At a real estate or home closing, the buyers may be given literally hundreds of documents they have never seen before including but not limited to mortgage binders, county tax liability or statement of value forms, marital waivers, escrow agreements, marked up title commitment, etc.
Most buyers sign the forms given to them without a meaningful opportunity to review and ask questions about the documents. Since the documents are all pre-printed, the situation also lends itself to the feeling that this is a “take it or leave it” deal.
After having invested months of time, money and energy in the home-buying process, buyers cannot be expected to go through an unfamiliar process like a home closing with a clear head.
Buyers and sellers both will be asked to sign a number of legal documents and will rarely be given sufficient time to review and ask questions or may feel pressured to sign right away so as not to hold up the process because it seems like everybody else does. The lack of legal representative who is familiar with these documents only adds to the tension and likely reaction of signing without a proper review and explanation.
Having a real estate attorney present can cut right through all this so that you are confident you are only signing the documents you need to sign and that you understand what you are singing BEFORE you sign it. If issues arise at Closing, your lawyer can negotiate with the title company attorney on staff as well.
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