Buying a home may be the biggest and most important financial transaction of your life. Most people need a qualified real estate professionals to help guide them through the complicated world of Minnesota’s real estate transaction process and help them steer clear of problems.
Minnesota real estate transactions involve many professionals including real estate agents, closers, mortgage agents, lenders, title companies, title insurance companies, attorneys, and more. The key is knowing
- Who is looking out for you?
- Who is qualified to handle each area for you?
1. Who is looking out for you?
When you hire a Minnesota real estate lawyer to represent you, the attorney is solely dedicated to you and your best interests. Your Minnesota real estate attorney owes an undivided duty of loyalty to you, unlike most others involved in the real estate transaction, including lenders, appraisers, inspectors, and title insurance company representatives.
2. Who is qualified to handle each area for you?
A real estate attorney also has years of training and education in Minnesota law.
Is a Minnesota Real Estate Agent Sufficient?
Minnesota real estate agents provide important and valuable services. But under Minnesota law, Minnesota real estate agents are not permitted to give you legal advice. That is why so many real estate professionals, home buyers, and home sellers rely on a Minnesota real estate attorney in the transaction process.
Before you sign documents involving significant legal rights and obligations, a real estate attorney can explain terms and help you understand what you are signing.
How Does a Minnesota Real Estate Lawyer Help?
A knowledgeable real estate lawyer can prevent problems before they occur, saving you money, stress, and time.
There are countless stories of people having problems in real estate transactions. Many of these could have been avoided, or the consequences could have been minimized, by a knowledgeable real estate attorney.
Before you sign a Purchase Agreement or sign documents at the Closing, you should read and understand what you are signing. If you don’t, you should have a Minnesota attorney review the documents to advise you of their meaning. Under Minnesota law, you are bound to an agreement signed by you even if you did not read it or know what it meant.
What Specifically Does a Minnesota Real Estate Lawyer Do?
A Minnesota real estate attorney can help you
- negotiate the specific terms of the contract,
- review real estate documents,
- ensure that clear title to the property will be conveyed,
- help you evaluate mortgage financing options,
- explain the terms of your mortgage loan,
- help guide you at closing through the stack of documents that you will be asked to sign, and
- check to be sure that the conveyance documents have been properly prepared and actually convey good title to the property to you.
If you are married, your real estate attorney can also help you evaluate the pros and cons of taking title as joint tenants or as tenants by the entirety, and can explain to you the consequences of the various options.