CHOOSING A LAWYER

After you've put an offer on your home, and it's been accepted by the seller, or once your home has been sold, it will be necessary for your REALTOR® notify your lawyer. If you haven't already chosen one, your REALTOR® can make a few recommendations on who to use. Your lawyer will ensure that your transaction closes smoothly. They take care of all the details such as title transfer, mortgage details etc., and make sure that the necessary caveats are removed prior to possession. I have had clients that against my advise, have chosen to represent themselves in a transaction. At the 11th hour, they'll call me to ask about their closing. I can't give them any advise in that respect or I am giving legal advise, of which I am not licensed to do. This most often ends up in a late closing. In addition, those clients usually have to end up finding a lawyer on such late notice who is even interested in this problematic transaction. It will then require their immediate attention and the buyer ends up footing the additional costs! Don't make that mistake!

Remembery your REALTOR® deals with lawyers all the time and should have a pretty good idea about who's who in the field of real estate law. He will know which lawyers are proficient, courteous and thorough, and also which lawyers should not really be in the business. He'll also have a pretty good idea about whether they are competitive or not.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when selecting a lawyer is to choose someone who you know, who happens to be practicing criminal law or one of the other hundreds of specialties. These lawyers will probably know very little about real estate law but probably won't turn away your business. They'll use your business as an opportunity to learn more about it, and in the process may well jeopardise your transaction.

There are all sorts of pitfalls and situations that can arise during the closing of a transaction. Most real estate lawyers have a pretty good rapport with their peers. Their relationship is one of cooperation and they work collaboratively together to get the transaction completed without a hitch. This is contrary to someone who takes an adversarial approach. I've had clients insisting on using their own lawyer, even when they are out of town. That's usually not a very good idea. On top of incurring additional costs, those lawyers often end up trying to position themselves as the one "in the right". They wanted to prove a point to the other lawyer, who they didn't know. This ended up costing my client more, and could very well have road-block their transaction.

I have met all types of lawyers during my years as a REALTOR®. Most are very good, but the occasional one is disastrous. You need one who handles real estate transactions on a regular basis. That way if a problem does arise, they will be quick on their feet, and be able to deal with the situation swiftly and to your benefit.

The cheapest lawyer is seldom and indication of their proficiency!