Real Estate Investment Agreements

by Ross Hair, the Real Estate Advocate

I have the advantage of having practiced real estate law so I’m very comfortable reading and writing legal agreements. The one thing that I can tell you about real estate lawyers and legal contracts is that every attorney borrows from other attorney’s contracts and uses them as a basis for their own agreements. The end result is that a “standard” agreement soon emerges for the most common legal contracts. In real estate investment the standard agreements are purchase agreements, lease agreements and simple things like assignment contracts.

The important point that I want to make is that it’s possible to get all the standard real estate agreements that you need without spending thousands of dollars with your attorney.  

The first place you should start is with your local Real Estate Commission (REC). Your local REC publishes standard forms and agreements that licensed real estate agents in that state are compelled to use.

The advantage of REC forms and agreements is that their contracts have been thoroughly vetted by their real estate attorney. It’s like having your own attorney write up all your standard agreements for free. It’s also a great source for “legal compliant” out-of-state agreements if you’re doing an out-of-state deal. The disadvantage is that they are always long and cumbersome documents that try to cover every potential circumstance and were drafted for real estate agents and not for real estate investors. 

The second resource that you should use is to buy an off-the-shelf product from a real estate contract vendor. I use Socrates plus about three other companies and have spent a total of about $200 for all my contracts. That’s less than an hour with my real estate attorney.

You can immediately download most real estate legal agreements that you’ll need for your real estate investment business. The agreements can be customized to your personal needs and are very affordable.

About Ross Hair

Ross Hair is the Real Estate Advocate and the founder of Real Estate Investment Association.