Take My Hand

We keep getting questions from prospective buyers and sellers, and one of those questions is "Can I use an attorney instead of a realtor to help me buy (or sell) my home?"

Like all good lawyers, we always come up with the "it depends" answer. That’s not really evading the question. Look at it this way: A realtor is a salesman, and that’s what you hire him for -- salesmanship. The lawyer is a counselor. His job is to take his client’s hand and lead him safely through the complex process of the real estate transaction.

If you’re an old hand at real estate transactions, but you haven’t a clue to where to find the right buyer, or how to convince him your deal is the best he’s ever seen and he’d better buy now before you change your mind, well, what you need is a salesman.

But if you are well able to handle the sales pitch, and your deal really is one the buyer can’t afford to pass up, but you’re not sure you know all the ins and outs of property law and contract law, and you want your sale to go through without a hitch, then you need a lawyer.

As always, cost is a factor.

We all know that the usual broker’s commission is 6% of the sale price. You can seldom negotiate a lower fee, and you should almost never agree to a higher fee. That’s the way it is with realtors.

In comparison, where we have acted as the attorney in real estate transactions where no realtor was involved, our fees for drafting the offer and acceptance contract and the deed for the escrow closing totaled around $600.00. Had a realtor been involved at a 6% commission rate, the commission on some of the properties would have been close to $30,000.00.

Your lawyer’s total bill will usually depend on how much use you make of his time and talents. If all you want is someone to answer your questions as you go along, and to tell you of your rights and obligations under the law, and maybe draft a contract and a deed for you, his fees should be very affordable.

On the other hand if you have problems that need lots of attention, you may need more help. What if your neighbor’s fence encroaches on your property, or vice versa? What if you or a previous owner of your house added a wing without benefit of building permits? What if your access is over an undocumented easement? And so on. These problems can almost always be handled, but they will need more than a quick question and answer phone call. Chances are you still won’t have to pay anything approaching the cost of a broker’s commission.

So that’s what it all comes down to. If you have a good legal background, you don’t need a lawyer, but if you have questions that need to be answered, your lawyer is your guide.

In the next article we plan to discuss the aspects of the usual real estate transaction for which most people involve an attorney in both realtor and non-realtor transactions.

Of course, the information in this article is general only. If you have more questions, we suggest you consult an attorney that practices real estate law.

©Poelman & Langa (808) 242-7222, 1129 E. Lower Main Street, #104, Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793