Do you have a horror story that could have been prevented with a Real Estate Attorney?  I would love to hear about it in the comments below.