HIRING AN ATTORNEY TO HANDLE YOUR REAL ESTATE PURCHASE IS THE WISEST THING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT.
As an attorney and title agent, I find this to be the most asked question in my practice. Often times, clients do not even know that an attorney can be a title agent, or vice versa. The truth is, the purchase of real estate property is for most, the single most expensive tangible item one will ever purchase in your lifetime. Therefore, does it not make sense to hire a professional to help you with such an important purchase?
PEACE OF MIND COMES AT NO EXTRA CHARGE
You have the choice of hiring either a non-lawyer title agent or a real estate attorney to handle your closing and title insurance needs. The cost of closing through a real estate attorney is about the same as the cost of using a title agent. Those are the similarities.
The differences however are HUGE. First and foremost, a title company does not have an attorney at its helm and therefore, lack of accountability. There is nothing stopping the title company from closing its doors to avoid liability and opening up under another name.
Also, the value of work you get with a real estate attorney is quite different. A real estate attorney is trained in the complexities of real estate law, can examine your title and issue your title insurance policy as well as:
Negotiate contracts on your behalf
Give you legal advice
Explain the meaning of documents to you
Prepare legal documents for you at closing
Resolve title issues
Prepare releases of judgments if required
Take matters to probate court if required
Take matters before a Judge if required
A title agency that is no affiliated with a real estate attorney can not do any of these things.
And the largest difference of all, PEACE OF MIND.
Ask several real estate attorneys for a free estimate of the charges you might incur. You will be surprised at how the cost is sometimes less than what a title company charges, since they many times farm out their work and then charge for the fee they are charged.
Given all that is involved during the real estate, for what will most probably be the largest purchase you make in your lifetime, hiring an attorney is one of the wisest things you can do to protect your investment.
