“What does a real estate lawyer do?”
“How do I know if I need a real estate lawyer?”
“What’s the value of a real estate lawyer?”
—These are questions we here at One80 Law get time and time again from home buyers, whether they’re first-time home buyers or haven’t worked directly with a real estate lawyer before; questions from people just like you who know that they need a lawyer to close on their home sale or purchase but don’t know really know why they need a real estate lawyer or where to start looking to find the right one.
Today, we’re detailing the exact questions you can ask your real estate lawyer to guarantee that you feel empowered working with them on your home sale or purchase.
Q1: How Do I Know If I Need a Real Estate Lawyer?
Having an experienced real estate lawyer on your side during a home sale or purchase— especially in a constantly-evolving real estate market like Calgary’s— works to relieve stress and streamline the process, especially for first-time home buyers.
What do real estate lawyers handle? For purchases and sales, their duties include:
- Reviewing and completing all relevant documents
- Clarifying the purpose and meaning of all documents to the client
- Completing all mortgage requirements
- Guaranteeing a smooth and timely closing of transactions
- Providing an accurate statement of adjustments (specifically for property taxes, condominium fees and homeowners’ association dues)
- Securing a timely delivery of closing funds
- Negotiating and communicating on your behalf
- Handling the payout and closing of any mortgages or real estate commissions
When you hire a real estate lawyer you should expect to receive professional representation, guidance and assistance when it comes to protecting your investment and leveraging your position during a home sale or purchase.
Q2: How Long Have You Practiced Real Estate Law and What Are Your Specialities?
Being able to trust your real estate lawyer is essential. A fantastic combo question to start with is, “How long have you practiced real estate law and what are your specialties?”
Here at One80 Law, we believe that there’s nothing more important than the lawyer-client relationship. Ensuring that you partner with a real estate lawyer you feel comfortable with is essential for making sure your home purchase or sale goes exactly how you’d like it to.
Personally, we have been trusted real estate representatives in Calgary for years. When it comes to real estate, our specialty is residential — meaning that we thrive in helping families and individuals find and sell single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, condos and more.
Q3: How Many Times Should You Expect to Meet With Your Real Estate Lawyer?
A cause of concern for many home buyers is uncertainty surrounding the process of working with a real estate lawyer.
For this reason, we strongly recommend asking how many times you should expect to meet with your prospective real estate lawyer at your first meeting in order to set expectations of how many times you need to go sit and wait in their office.
Normally, clients meet with their chosen real estate lawyer twice. With One80 Law, however, we offer extra flexibility by being entirely virtual and cloud-based… meaning that we can do our meetings in a zoom call, at the local cafe or come to you. We’ll have our meetings when you need them and where you need them, all for no added cost. (Yes, even outside of business hours!) It’s all a part of our promise to put you first.
Q4: What is Included in a Real Estate Lawyer’s Fees?
Last but certainly not least is understanding your potential real estate lawyer’s pricing structure. Costs that are typically in a real estate lawyer’s services are:
- Land title search and registration fees
- Office disbursements
- PST and GST
- Miscellaneous professional fees
The majority of real estate lawyers charge per hour and if you have any issues with the above services your legal bill will start ballooning. At One80 Law, however, we charge a flat fee for our real estate law services. We strive to be more flexible and affordable for families and individuals who don’t want to be priced out of the housing market by their lawyer fees.
You can save even more on your legal fees. We are currently offering a $100 discount on services of $500 or over for any client who refers a loved one to us or writes a testimonial for One80 Law on Google.
Receive the Real Estate Representation You Deserve
We hope that this article helps you to feel clear, empowered and prepared for securing a real estate lawyer to represent you in your next home purchase or sale.
Looking to explore if One80 Law is right for you? Book an appointment with us today.