The question was asked, that if a person was purchasing a home which was “for sale by owner” do they need an attorney. My advice would be yes. One of the most frequent phone calls that we receive are people whom have attempted to purchase a home which was “for sale by owner” either through a contract for deed, lease/purchase, or owner financing. There are many potential issues that can arise when a person does not use a Realtor or a Title Company when purchasing a home. This is not to say that a person should by any means avoid purchasing a home simply because it is “for sale by owner” but there are precautions that should be taken. Since purchasing a home is usually the largest investment any of us will make, it only makes sense that you would want to protect yourself as much as possible. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the world who make a lot of money off of owner financing and/or lease purchase contracts on homes because the buyer didn’t understand what they were getting into. An attorney who is knowledgeable in Real Estate can give you advice on whether a certain arrangement is in your best interest or not. Personally, I refuse to draft Contracts for Deeds and advise buyers to avoid them at all cost. There are so many potential issues that it is hard to list them out here with sufficient detail. In cases where people cannot qualify for traditional financing and do owner financing, or simply purchase the property out-right and do not go through a title company, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a knowledgeable real estate attorney assisting you.
