is an attorney needed?

bjordan6

we just put an offer on a house, and I noticed on the contract it said we would be signing papers in our attorney's office for closing. we don't have an attorney and haven't even thought about getting one. is it a necessity? or can we go without one? or does it depend on the situation? our real estate agent said it could be determined later in the process if we would need one. everyone i spoke to that bought a house didn't have one. so just asking if anyone used one and if it's necessary?

thanks in advance!

musictchr25

You should definitely have a real estate attorney. They will take care of handling all of the closing paperwork, your closing amount, and go over all of the legal terms and policies with you. They will also read through the contract with your to make sure that everything is worded correctly and that you aren't backing yourself into a hole. 

jtmh2012

Depending on the rules where you're at, you're going to want a closing attourney or a title company handling the signing.  Ive done them at both.  Honestly, it serves to protect you.

Erikan73

I think it depends on your location and your situation. I bought a foreclosed home and there was no need for an attorney. Usually the banks & realtors help with all the legal paperwork needed. However, if you are doing a private purchase and no realtors to help draw up contracts, then you would probably want to get a real estate attorney to help draw up all the needed paperwork.

short+sassy

I bought a foreclosure.  The bank sent the initial purchase agreement.  I reviewed it with my agent, signed it, but didn't get an attorney for that.

For closing, I went to a title company.  The title company had a real estate attorney who handled all the paperwork and guided me through it.  He basically explained each document I had to sign, gave me time to read through it...and I did.  As we went along, he also answered any questions I had.

However, I didn't chose the title company.  If I remember correctly, I think my mortgager did.  I'm sure I could have used whatever title company or attorney I wanted but, since I didn't already have my own, I just went with who my bank recommended. 

MommyLiberty5013

For our two home closings we did not have an attorney, but there was a title company involved and that's where we met - at their office. They also hold all monies from either party in escrow prior to closing.

englishtrish1

I think it depends where you live, we didn't in Florida and did in North Carolina

JoanE2012

NJ here.  Wouldn't dream of closing without a lawyer.  It was a small price relative to all the other cash outflows related to the closing costs/down payment.

FutureMrsMerati

I agree with @JoanE2012, our attorney helped us out immensely! I wouldn't dream of closing without a lawyer. Purchasing a home is too much of a "big ticket item" to nickel and dime out of an attorney.

emily1004

Coming from someone who trusts lawyers for most legal matters and who works for a very large law firm, we had no need for an attorney to purchase our home. I truly believe it matters what state you live in, based on the laws in that particular area. We're in Michigan and there is absolutely no need for an attorney, if it is a standard transaction. All the jargon in the legal documents are the same across the board, and legally cannot be changed anyway. I did however, choose my title company.

hoffse

I'm a lawyer.  My H is also a lawyer.  We had a closing attorney, but he didn't do anything that I couldn't have done.  I've closed commercial transactions before, but I don't do residential work, so that's why we ended up hiring him.  I probably won't use one for our next house, because he was pretty much useless (and he's the "best" in town).  We didn't even meet him until the day of.  Honestly, his paralegal did most of the work, and she was the one I communicated with.  If I could hire his paralegal exclusively, that's what I would do the next time around.  She was great.

All that said, he didn't cost very much.  His is clearly a practice of volume.... so in the grand scheme, we were mostly paying for the convenience of having somebody record our deed for us, hold our money in escrow while the deal was pending, etc.  If you don't have any other way of doing that, it's not a bad thing to hire somebody.