Buying a home is a stressful and risky process, this feeling is heightened for first-time home buyers. Purchasing a home is a highly contracted process; risks lie in fees that you aren’t legally required to pay and a potential misunderstanding of your legal rights or obligations.
The best way to mitigate risk when buying a home is to hire a real estate lawyer. Your lawyers legal advisement will ensure your best interests are taken care of.
Hire a lawyer to mitigate financial implications in your contracts
When you purchase a house or condo in a new development, many incentives may be offered to you. Often, these incentives aren’t as beneficial to you as advertised. This also applies to potential hidden fees, associated with new build homes, including installation costs and warranties. Before you sign a contract to purchase a new build home, ensure that your Niagara real estate lawyer reviews the agreement of purchase and sale in order to identify any hidden fees or extra costs associated with the build of the home. Your lawyer will ensure that the price you agreed to pay, is the price you pay.
Hire a lawyer for purchasing flexibility
A lawyer can provide you with flexibility and leverage when you make your offer. Many buyers benefit from advisement on their purchase offer for instance, your lawyer can ensure that the offer is conditional based on your financing. This gives you the ability to opt out of the deal if you do not get the financing that you want and then wish to withdraw your offer.
Hire a lawyer to review your Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Your real estate lawyer will also be responsible for reading over your Agreement of Purchase and sale for your home to ensure that it meets your needs and your wants. They will also ensure that you as the buyer fully understand your legal rights and obligations before you agree to them.
Post-Acceptance Administrative Tasks
Once you’ve made an offer and your offer has been accepted, real estate lawyers will then perform some administrative tasks for you. Firstly, they’ll make sure that the registered owner of the property is the one completing the sale. Then, they will ensure that the taxes and bills for the home have been paid up, so that you are not responsible for those payments. Then they will transfer the billing information with utility companies. They will also ensure the property complies with city zoning requirements and will do a survey of the property to ensure that the home is accurately described in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.
Purchasing a home is one of the largest transactions a Canadian will make in their lifetime. Ensure you do it right and mitigate the risks involved in buying a home by contacting a St. Catharines real estate lawyer today. Click below to learn more about our Real Estate law practice.