What Does a Real Estate Lawyer Do?

While it’s fairly common knowledge that employing a real estate agent to help you find your dream home can make the process run much smoother, it is less understood how a real estate lawyer can benefit you.

Hiring a real estate lawyer in Canada is required to close the deal on a home, assisting both buyers and sellers in the real estate market by ushering them through the legal process and providing counsel.

What is a Real Estate Lawyer?

A real estate lawyer is there to review all the legal documents related to the home buying or selling process. The lawyer will thoroughly analyze the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, ensure the property taxes are up-to-date and make sure there are no liens registered or on file against the property in question.

Simply put, the real estate lawyer’s job is to ensure that there won’t be any legal issues during or after the transaction is completed.

Help for Homebuyers

Much like real estate agents, the role of a real estate lawyer changes depending upon why you need them. When you’re interested in buying a home, the real estate lawyer will support you in a way that helps facilitate the buying process. For example, a real estate lawyer will review the Agreement of Purchase and all other legal documents associated with the property to ensure the buying process runs smoothly and that you won’t hit any snags along the way.

As stated above, the lawyer will also make sure that there are no liens or claims against the property, arrange for title insurance, and make sure you have a valid title upon closing on the home. Employing a lawyer can also help because they can handle all the discussions with the seller’s lawyer and ensure that all agreements in the sale are met.

Guidance for Home Sellers

A real estate lawyer can also provide several benefits from a seller’s perspective. Just as with the buyer, the real estate lawyer can draw up contracts, run negotiations with the buyer and their lawyer, and review all other legal documents before anything becomes official.

Having a lawyer makes the negotiation process far more straightforward. They will handle any title issues that arise, close the transaction, and make sure that all legal and financial conditions have been met before the sale is finalized.

The Benefits of Working with a Pro

Buying a home is one of the most exciting times of your life – however, it is also one of the more stressful things you will do as the financial implications involved are huge, and it is one of the most significant purchases you’ll make in your life. With so much at stake, it makes sense that having a lawyer’s support is required. While there is a cost associated with hiring a real estate lawyer, the benefits outweigh the bill.

Working with a real estate lawyer will protect both the buyer and seller throughout the entire process. It also eases your legal responsibilities should something go awry.

An experienced, knowledgeable real estate lawyer is also familiar and up-to-date with the local real estate laws and regulations. This is particularly important if you buy a property in a foreign country where you either don’t speak the language or aren’t familiar with local laws.

While hiring a real estate agent isn’t mandatory, many people don’t think twice about it when they enter the real estate market. However, leveraging a real estate lawyer allows you to get the most out of your transaction and adds legal protection from start to finish. A real estate lawyer both smooths out the buying/selling process for you by removing additional legal stress, and they help protect you throughout your time in the real estate market.