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Buying and Selling Homes

Tips on Buying with an Attorney instead of a Realtor?

12 days ago

We’re looking to buy in Miami, Fl without a realtor, this is our second time buying and already have contact with. Real Estate Attorney.

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Comments (14)

Paula A
12 days ago
Just curious, is there a reason you don't want to use an agent? Having an agent doesn't cost you/the buyer anything, they get paid by splitting the brokers fee with the sellers agent.
kevin9408
12 days ago
I bought a house where the sellers had their own attorney at the closing. He just sat looking at his watch with a big smile on but to be fair it was an estate sale. I also hired a real estate attorney to legally cancel a purchase agreement for a house I was selling but I can't see any reason to hire one to buy a house so I'm wondering why also.
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Toronto Veterinarian
12 days ago
"I can't see any reason to hire one to buy a house"

Every buyer should have a lawyer for the legal parts, but I agree I can't think of any reason not to use a real estate agent as well.
chispa
12 days ago
Is the market hot there? Are you trying to get an advantage by going straight to the listing agent, so that they have an incentive to promote your offer over others? If it is, the strategy can work and you should have your own attorney to review the offer and purchase documents. Also find your own inspector and do not use one recommended by the selling agent!
maifleur03
12 days ago
There is actually a list of states that require a real estate attorney to purchase property and Florida happens to be on the list. I do wonder if the OP means a realtor as a buyers agent or none at all such as a FSBO property.
maddielee
11 days ago
^^^^^As a Floridian I can assure you we don’t need an attorney to purchase property in our state.
2katz4me
11 days ago
We've always used a real estate attorney. Usually a realtor was involved as well because even when we found the property ourselves online, a realtor got assigned to us to do the showings. We prefer to have any contracts we sign reviewed by an attorney and to have an expert working on our behalf that is not beholden to the seller. Ours has also at times provided advice on non-contractual issues involved in buying/selling real estate. We've never had an attorney attend closing because all necessary documents were reviewed in advance. In my experience a realtor will say as little as possible about anything that might be a complication so they can get the deal done. An attorney will raise questions related to anything that might come back to bite you later.
K R
11 days ago
Floridian here and an attorney is not required. I’ve never used one, but I’ve always used an agent. All of my deals have been pretty straight forward though. Are you out of state and just looking for a representative at your closings? I can imagine that is a good idea. But a realtor is also a good idea and as it was stated above, doesn’t cost the buyer anything.
loshi
Original Author
11 days ago
Yea we’re out of state and just looking for a good representative. My husband isn’t a big fan of commission prices which is why he wants to go with an attorney. Essentially it would cost the buyer since the value of the home could be lower if you and the seller are looking at not paying a 3% commission to a buyer realtor/ broker.
lyfia
11 days ago
Generally the seller will be paying the commission to their realtor no matter what so there is no savings for you. It may just mean the sellers realtor/broker gets the full 6% instead of having to split it with a buyers realtor/broker, but the commission will be paid by the seller no matter what. Sometimes the seller may have made a reduced fee arrangement if there is no other realtor involved with their realtor/broker, but it is not something you are privy to and it is not always the norm either so you can't count on that.
Toronto Veterinarian
11 days ago
"Essentially it would cost the buyer since the value of the home could be lower if you and the seller are looking at not paying a 3% commission to a buyer realtor/ broker."

The value of the home will be the same......do you mean the selling price? The selling agent will then get less (their 3% of a lesser amount), so they are likely to be unhappy as part of that transaction.
Paula A
11 days ago
The seller & their agent will already have a signed agreement for 5-6% commission of the sale - which they go on to split with the buyers agent. You not having an agent doesn't change that, they will still expect their full agreed upon commission. With you not having an agent, their agent will likely be doing the work of both buyer & sellers agent. BUT -- their loyalty lies with the seller.
kevin9408
11 days ago
I can see the reason for a lawyer as the OP stated as a representative with power of attorney to sign documents but still see no savings on commissions. I Just sold a house and our contract included break down of commissions. Duel representation still paid the same, 6%. So how could a lawyer get a commission down and also get the price of the house down? I'd sure like to know. Even if I found a buyer my realtor would say great and take his 6% per the contract, I could drop the price for my own buyer but still contractually obligated to pay the 6%.

To me a lawyer is a expensive placebo in a normal situation.
chispa
11 days ago
Ioshi, I think you and your DH don't fully understand RE listing contracts, so an attorney would be a prudent choice. Most of Florida real estate is HOT right now ... good luck getting sellers (and agents) to lower the price so you can pay less, because you didn't bring your own agent!

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