Protecting Your Real Estate Washington DC

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Real Estate Tips:

(NC)-For most people, their home is their largest financial asset. In today's fluctuating housing market, trying to sell a home may seem like an overwhelming or anxiety-inducing task.

"It's been some time since we've seen a soft housing market, and people trying to sell may be concerned about protecting their greatest financial asset," says Ray Leclair, an experienced real estate lawyer and vice-president of TitlePLUS. "All deals have the potential to fall through, so it's important to consider the important legal issues associated with selling a property and obtaining legal advice."

Working with an experienced real estate lawyer can help reduce anxiety and clarify the home-selling process. Leclair suggests the following tips for anyone with a house on the market:

Avoid long closures - The longer the close - the higher the chance that the purchaser could have second thoughts or lose financing. Aim for 60 days.

Don't talk to the purchaser directly or let them in to see the home without an agent or appointment - Giving information verbally can be risky, as a passing conversation can be interpreted as commitments. "It seems simple to let the purchaser enter the home to measure or do other prep; but they may looking for reasons to get out of the deal," says Lecalir. Putting things in writing and using lawyers helps avoid this risk.

Bring a real estate lawyer into the process early - Since your lawyer has no stake in the deal, he or she can offer objective expert advice and identify potential issues early in the process that may need to be addressed to get the deal or prevent it from falling through.

"Many people make the mistake of bringing a lawyer in at the end of a real estate deal," says Leclair. "Working with a lawyer from the get-go can better safeguard your interests and allows for better peace of mind."

A useful resource is the TitlePLUS Real Simple Real Estate Guide, a website that provides information on what lawyers do and how to avoid fraud, as well as mortgage calculators, a locate-a-lawyer feature and other tools. It is available free at www.titleplus.ca.

- News Canada