We get questions from our clients about what role real estate attorneys play in real estate transactions here in North Carolina… especially from clients who move here from out of state.
North Carolina is an Attorney State as opposed to a Title State when it comes to closing a real estate transaction… which means in a nutshell, no real estate transaction happens without the assistance of an attorney.
Buyers typically choose the attorney in the real estate transaction but there are conditions in which the attorney is chosen by the seller and the buyer would have no option but to use the seller’s attorney. Those situations can include but are not limited to foreclosed properties, short-sale properties, HUD, or Fannie Mae owned properties or corporate relocation properties.
The buyer can choose any attorney they want. If you do not have an attorney of choice, please feel free to choose one of our recommended attorneys found on the Professional Disclosure Statement.
One other question that we get on a regular basis is about the contracts and documentation used in the real estate transaction. Attorneys in conjunction with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission write all the contracts and addendum used in a real estate transaction. Realtors are not allowed to create or draft contracts or addendum. Most of the forms we need are readily available. On a rare occasion we’ll need to have an attorney draft a document to meet a very specific need within a real estate transaction.