In most residential real estate transactions, a attorney charges a flat fee to review the documents, review the title work and sign the closing paperwork. If it’s a complex transaction, an hourly fee may be taken into consideration.

A Deed is delivered at closing, however, the Deed must be recorded to perfect your security interest in the property. What’s important to realize when purchasing real estate, it’s not the actual possession of the Deed that gives you title to the property, it’s the recording of the Deed in public record that puts the world on notice that you’re the owner of the property.

When a party makes an offer on real estate in Florida, they typically put up what’s called an earnest money deposit. This is a good faith deposit to show that they’re serious about purchasing the home, and eventually that deposit will be applied towards the purchase price or it may be held as liquidated damages if the buyer breaches the agreement.

Specific performance in the context of a real estate transaction is, for instance, when the seller is refusing to sell the house. They don’t have a reason. They just decided they’re not going to sell the house. A specific performance is a remedy that’s available to the buyer if it’s written into the contract that can essentially force the seller to do something, specifically to make an act. Most remedies in the legal system are based on damages or money damages, but specific performance … you’re actually asking the court to force the party to do something.

A warranty deed is the best form of deed in terms of warranties that the owner is offering to the new owner. You’re warrantying the title not only during the time that you owned it but previous to that time. A quick claim deed offers no warranties whatsoever. The person granting the deed is simply saying “I am giving what I have to the new person, whether that be anything or everything.” The quick claim deed offers no warranties.

In a commercial real estate transaction, a guarantee means that you personally are guaranteeing that your business is going to meet its financial obligations to the landlord. This is a term of the lease that is a big sticking point and very heavily negotiated between the landlord and the tenant. That’s why it’s very important to have an experienced commercial real estate attorney watching out for your interests.

A seller must disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of the property and that are not readily observable by the buyer. This is a requirement that stems from the case Johnson v. Davis which is the seminal case in this area of the law. A seller must disclose any defects they know that are wrong with the property and the buyer must accept the property with those defects disclosed.

The statute of frauds states that there are certain contracts in the state of Florida that are required to be in writing. One of those contracts is a contract for the sale of real estate. You have to be able to identify the parties, you have to be able to identify the property and the consideration that’s being paid for the property, and it has to be signed by the person whom you’re seeking enforcement against.

Essentially, the attorney is trying to uncover whether there are any unpaid mortgages, leans on the property, what easements and restrictions may be on the property, so they can fully explain to you as the buyer what restrictions or what limitations you’re going to have when you purchase this property. It’s also a requirement any time you obtain title insurance, there must be a title search performed before the insurance policy can be issued.

Zoning is the method the government uses to explain what uses are available for the property that you own. Zoning is designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the general public. For instance, you don’t want a power plant necessarily right next to a school or a neighborhood. Each property has a zoning classification which tells you what you can do with that property. For instance, a single-family home would have single-family home residential zoning. A video store may have commercial zoning. There’s agricultural zoning and all different types of zoning that can affect your property.