Simultaneous closings can have a lot of issues. That’s typically when a person is selling a house and buying a house at the same time. Depending on the situation, a good real estate attorney can provide contingencies in the contract that will allow you to stay in the house after closing or you have to make arrangements for temporary lodging. Either way, it can be very tricky when you’re selling two … selling a home and buying a home at the same time.

A real estate broker and a real estate lawyer have different skillsets. A real estate broker should have a good knowledge of the market. A real estate attorney is going to advise you on where you stand legally, make sure that any clauses that you want in the contract are put into the contract and written in a legal and enforceable way. The best real estate transactions are when the real estate agent and real estate attorney work hand in hand to represent your best interest.

If the inspection is not satisfactory, it goes back to what are the terms of the contract say. In Florida, there is two commonly used contracts. One of which is an AS-IS contract. The AS-IS contract usually give a period of days, anywhere from three to 15 days, for the buyer to inspect the property. Essentially, under that contract, the buyer can back out for any reason or no reason. However, if you’re using a different type of contract that doesn’t allow for the buyer to back out based on the inspections, then the seller may be able to hold the buyer to the contract and proceed towards closing.

It’s a good idea to retain the services of a real estate attorney when you’re purchasing or selling a home. Most people, when they buy or sell real estate, it’s the largest transaction of their financial lives. It’s important to have someone on your team to make sure that they’re protecting your legal interests and watching out for you.

Absolutely, in my opinion, the attorney and the broker play two separate roles in the transaction. A broker comes with the experience of real estate transactions in general, but you need an attorney to make sure that you’re covered on the legal side, that you’re meeting the deadlines and that you’ve incorporated everything into the contract that’s necessary to protect you.

Most people when they purchase a home, it’s the largest financial transaction of their lives. Title insurance ensures that no one has a claim on your property or can come back and make a claim in any way. If you’re borrowing money to purchase a property the lender is going to require that you obtain title insurance. The title insurance in general is a very good idea when purchasing property.

It’s a good idea to have an experienced Florida real estate attorney review your documents prior to the closing. That way if you have any questions about what a document means or whether interest rates or closing costs are correct, those items can be addressed in advance by your attorney, so on the day of closing everything can go smoothly.

If you are purchasing real estate on an as-is contract, it’s very important to have an attorney on your side and also to perform an inspection on the property. Even though you are purchasing a property as-is, a seller is still obligated to disclose all known facts that materially affect the value that are not readily observable by the buyer.

When you purchase real estate in Florida, you’re going to have a purchase contract between you and the other party. It’s important that you have an experienced real estate attorney draft this contract, or at a very minimum review the contract to explain to you what the contingencies are in the contract. Contingencies are things that have to occur for the purchase to move forward. For instance, you may have a financing contingency so that you can borrow money to buy the house. And then if you can’t borrow the money, you won’t have to purchase the home. There could be an inspection contingency to make sure that the house is exactly what you’re bargaining for. The important thing to realize is that this needs to be done on the front end. It needs to be done when the contract is being drafted, and an experienced attorney can help you put in those contingencies for your protection.

It’s important to review an attorney’s experience and qualifications in the area which you’re intending to hire them. For instance, if you’re looking for a residential real estate attorney, have they been involved in a lot of real estate deals? What experience do they have with real estate litigation? It’s also a good idea to have someone you’re compatible with personality wise. The attorney-client relationship is very important, and attorney and client must trust each other to come up with the best outcome.