A real estate closing is the final transaction of real property between buyer and seller. On the closing date, the property is officially transferred from buyer and seller, but there is much more to the closing process than meets the eye.
It is a good idea to hire a real estate attorney to assist you with:
– Reviewing and negotiating specific terms of contracts, such as the purchase and sale agreement.
– Requesting title searches, surveys, mortgage payoff letters, condominium and homeowner’s association documents for the property, etc.
– Preparing or evaluating all legal documents for the closing, such as the warranty deed, title policy, mortgage, HUD-1 settlement or closing statements, and more.
– Properly recording all documents.
If the title search is not done correctly or there are missing documents, the buyer could end up with unknown liens or encumbrances on the property that will become their responsibility.
Under Florida law, it is a third-degree felony for anyone besides a lawyer to give legal advice, including realtors and title companies. This means that if anything goes wrong during the closing process, and legal action needs to be taken, you could incur an overwhelming additional cost. In order to protect yourself and your investment, you should hire an attorney as your closing agent so that if any problems occur, they can be resolved in a reasonable amount of time with minimal additional costs.
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