The Risks of Not Having a Real Estate Attorney During a Purchase

May 16, 2023
Waserstein & Nunez, PLLC

A real estate purchase is one of the most significant financial transactions available to consumers. Whether you’re looking at purchasing a property to live in, lease out, operate your business from, or flip for future buyers, we understand the priority for you is getting the highest return on investment possible. A crucial part in securing revenue from your properties is ensuring every last detail is addressed during every stage of the transaction.

One resource that is critical to the success of almost any real estate transaction is an experienced real estate attorney. When purchasing property, your attorney can provide such benefits as:

  • Composing, reviewing, and modifying necessary legal forms. While just about anyone can download template forms from online, a knowledgeable attorney will carefully scrutinize every contract, ensuring all forms line up with laws in relevant jurisdictions and modifying language that may end up saving you money. 
  • Catching potential legal problems in due diligence. A comprehensive title search can reveal issues in your target property that may result in costly litigation down the line if you don’t address it before the purchase. Liens against the property, restrictive covenants, and gaps in ownership can all cause issues or otherwise prevent you from turning a profit.
  • Managing the closing process. While Florida and some other states do not require an attorney to be present at closing, it can be invaluable to have an experienced set of eyes review the deluge of documents that must be signed to conclude the purchase. 
  • Making sure the land is appropriately zoned. A relatively common pitfall in commercial real estate investment purchases is the failure to ensure the business endeavor is legally permitted to operate on the property. Many commercial properties must adhere to height requirements and be a certain distance from residential neighborhoods, to give two examples of zoning restrictions. However, a skilled attorney can help you petition your local zoning board to grant you an exception, if necessary.

Managing Risks in a Real Estate Purchase

As with most financial transactions, a real estate purchase—especially one executed for the eventual goal of turning a profit—carries certain risks. An eagle-eyed real estate attorney can help minimize risks when buying a property by addressing the issues above and keeping an eye on your financials. This could mean your legal counsel delves into the property tax requirements of your target property and finds exemptions, advises you on your meeting with the tax assessor, or appeals the property tax amount after researching similar and nearby properties.

Another way a real estate attorney can help you achieve your desired ROI is by looking over title and property insurance policies. Like many other insurance policies, these policies for property owners are full of laybrinthian language that may hide significant exceptions and exclusions. Assuming a certain loss is covered by an insurance policy when it is not can ultimately damage your property’s ability to perform. 

Securing Financing

While many people are familiar with the process of submitting personal financial records to secure a home mortgage loan, the process for securing a commercial real estate loan is a different animal. Potential borrowers must submit a comprehensive and convincing business plan in their lending application; lenders will usually accept nothing less, as a commercial loan is often regarded as riskier than a residential one. 

Leave No Stone Unturned

The attorneys at Waserstein & Nunez have represented parties at every stage of nearly every type of real estate transaction, including lenders, borrowers, brokers, and property developers and operators. Real estate purchases are endlessly complex and contain numerous opportunities for legal disputes. Our job and duty to our clients is to help protect their investments by providing steller legal counsel and exceptional negotiating skills. 

Speak with our team for more information on how we can help optimize your next real estate transaction.

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Waserstein & Nunez, PLLC

Waserstein & Nunez, PLLC is a boutique law firm with extensive and varied experience of a large law firm. They are geared towards deal-making and solutions but always preparing and ready for trial or Plan B.

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