Do You Need a Lawyer When Buying or Selling a Home?

Buying a home can be a complicated process. There are documents to file, processes to follow and much more to ensure that the transaction is a smooth one. In many cases, having an attorney working on your side can help you out immensely.

Hiring an attorney to work for you when you buy or sell a home isn’t required. However, it does decrease your chances of a lawsuit after the transaction is completed. This is especially true when you are seller – for example, many home sellers have been sued because they didn’t disclose all of the necessary information about things like the home inspection that could affect the buyer’s decision to purchase the house. As a seller, your attorney will review your home’s inspection to make sure all of the relevant information is reported to the buying party. As a buyer, too, your attorney can readily find out if there are any liens, judgments or other legal problems with the house that could cause problems after you purchase it.

Another benefit to hiring an attorney is so you can make sure all of the papers are filed properly at all levels of jurisdiction, including the county and state levels. The deed is one of the most important papers to file once a house is sold. You can, of course, file this yourself. But if you don’t do it properly, you found face unforeseen tax or other financial consequences.

One of the most important reasons to have an attorney working on your side is so they can be there to give you any legal advice that you may need. Your mortgage lender and real estate agent might try to give you legal advice, but only lawyers can give legal advice because they have the knowledge and expertise to do so.

Hiring an attorney when you are buying or selling a home is going to be an extra expense. However, the expense of the attorney could be miniscule compared to the problems that can be caused if you don’t file papers properly or if you buy a house without knowing that there is a tax lien or other type of judgment against it. In many cases, your realtor can suggest a qualified attorney or you can ask family and friends for referrals if they have used the services of an attorney lately.

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