Real Estate Lawyers - Area of Expertise and Responsibilities
Real estate lawyers help clients with legal issues related to residential and commercial real estate, tenants and neighbors, commercial leasing, and private property ownership. Lawyers assist with transfer of real estate property, including purchase and sale. They help clients to deal with the legal aspect of rental property and defend the rights of owners, landlords, renters, and tenants. Real estate lawyers specialize in land use, zoning, property development, and foreclosure.
Legal Advice
Lawyers offer legal advice on property management, zoning violations, restrictions and covenants on real estate, property taxes, and value estimates. They specialize in real estate disputes and deed problems and help resolve disputes over encroachment, trespass, injuries, and boundaries. Lawyers help clients to make estate transactions and deal with different problems. These include tenants in residence, proof of title, immovable structures, and illegal additions or units. Immovable structures include minerals, bushes, trees, and buildings.
Lawyers review and prepare real estate documents, file liens, and draft deeds. They ensure that no liens, easements, and covenants are registered against the real estate property. Attorneys create and register documents on behalf of clients, check for adjustments, modify the terms of contracts and agreements, and negotiate the terms of sales and purchase agreements. To this, they work with investors, brokers, developers, and other attorneys.
Responsibilities
Real estate lawyers help clients with title issues and environmental and insurance issues. They review and prepare appraisals, inspections, leases, and purchase agreements. They draft documents such as financial and rental agreements, leases, and deeds for higher priced purchases or conveyance transactions. Lawyers also offer legal advice and review transactions. This is called due diligence and involves a review of sales price history, building code compliance of the real estate property, lease terms, etc.
Lawyers also represent their clients in court. They participate in trials and hearings, file appeals, and draft documents and legal pleadings. Attorneys also bargain and negotiate on behalf of clients and help them to reach settlement agreements.
Some attorneys represent financial institutions while others represent debtors in cases of trust deed and mortgage foreclosure. The court is not involved in trust deed foreclosures, and the financial establishment is the beneficiary. When the trustor or borrower is unable to keep making payments, the trustee can be authorized to sell the real estate. A Notice of Default is issued. In cases of foreclosure, the lawyer files a lawsuit, offers legal advice, and represents the parties in court. When representing debtors, the task of the attorney is to stop the foreclosure procedure and reach an agreement. The lawyer works with the financial institution to modify the terms of mortgage loan and assists in notice of default matters.
Real estate lawyers protect the interests of sellers, buyers, and other parties to minimize the risk of financial loss. They check loan documents and contracts for errors and omissions. Some attorneys use the services of title agencies. Apart from reviewing purchase agreements, lawyers check for code violations and look at mortgage documents, taxes, and lien searches.
Attorneys specialize in residential and commercial real estate transactions and ensure that their clients’ interests are protected. To this, they work with insurance agents, surveyors, inspectors, real estate and title agents, and banks and other financial institutions. In residential transactions, lawyers check whether there are charges or liens against the property. They make sure that taxes and maintenance are paid by the seller and attend the closing. Finally, real estate lawyers help clients with security deposits and review the closing statement, promissory note, bills of sale, and deed.
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