I've bought and sold 4 houses in 2 years as an investor. Working with
a RE lawyer or a RE agent is like having insurance... most of the time
it feels like a waste of money, but when you need it, it saves your
butt. Same thing. That said, most deals go without a hitch. You should
definitely hire a lawyer or agent if you have not sold or bought a
house before.
Since I think the Info Age is killing the RE Agent, I've started
putting on my RE contracts that "I am acting with No Representation"
in the Special Provisions of the TREC contract. This lets me work with
selling agents as a buyer without buying the extra 3% commission from
using a buyers agent. I only just started this, so I haven't bought or
sold all the way with this new strategy.
Recommendations:
1. Use an offical TREC contract - they are standardized, and have less
room for someone to screw you over (don't let anyone say you have to
be an agent to use TREC)
2. READ the contract, every single last sentence. If there is any
sentence that isn't completely in english, get some help understanding
it. A legal contract is a legal contract.
As a Seller, it's much harder to get screwed. You should make sure to
go over the Closing documents very carefully, because that's the other
MAJOR place where a lawyer would be nice. I've found thoroughness when
there is no crisis can be a cheap substitute for using a lawyer or
agent. This only applies if you have RE experience buying or selling.
Good luck! -Mark |
