RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS
Our office can prepare purchase and sale agreements, deeds, loan documents and other paperwork for all kinds of real estate transactions. In many other jurisdictions, real estate sales are routinely routed through lawyers.
Many New Mexicans do not think of lawyers first when it comes to real estate sales, however, because real estate brokers and agents are the experts in valuation and marketing and title companies handle the closings. This procedure is fine for routine transactions, though the cost of commissions can be high.
For sellers who already have a buyer or a method of marketing that does not employ a broker, closing through a law firm can save thousands of dollars in brokerage commissions. Buyers who have not retained a buyer's broker often enter into a transaction with the false belief that a real estate agent is "representing" them.
In fact, an attorney can be paid from closing just as other non-commissioned professionals are paid (but not on a commission basis). We will settle on a flat fee to work with a buyer.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS AND BUSINESS ASSET PURCHASES
Parties to a commercial real estate transaction can all benefit from legal advice, especially if the purchase includes business assets.
Both buyers and sellers need guidance about potential liabilities associated with transfers of commercial property.
We can arrange for but real estate transaction without involving expensive commissioned professionals or title companies.
In other jurisdictions, lawyers render title opinions and the parties rely on the lawyer's liability insurer to back their good title. But even in other jurisdictions, commissioned real estate agents are the movers of the residential property market.
DISPUTES REGARDING TITLE TO LAND
It is not unusual in New Mexico for there to be a confusion about the title to land that must be resolved by a quiet title action. There may be conflicting deeds in the record, or people in possession that do not have a recorded title interest.
Some early New Mexicans were from an oral tradition that did not put much trust in what was written and recorded at the county offices. There are many reasons why a land owner needs to bring a quiet title lawsuit. “It's just time to put my foot down,” often sums it up.
DISPUTES REGARDING POSSESSION OF LAND
Land battles and real property disputes often involve boundaries, easements, fencelines, surveys, covenants or recorded restrictions on use. In urban settings, they may include rights that have passed for enforcement to a volunteer board of a homeowners' association.
Real estate disputes are some of the most fiercely fought, not only because of the close relationships between the parties, but also because the stakes are often high. Real estate values are usually worth the risk of the battle.
Property rights, however, do not offer easy compromises -- only one of the litigants will be declared the owner -- and settlements are more rare.
