The Gist:

A lot of people don’t really think about where there are lawyers involved in their lives, but you’ve definitely had an experience with a lawyer if you’ve ever had a real estate transaction.

• First Time Home Buyers usually don’t have any sort of connection to a law firm, so they might talk to their parents or grandparents to get a referral. Another great person to talk to would be your REALTOR®, as they usually have preferred Lawyers to work with.

• If you’re buying or selling a house, you’ll definitely need the lawyer to close the transaction, but Fraser is happy to get to know potential clients ahead of time and help out wherever possible throughout the process.

There are a few common pitfalls for First Time Home Buyers going through the process:

• A big one is expectations. When watching a TV show, you see people put an offer in on a house on Sunday and suddenly they have the keys by Tuesday night, which is not the case in reality.

• A lot of the time, first time home buyers can be overwhelmed with the work they’re getting into. They have to deal with the REALTOR®, the mortgage broker, financing, and the Lawyer at the very least.

• To deal with this in advance, it’s good to set expectations and get a good sense of the timeline, and once they know it’s going to take awhile, they’re able to get all their ducks lined up in a row, get financing approved, and deal with REALTORS® and offers.

Lypkie Henderson Doesn’t Only Deal With Real Estate Law

• Lypkie Law manages a lot of trust funds, so they are very comfortable with management and getting everything to the penny. This also comes into play with timelines and making sure things get done ahead of time, having a good understanding of the timelines, and knowing what funds are going to be needed.

• They do something called frontloading the work — making sure things are done well ahead of time so that by the time it comes to closing, all there is left to do is check the math and make sure everything is up to snuff.

• Lypkie Law also employs an outside bookkeeper to help with all transactions and audit everything they do, so if there is ever a mistake they can deal with it as soon as possible. There are usually very few issues that come up though.

• For most people, buying a home is the biggest transaction of their life, and a lot of hopes and dreams depend on that home they have their heart set on. As Lypkie Law goes through a deal, they’re able to figure out where to reallocate resources to be able to focus on review times, so each file gets the proper attention they deserve.

• Frasers father used to tell him the devil is in the details, which he has found to be true. All it takes is one comma out of place, and it can change the whole intention of the interaction. For the most part when looking at things in advance, the incorrect details are revealed pretty easily, and then you don’t have to worry about last-minute problems.

Real Estate Law is all about prevention!

• Prevention can seem frivolous from an outside perspective, because you have to pay some money and use up some of your time for a 1 in 1000 chance of having a problem.

• However, it’s totally worth it, because if you happen to be unlucky enough to have a problem… It’s usually a massive problem. So really, it’s covering a small chance of a very big problem.

• It’s cheaper to prevent the problem than to be the clean-up crew for the problem.

Lypkie Henderson also Handles Wills & Estates.

• Commonly, people who have very little assets tend to not follow the advice of professionals, whereas those who have many assets follow the advice right out of the gate.

• It’s usually easier to deal with an estate that has assets as it’s a smoother process. You can set things up in advance and get the advice from your lawyer that is necessary to facilitate a smoother transaction.

• If you pass away and there is no will, it creates a lot of ambiguity and frustration among the family. The most essential thing to have in your will an appointed executor to speak on your behalf from the day that you pass away.

• The best time to create a will is when you obtain your first major asset. Buy a House - Get a Will.

• After you have a will, take it out and review it every 3-5 years. They will future-proof your will as much as possible by building in contingencies and developments to ensure you don’t have to come back and change it on a regular basis, but it is still good to review and update it when you have big life changes.

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