If you are on the verge of buying your first home, you may be having a difficult time containing your excitement. After all, you are probably looking forward to decorating your home, entertaining your friends and perhaps even raising a family.
According to Motley Fool, buying a house also is one of the more effective ways to build wealth over time. You should not be careless or cavalier with your purchase, though. Indeed, if there is fraud or forgery in some of your technical real estate documents, you may have no legal right to the property.
Your due diligence
As you probably know, closing a residential real estate transaction can take weeks or longer. This pre-closing period gives you a critical opportunity to perform some due diligence. To protect yourself against fraud and forgery, you should use the pre-closing period to try to uncover bad actions in the past. Unfortunately, though, you may have neither the time nor the skill to spot fraud.
Your real estate attorney
An experienced real estate attorney has what it takes to identify potential fraud. Even if a forged deed or other fraudulent real estate documents have managed to become part of the public record, you can trust your real estate attorney to protect your interests. Specifically, he or she should alert you to the forgery or fraud and advise you on your legal options.
Even though money may be in short supply currently, it is difficult to overstate the importance of paying for competent legal counsel. Ultimately, the right attorney can keep you from making a serious and costly mistake.
