In Pennsylvania, we do not use attorneys in Real Estate transactions. We use forms that attorneys prepare and fill in the blanks. There are times when there are situations when we find it is time for our clients to seek legal advice. We as agents should never give legal advice we are not attorneys.
Here is a situation I ran into - entry March Challenge Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP and Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
I had a beautiful listing under contract. The owner was looking for a small condo to purchase she was a divorced woman and I was very fond of her. We had been looking and there were a few she liked we had not pinpointed the exact location yet. One morning I received a call from her. She was going to be a grandmother. I congratulated her and she thanked me and then said everything was going to change.
She was going to move in with her son and his wife. She saw a vacant house for sale, please check and see how much it was listed for she wanted to purchase it. She would put it in her son's name it had four bedrooms it was big enough for all of them. I asked her why she wanted to do that and she scolded me and said not to worry, she had the money and wanted her grandchild to have a home. I said that was wonderful and very thoughtful but I thought she should speak with an attorney and have the proper documents drawn up after all there was a great deal of money involved. People do these things and an attorney will just make sure the paperwork is done correctly.
She bellowed at me to make the appointment. There was no use talking to her it was her wish. They loved the house. We settled on one and purchased the other in her son's name. I could talk until I was blue in the face she was not listening. I did my due diligence in trying to persuade her to seek legal counsel or to also put herself on the title and so did the title company to no avail.
Eight months later I received a call from this sweet lady hysterical crying. She was now staying in a hotel. It seemed this wonderful son had changed the locks on her. She did not have much money left but we found her somewhere to live in her new price range
There are times in Real Estate transactions you need a Real Estate attorney to draw up an agreement/contract when you have a special interest in a property that spells out exactly what your interest is and the legal terms of this agreement so you can defend it in a court of law if necessary. Seriously you cannot predict what the future holds or what will happen.
Comments(28)