Do I Need a Real Estate Lawyer to Build a New Home?
It has become widely accepted that it is important to have a real estate lawyer when you are buying an existing home. After all, you will need a real estate lawyer to help you to negotiate a purchase and sales agreement with the seller and to make sure the agreement contains the appropriate protective clauses. You will also need a real estate lawyer to help conduct a title search and make sure that there are no claims on the property you are buying that you aren’t aware of. However, when you are building a new home, some of the issues that you need help with during a home purchase do not exist.
The fact, however, is that there can be many more issues that arise when you are constructing a new home from the ground up. As such, it can be even more important to have a real estate lawyer assisting you when you are embarking on a new construction adventure to have your own home built.
Why You Need a Real Estate Lawyer For a New Build
When you are building a brand new property from scratch, you will need to buy a lot for that property to rest on. In some cases, you can buy the lot from your builder who is building your home and in other situations, you will find a plot of land yourself and then hire a builder to build you a house on it. In either case, it is very important to have a real estate lawyer to look over all of the paperwork and documentation for the purchase of the new lot.
There are many considerations that exist when purchasing raw land that you may not think about and your real estate lawyer will help you to make sure that you are protected and that your contract contains all pertinent information. For example, you need to ensure that you can get building permits for the lot to build the type of structure that you want, and you need to make sure you will be able to get access to electricity and other utilities that you need in order to make a building habitable.
When purchasing a lot, you will also have the same title insurance concerns that exist when a real estate lawyer helps you to purchase a new home. Claims can follow land just as they can follow a house, and your real estate lawyer will help to ensure that there are no liens on the property that could impact your use of it.
Finally, a real estate lawyer can also help you with contracts associated with the actual construction of your home. There are so many factors that must be dealt with in these contracts, from deadlines for completion to the materials and specifications of the property. It is just smart business to have any contracts with your builder reviewed by a real estate lawyer to make sure that the contracts adequately protect your interests and ensure you end up with a home you will be happy to live in.