Home Sale Law in Minnesota

The decision to buy or sell a house, or other piece of real property, is very critical. For most, it's one of the most crucial financial decisions of their life.

In Columbia Heights, Minnesota, it's perfectly legal for individuals to buy and sell homes without the assistance of a third party. Nonetheless, this isn't the only option, and isn't always the best option, either.

For that reason, it's usually best to buy and sell property through a real estate broker. This is a person who helps a person buy or sell a home. They serve as an intermediary between the buyer and seller, help sellers find buyers, and help prospective buyers. They also handle a great deal of the paperwork and other formalities involved.

Columbia Heights, Minnesota real estate brokers are usually paid by taking a pre-determined portion of the house's sale price.

Getting a Mortgage in Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Any direct questions asked of the seller by the buyer must be answered truthfully. This is particularly the case if the buyer asks about defects in the property. If the seller lies in response to such questions, they have just committed a very significant form of fraud. If the buyer later discovers this defect (after buying the property) he can sue the seller for any physical or financial harm caused by it.

In addition to disclosing any material facts the buyer directly inquires about, most "latent defects" in a house or other piece of property should be disclosed whether the buyer asks or not. Generally, any defect that the seller knows about and that the buyer can't be expected to know through a reasonable inspection, it has to be disclosed.

Buyers should remember, nonetheless, that if they are not blameless in their failure to discover defects, they might not be able to recover if they sue.

Therefore, buyers must inspect the property before they buy it. If they don't, they can't sue for any defects they later become aware of, if an inspection would have revealed those defects.

Can a Columbia Heights, Minnesota Real Estate Attorney help?

As you can imagine, there are many more legal and financial issues that can affect the outcome of a real estate transaction. However, buying a house is also a very exciting time for most people. A reputable Columbia Heights, Minnesota real estate attorney can help you focus on the positive aspects, and avoid dealing with the most difficult and tedious (but nonetheless necessary) aspects.