As local lawyers, we often work with clients that are purchasing or selling real estate. Whether you are purchasing or selling a home for your family, buying or selling an investment property, or leasing an office for your business, we can help to ensure that your rights are protected. Real estate law can be complex and we believe that it is far easier to avoid disputes down the road by crafting the right contract ahead of time. Here are some things you should keep in mind when entering a real estate transaction:
Who will own the property?
This is far more complicated than it sounds. How you title the property will influence your ownership rights, have tax implications, and make a difference in your estate. If, for example, you want to purchase the property in an LLC, that can help to protect you from personal liability, but your LLC documents need to be in place first. The LLC documents will dictate the members’ respective rights, such as what happens if one member wants to sell, etc. As such, your ownership documents must be in proper form before completing your purchase. Simultaneously, if you are considering estate planning, you may want to hold the property in a trust, which also must be set up ahead of time. We can go over your options with you, so that you can make an informed decision regarding who should actually own the property.
What do you want to do with the property?
Your immediate and long-term plans for the property are also relevant. For example, if you are purchasing a home and want to permanently make it into commercial office space, the zoning laws, etc. should be reviewed. Similarly, if you are buying a property and want to subdivide it or build on it, there are other considerations that need to be reviewed to ensure that you are legally allowed to do so. Take the time to check everything as part of your due diligence process so that you don’t end up stuck with a property that you can’t use.
Who gets the property later on?
Is this going to be a flip or a long-term hold? Your intentions with regard to the property are important. By understanding your goals, we can help you to plan ahead to make it easy from the beginning.
What if you want out of it?
Not every real estate deal works out. You may find something in your due diligence that makes the property uninhabitable, defective, a bad deal, or simply not suited for your purposes. The contract needs to address the circumstances that will allow you to not follow through with the purchase of the purchase and, if so, what happens, such as whether you forgo any down payment or earnest money. As your lawyers, we can draft your purchase and sale agreement to ensure that your rights are protected.
