What the Attorney Does

Not all real estate attorneys work exactly the same way.  Unfortunately, there can be great variations in what an attorney may or may not do for you in preparation for closing.  Below are just a few items your attorney should take care of when you hire them to represent you in your real estate purchase:

• Reviews all the papers your broker wants you to sign.
• Collects all documents required for closing in a safe place where they won’t be placed or thrown out with the trash, in which case the closing will have to be postponed while you run around collecting duplicates and the lawyer charges more.
• Leaves a paper trail showing that you knew what you thought you were doing was what you intended to do, and that you think you intended to have all the right documentation to prove it.  Probably.
• Takes care of obtaining title insurance, which you should be grateful for because who knows what it is or where you go to get it.
• Prepares a closing statement, the record of who paid what to whom in exchange for what.   Don’t pay your attorney until you receive your closing statement.  Most attorneys will collect their fee at closing.

This Homebuyers Tip was excerpted from:

The House Trap, by Alfred Gingold, Workman Publishing, 1988.

ISBN# 0894806157