When I started to work with the city, I realized that I was going to be working alongside our attorneys every single day. While I was a little nervous around them at first, we quickly became friends and all of that anxiety melted away. It was really neat to see how many different subjects they could handle, and I realized just how necessary they were for helping me to manage various daily occurrences. On this website, I thought it would be really great to start talking about how to work with lawyers, and what it might mean for you and your family if you seek legal advice early.
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Working With Lawyers Every Day
Listings, Disclosures, And The Need For A Real Estate Lawyer
Cassandra Stone
One of the most basic legal duties when it comes to selling a property is for the seller to disclose all known issues. Given the complexity of a modern building, this is no small task. However, if you fail to do so, you might face accusations of misrepresentation or even fraud.
It's prudent to ask a real estate lawyer to review disclosures. This is the case whether you're coming at the problem as a buyer or seller. Let's examine what you should know about listings, disclosures, and the importance of working with a real estate attorney.
Disclosures
A seller must disclose nearly anything that might negatively affect the value of a house after the buyer purchases it. Generally, disclosures cover the presence of hazards. For example, you shouldn't sell a house with roof damage without making a disclosure. Similar issues can apply to cracked foundations, the presence of lead or asbestos, and structural damage.
Notably, disclosures also cover things that you might not think of as facts. If the surrounding community knows the house has a reputation for being haunted, for example, you may need to disclose that. Other reputational harms fit on disclosures, such as a house with a history as the site of a famous murder or a toxic waste dump.
Small Details
Anything that goes into a listing represents the property to a prospective buyer. If you say it in the listing, the buyer has every legal right to expect it to be true on a long timeline. If someone represents a property as having a pool, for example, the pool needs to be in good shape for immediate use. Otherwise, the buyer might sue because the property wasn't as represented.
Both buyers and sellers should have a real estate lawyer review a listing. A seller should do it to avoid making a misrepresentation. The buyer, conversely, will want a record of everything the seller did represent. If there are problems six months down the road, for example, the buyer can compare the listing to what happened after the sale.
Inspections
You'll want to have a licensed inspector check the property out. They can walk around it and provide recommendations based on a fresh and unbiased perspective.
An inspector can supply a report that details what worries them. The seller can opt to either remedy the problems or disclose them. Yes, this might affect the sale price, but you may avoid potentially bigger headaches down the road.
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