Why are lawyers getting involved with house values? I know of two deals that have gone south because the lawyer recommended to the buyer that the house they are buying, according to the lawyer, is not worth the price the buyer is paying for it. The appraisal came in at contract value. The buyers agent provided a Market Evaluation confirming the price. The lawyer, who did not have access to current comparables, who is not qualified to make a price determination, who did not show the client 50 houses in the same market area until the buyers found one that suit them, who did not invest time, money and their expertise in helping them make a decision on what to buy, convinces them that they should wait until the prices fall some more, because any house they are going to buy now is too expensive. The other line I heard was “I wouldn’t buy that house for that price, you can get a better deal.” Needless to say, the buyer who has spent all of fifteen minutes with the lawyer, listens to the lawyer and not the agent, with whom they have spent forty hours with over the last three months. I would expect this to happen with the family lawyer, or a friend of the family but both these situations occurred with a lawyer hired just for the transaction. I’m not sure how the lawyer stands to benefit from interjecting their opinion into what should be an easy and well thought out transaction but I do know if the tables were turned we, as agents, would certainly be admonished for attempting to practice law without a license. (I know that technically, an attorney can practice real estate, but when was the last time you went out with an attorney to look at houses.)
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