The most useful questions to ask a real estate attorney when buying a house fall into six stages: how they charge, what the purchase contract actually binds you to, what the title search and ownership form mean for you, what due diligence the property needs, how the money moves at closing, and what you can do if something goes wrong afterward. Working through these in order turns a document review into real protection, and most of them need to be asked before you sign anything you can’t walk away from.
How Do You Charge, and What Does the Fee Cover?
Start with money. Most real estate attorneys use one of two structures: a flat fee for a standard residential closing, or an hourly rate for more complex work. Flat fees for a typical purchase closing run roughly $500 to $1,500, and hourly rates range from $150 to $400 or more depending on experience and market.1Yahoo Finance. Real Estate Attorney Fees Complications like title disputes, contract renegotiations, or entity-based purchases can push the total to $2,000 or higher.
Ask exactly what the quoted fee includes. Some attorneys bundle the title search, contract review, and closing attendance into one price. Others charge separately for each. You want to know upfront whether unexpected hours (a lien discovered during the title search, for instance) are billed at an hourly rate on top of the flat fee, or absorbed into the original quote.
Questions About the Purchase Contract
Which Contingencies Am I Protected By, and What Are the Deadlines?
A contingency is a condition that must be met before the sale becomes final. If the condition isn’t satisfied, you can walk away and keep your earnest money. The common ones in residential deals are financing, inspection, and appraisal. Others worth discussing include a title contingency, a homeowners insurance contingency, and a home sale contingency if you need to sell your current place first.
Ask your attorney which contingencies are actually in the contract, which ones are missing, and what deadline applies to each. Deadlines matter enormously. An inspection contingency that gives you seven days means seven days, not eight. Missing a contingency deadline can convert what was an optional exit into a binding obligation to close. Your attorney should walk you through every date on the contract calendar and flag the tightest windows.
Is There a “Time Is of the Essence” Clause?
Ask whether the contract includes this language. It makes every deadline a hard cutoff. Without it, courts in many jurisdictions treat contract dates as flexible, and a party who performs within a reasonable time hasn’t necessarily breached. With the clause in place, missing the closing date by even a day counts as a material breach, and the non-breaching party can terminate, keep the deposit, or sue for damages. If the clause appears anywhere in your contract, your attorney should explain which deadlines it governs and what fallback options you have if something delays you.
What Happens to My Earnest Money?
Earnest money is the deposit you put down after your offer is accepted, typically 1% to 3% of the purchase price. Ask three things: where the deposit is held (usually an escrow account managed by the title company or attorney), under what conditions you get it back, and under what conditions the seller keeps it. Most contracts allow a full refund if a contingency isn’t met, but the specific language matters. Some contracts turn the earnest money non-refundable after certain deadlines pass, even if you haven’t formally waived a contingency. Your attorney should identify those traps before you sign.
Questions About Title and Ownership
Who Does the Title Search, and What Happens if It Finds Something?
A title search examines public records to confirm the seller actually owns the property and has the legal right to sell it. It also uncovers liens, judgments, unpaid taxes, easements, and other encumbrances. Ask who performs the search, how far back it goes, and what happens if a problem shows up. Common issues include old mortgages that were paid off but never formally released, tax liens from a prior owner, and boundary disputes with neighbors. Your attorney should explain whether each issue gets resolved before closing or has the potential to delay or kill the deal.
Do I Need Owner’s Title Insurance?
Title insurance protects against defects in the title that weren’t caught during the search, including forged signatures in the chain of title, undisclosed heirs, and recording errors that only surface after you’ve closed.2National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The Vitals on Title Insurance: What You Need to Know There are two types, and most buyers don’t realize they’re different.
A lender’s policy is required by nearly all mortgage lenders. It protects the lender’s financial interest in the property, not yours, and stays in effect until the mortgage is paid off, refinanced, or the property is sold.3National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Insurance Topics – Title Insurance An owner’s policy, by contrast, protects your equity. It’s optional but covers you for as long as you own the property.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Owners Title Insurance Ask whether you should purchase an owner’s policy, what it costs in your area, and whether the seller is expected to pay for it as part of local custom.
How Should I Take Title?
How your name appears on the deed has lasting legal and financial consequences. If you’re buying with a spouse or partner, the main options are joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy in common. Joint tenancy means that if one owner dies, the other automatically inherits the deceased owner’s share and the property never passes through probate. Tenancy in common means each owner holds a separate share that becomes part of their estate when they die and must be distributed through a will or state inheritance rules.
In community property states, married couples have additional vesting options that affect both inheritance and tax treatment. Ask which form of ownership makes sense given your situation, especially if you’re buying with someone other than a spouse, if you have children from a previous relationship, or if you have an estate plan that depends on the property passing a certain way. Getting this wrong doesn’t just create inconvenience. It can override your will.
Questions About Property Due Diligence
Do I Need a New Survey?
A property survey maps the exact boundaries of the land and shows the location of structures, driveways, fences, and anything that crosses property lines. Ask whether a new survey is needed or whether an existing one is sufficient. Surveys reveal encroachments, like a neighbor’s fence built two feet onto your lot, and identify easements that give utility companies or neighbors the legal right to use part of your property. Discovering these issues after closing limits your options. Discovering them before closing gives your attorney leverage to negotiate fixes or price adjustments.
What Should I Watch For in the Seller’s Disclosures?
Most states require sellers to fill out a disclosure form listing known defects and conditions. These typically cover structural issues, water damage history, pest infestations, lead paint, environmental hazards, the age and condition of major systems like roofing and HVAC, and any ongoing disputes with neighbors. Ask your attorney to review the disclosures for red flags and incomplete answers. A seller who writes “unknown” on every line isn’t necessarily lying, but it should raise questions. Your attorney can advise whether to request additional inspections or negotiate a repair credit based on what the disclosures reveal, or fail to reveal.
What Does Zoning Allow, and What Do the Deed Restrictions Say?
Ask what the property is zoned for and whether any restrictions could affect how you plan to use it. Zoning determines whether you can add a rental unit, run a home business, build an addition, or even park a commercial vehicle on the property. Your attorney should also check for deed restrictions and restrictive covenants that impose additional limits beyond what zoning allows. These can prohibit exterior modifications, certain types of fencing, or short-term rentals, and they run with the land, binding every future owner regardless of whether you agreed to them personally.
What’s in the HOA Documents?
If the property is in a homeowners association, you’re agreeing to a second layer of rules and financial obligations on top of your mortgage. Ask your attorney to review the governing documents, including the declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs), the bylaws, and the current budget. The key questions aren’t about what color you can paint your door. They’re financial.
- How much does the HOA have in its reserve fund for major repairs? An underfunded reserve means a special assessment is coming, and that bill gets split among owners.
- Are any special assessments currently pending or anticipated? These one-time charges can run into thousands of dollars for roof replacements, parking structure repairs, or other capital projects.
- Is the HOA involved in any pending litigation? That can increase monthly dues, make the property harder to sell, and in some cases make it harder to get financing.
- Does the HOA limit rentals or short-term leases? If you might rent the property out someday, this matters.
- Does the current owner owe unpaid dues or have outstanding violations? Unpaid HOA debts can sometimes follow the property rather than the seller.
Your attorney should request the HOA’s resale certificate or disclosure packet, which contains the financial statements, pending assessments, and any violations attached to the unit. Reviewing it before closing is far more valuable than reviewing it after.
Questions About Closing Costs and the Money at the Table
What Will I Actually Pay at Closing?
Closing costs typically range from 2% to 5% of your mortgage amount, paid on top of your down payment.5Fannie Mae. Closing Costs Calculator On a $400,000 loan, that’s $8,000 to $20,000. Ask your attorney to walk through every line item. Common components include lender origination fees, the appraisal fee, title search and title insurance premiums, recording fees, and prepaid items like homeowners insurance and initial escrow deposits. Your attorney won’t control the lender’s fees, but they should flag anything that looks unusual or inflated for your area.
Who Pays the Transfer Tax?
Many states and localities charge a transfer tax when property changes hands. Rates vary widely. Roughly a dozen states charge nothing, while others impose rates ranging from 0.1% to over 2% of the sale price. On an expensive property, this can add up to thousands of dollars. Ask what the transfer tax rate is in your jurisdiction, who customarily pays it (buyer, seller, or split), and whether it’s already accounted for in your closing cost estimate.
How Is Property Tax Being Prorated?
Property taxes are typically paid in arrears, meaning this year’s tax bill covers last year’s taxes. When you buy mid-year, the seller owes taxes for the portion of the year they occupied the property, and you owe for the rest. This gets handled through a proration credit at closing: the seller gives you a credit to cover their share of the unpaid taxes, and you take over going forward. Ask how the proration is calculated, what tax rate is being used (some contracts apply a percentage above the current rate to account for expected increases), and whether the credit adequately covers the seller’s portion.
What Will the Escrow Account Require?
Most lenders require an escrow account, sometimes called an impound account, where a portion of your monthly mortgage payment is set aside to cover property taxes and homeowners insurance. Your lender manages the account and pays those bills on your behalf.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is an Escrow or Impound Account Ask whether an escrow account is required by your lender, how much the initial deposit will be at closing, and what happens if the account runs short. Escrow shortages, caused by a tax reassessment or an insurance premium increase, result in either a lump-sum payment or an increase in your monthly payment to make up the difference.
Does the Closing Disclosure Match the Loan Estimate?
Federal law requires your lender to provide a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure FAQs This five-page document lays out every financial detail of the loan: the interest rate, monthly payment, closing costs, and cash needed to close.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Closing Disclosure Ask your attorney to compare it against the Loan Estimate you received earlier. Certain fees can increase between the two documents, but others are capped or locked. If your interest rate, loan product, or prepayment penalty terms changed, the lender must issue a corrected disclosure and restart the three-day waiting period.9eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.19 – Certain Mortgage and Variable-Rate Transactions Your attorney should catch discrepancies before you’re sitting at the closing table.
Questions About What Happens After Closing
What if I Find a Defect the Seller Didn’t Disclose?
Most buyers forget to ask this, and it’s the question that matters most when something goes wrong six months later. Ask what legal options you’d have if you discover a significant defect the seller didn’t disclose. The answer depends on whether the seller’s disclosure form was accurate, whether the defect was something the seller knew about or should have known about, and how long after closing you discovered it. Buyers who can show the seller actively concealed a known defect may have claims for fraud or breach of contract, but the window for bringing those claims varies by state and is often shorter than people expect.
Your attorney can also explain what protections survive the closing. In standard purchase contracts, the seller’s representations and warranties remain enforceable for a defined period, sometimes as short as a few months and other times up to two years, depending on what’s negotiated. Ask whether the contract includes any post-closing escrow or holdback provisions that set aside money to cover potential claims. These protections are far easier to negotiate into the contract before closing than to pursue through litigation afterward.
What Warranties Come With the Property?
For new construction, ask about the builder’s warranty. Builders in most states are required to provide a structural warranty covering the foundation, load-bearing walls, roof framing, and major systems. Coverage periods vary, but structural warranties often last longer than warranties on finishes and appliances. For existing homes, ask whether a third-party home warranty makes sense. These service contracts cover repair or replacement costs for appliances and home systems like HVAC and plumbing, and they can be purchased for a home of any age. A home warranty is not a substitute for a thorough inspection. It’s a safety net for the things that break during the first year of ownership.
How to Prepare for the Meeting
Bring everything you have: the signed offer, your pre-approval letter, the seller’s disclosure form, any inspection reports, and the HOA documents if applicable. Write your questions down beforehand and prioritize them. The most productive meetings happen when you’ve already read the purchase contract yourself, even if you didn’t understand every clause, because your questions will be specific rather than general. Tell your attorney about anything unusual in the transaction — a family relationship with the seller, plans to renovate immediately, an intent to rent the property out — so they can flag issues you wouldn’t think to ask about on your own.