HomeAttorneys Protect Buyer's Rights
By Daniel W. Ladd
The homebuyer will deal with many professionals during their quest for homeownership. Homebuyers should consider hiring an attorney to protect their interests before signing a purchase and sale agreement. In fact, the attorney should be involved at the earliest possible stage, even before an offer is presented. The offer creates certain binding legal obligations and financial commitments that last through the rest of the transaction, and can have a continuing effect even after the purchase is completed.
The lender will require the buyer to pay for the cost of their own attorney to do the title work, prepare loan documents, conduct the closing and make final disbursements. That attorney is obligated to protect the interests of the lender; in some cases the buyers interests are the same, in others, however, they differ. The lender's attorney may not take the time to explain the closing documents thoroughly. More importantly, the need for protection arises before the lender's attorney becomes involved. Consider the following potential problems:
>The buyer cannot get approved for a mortgage, but the seller refuses to return the deposit, claiming the buyer did not make a diligent effort to get financing.
>The seller has title problems delaying the closing, driving up the buyer's mortgage rate as a result.
>The buyer's lender informs the buyer that the property is in a federal flood area, requiring expensive insurance.
>Between signing the P&S and closing the water heater breaks and the seller does not fix it.
>Doorways and walls are damaged by the seller's moving company after the buyer's final inspection.
These types of situations are not reasons to avoid buying a house, rather are reasons for buyers to hire their own attorney. Standard purchase and sale agreements will not cover most of these situations, for that matter, most of these forms are drafted by organizations which are primarily involved in representing sellers.
A home purchase is a most expensive process, and a consultation with your own attorney is a small investment for assuring protection throughout the process.
Daniel Ladd is an attorney in Lexington, Massachusetts.
The Benefit of Going to Law
Two beggars travelling along,
One blind, the other lame.
Pick'd up an oyster on the way,
To which they both laid a claim:
The matter rose so high, that they
Resolv'd to go to law,
As often richer fools have done,
Who quarrel for a straw.
A lawyer took it straight in hand,
Who knew his business was
To mind nor one nor t'other side,
But to make the best o' th' cause,
As always in the law 's the case;
So he his judgment gave,
And lawyer-like he thus resolv'd
What each of them should have;
Blind plaintif, lame defendant, share
The friendly law's impartial care,
A shell for him, a shell for thee,
The middle is the lawyer's fee.
--Poor Richard's Almanac, 1733