As a Buyer or Seller of a home, you may ask yourself, "Should I involve a lawyer in this sale?" To answer this question, examine the transaction in which you are going to be involved: for most people, buying or selling a home represents one of the largest financial transactions in which that person will ever be engaged.

You may be a Seller who wants to sell his property or a Buyer who wants to buy that property. Perhaps you have reached a verbal agreement between you regarding the price of the property, but you are aware that a written contract is necessary in order for the agreement to be enforceable and to clearly define the responsibilities and obligations of the parties. Do you feel capable of preparing the contract? Do you know what forms will be required? If there is a Realtor involved in the sale, a contract will have been prepared and presented to the Buyer and Seller for signature. Do you understand the contract? If not, who will explain it to you and make recommendations regarding changes which may be needed? Those questions should be answered by a qualified attorney familiar with this type of transaction.

Having a real estate attorney's services may determine whether your agreement results in a closing. Knowledge of the many phases of law and the ability to answer legal questions which may arise before and during closing are just two of the many services an attorney can perform.

A real estate lawyer engaged on behalf of either the Seller or the Buyer (or one who represents neither, but serves only as a closing agent) has the same goal as you do: make the closing happen in the manner set forth in the contract. Real estate attorneys consider themselves as makers of deals, not breakers of deals!

Lawyers have been in the title business longer than anyone. Before there were title insurance companies, lawyers researched title records and issued an opinion on the quality of title to a piece of property. Now there are many sources of title insurance offered by many companies. In this area of Florida, the Seller is generally the party responsible for choosing the title insurer and closing agent. Frequently, the Realtor will have a recommendation, but the Seller determines who will be engaged to perform those services. Why should you as a Seller choose a lawyer?

• Perhaps you know a lawyer and you have determined to your satisfaction that the lawyer is competent, fair, diligent, and most importantly, experienced in handling real estate closings. If you do not know a lawyer with those qualifications, call us. We will of course give you our qualifications, but we will also give you the names of other qualified real estate attorneys you may call.
• With the consent of both Buyer and Seller, a lawyer may be involved in the transaction only as the title insurer and closing agent, not representing either party. Nevertheless, the lawyer is available to answer legal questions which may arise. Where would you go with a legal question if a title insurance company is issuing the title insurance and serving as the closing agent?
• The price of title insurance issued by a lawyer is competitive with the price from a commercial title insurance company, so you are not spending excess monies for the comfort of having a lawyer handle the closing.