People confuse between real estate agents and real estate lawyers. While both professions differ widely in terms of responsibilities, authorities and functionality, yet buyers and sellers tend to ask wrong questions to the wrong person. For example,
- If you ask a real estate lawyer about the price range of luxury homes for sale in Toronto, he would only give his guess. Here, you may want to go through Kevin Loberg home listing,or consult a property agent.
- If you ask an agent to review your transaction and give his advice, chances are he would give you rather unprofessional answer to that. This is a question only attorney could answer in the best possible manner.
Another important thing is, real estate agent is not a necessity to complete a transaction, but you would always need a lawyer to oversee the process and make sure the deal is closed smoothly.
In the following lines, you can learn about the responsibilities of real estate attorneys:
Document Drafting
One of the major job responsibilities of a real estate attorney is document drafting. The kinds of documents prepared by real estate lawyers include:
- Deeds for transactions
- Rental and lease agreements
- Financing agreements
- Purchase contracts
Here, real estate agents will help you fill out these documents according to your requirements. The documents are submitted for review and the attorney reviews and gives his suggestions. Only licensed attorneys can draft or review these documents.
Negotiations
Because of their experience and qualifications, real estate lawyers may be asked to negotiate terms and conditions of particular property deal. For negotiation, your attorney works with the following people:
- Other attorney
- Brokers
- Developers
- Investors
Attorneys usually have a lot of experience of this particular area. In fact, commercial contractors and builders take their services to negotiate deals.
Transaction Review
This is the sole responsibility of a real estate lawyer. In fact, some attorneys only offer this particular service, and it normally happens in residential property transactions. Buyer and seller negotiate a deal and sign contract. Then they ask real estate attorney to review the contract with “Due Diligence”. The attorney would review the following:
- Legal title issues
- Reports
- Environment issues
- Other related documents and contracts.
Litigation
If property transactions don’t work out, affected party involves takes the matter to the court. Real estate attorneys represent their clients in lawsuits and perform following duties:
- Draft legal pleadings
- Participate in hearing
- Trial with the judge
- File appeals
- Bargain with opposing party for agreement settlement
Foreclosure
Real estate attorneys can specialize in trust deed foreclosure and mortgage law. They are hired by lenders and borrowers.
- Attorneys representing lenders guide them through foreclosure process. It may include filing a lawsuit.
- Attorney representing borrowers challenge mistakes in foreclosure process and make lender’s life difficult. They also negotiate with lenders on behalf of borrowers to settlement agreement with respect to foreclosure.
So, always consult real estate lawyer before buying Toronto luxury homes for sale.