7/10/2007- An important lesson I learned early on was to have a real estate attorney in place before you sign the contract. You are eager to move the process along, but no one in their right mind reads every word on a 5-9 page contract. That job is left up to trained eyes. Eyes that have seen thousands of contracts and can spot a problem with a glance at the page. Another important thing to have accompany the contract are the rental agreements of the tenants. My attorney was a little disappointed that I didn't fax him the contract before I signed. For starters, there wasn't an inspection clause. I thought there was. There wasn't. I thought there was. There wasn't.
My lawyer is local, to me. This town and property are way out of his area, but he agreed to do so. It will cost me extra, but I used him in the past, so I trust him. He requested as part of the agreement:
- The rental contracts
- Tenant history
- Title work
- Tax information
The seller was surprised I wanted an inspection. From a previous experience, I found that inspections are the best money you will ever spend in buying a house. A property I put earnest money down on a few years ago turned out to be termite infested and damaged. The main beam of the house was like a sponge.
I agreed to move forward without the inspection. A decision I hope I will not regret. The property is only 80 years old.
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