One of the hallmarks of the recession was the number of homes that were foreclosed on. Now is the time that you can purchase one of these homes from a bank for a great price. Just make sure that you work with a real estate attorney to make sure that you are protected and getting a good deal.

Title Insurance

Your real estate attorney will highly recommend that you get title insurance on the home you are purchasing. Some states actually require this insurance as part of the real estate deal. This insurance makes sure that when you purchase the home the title is yours, free and clear.

Title insurance will discover if there are any liens on the property and make sure that it legally belongs to the seller. You don't want a previous owner coming and fighting for the home after you have already purchased it.

Look for Experience

You want to find an attorney that has experience with foreclosures. They will know the ins and outs and the language that the bank is going to use. Laws on foreclosures vary from state to state. You can't trust what Uncle Larry across the country tells you about buying real estate.

For example, it is going to be much more difficult to get a bank to fix problems in the house than if the home were being sold by a traditional seller. Your attorney will advise you on when to push for the bank to fix things, and when you should use the problems to negotiate a lower price.

Real Estate Attorney Is Not a Real Estate Agent

Your real estate attorney is not going to take you around looking at different homes. That is not their job, and their hourly rate would probably make it prohibitive. You will want to have a real estate agent to help you look through the foreclosed homes that you are considering.

You should use your attorney for all of your legal questions. He should review all of the legal documents that you sign or are considering signing. You want to completely understand the legal documents that you are signing. Your lawyer should be willing to spend the time to explain things to you until you understand.

The bottom line is that having a real estate attorney will help you understand all of the legal documents that you will be dealing with when purchasing a foreclosed home. The attorney will examine the deed to the home, the bill of sale, the title and title insurance, the plat of survey and the mortgage loan documents. He will be on your side to make sure you get the deal you want. 

For more information about the proceedings, contact a company like Bangs McCullen Butler Foye & Simmons LLP.

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