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In part one of our real estate series (click here to check it out) I discussed why you might want to consider using a real estate attorney rather than a real estate agent for purchasing your next property.
In this blog post I dive deeper into the benefits of using a real estate attorney.
Money Saving Benefits of Using a Real Estate Attorney
According to the Seattle Times, the median single family list price in the City of Seattle as of May 22, 2018 is $825,000.00. On the Eastside, the median cost of a house was $950,000.00 as of February, 2018. Seattle home values have gone up 17.2% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 8.4% within the next year.
Most buyer’s agents are paid a 3% commission by the seller. If the median single family home price in Seattle as of May 22, 2018 is $825,000.00, then the average buyer’s agent makes $24,750.00, which the seller must pay. The average number of days a house is in the market as of May, 2018 is 32 days. Real estate attorneys charge either by the hour or a flat fee, which generally is FAR less than 3% of the sale price.
Different Times allow for Different Purchase Tactics
In the not so distant past, houses for sale were not listed on the internet for the world to see, nor were there virtual tours and open houses available to the general public. Instead, real estate agents had private listings of the houses for sale and if you wanted to know what was for sale, you had to hire a real estate agent. Now a days, houses for sale are listed online (usually on the MLS) with all relevant information related to the house, including detailed pictures, open house information and school districts, all within a few minutes of posting the listing. This allows buyers to do their own background work and find a house they would like to buy on their own.
What do Real Estate Attorneys Do?
Once a buyer has found a house they would like to purchase, a real estate attorney can then take over and draft the purchase offer (Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement) to contain the legal provisions necessary and specific for the buyer and the house. If you think about it, once a buyer finds a house, the remaining actions, including negotiating the contract, renegotiating the contract after an inspection, reviewing title, approving closing documents, and the actual transfer of real property, are really the practice of law.
If you have questions about how a real estate attorney can benefit you, contact us.