Real Estate Attorneys

Real Estate Services

South Carolina Real Estate Attorneys

Navigating the complexities of buying, selling, or investing in real estate requires careful attention to detail and knowledgeable guidance. The De Bruin Law Firm provides comprehensive transactional real estate closing services throughout South Carolina.

We understand that real estate matters involve significant investments of both time and money. Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, a seasoned investor, a seller moving on to your next chapter, or a real estate professional facilitating a deal, your investment deserves a dedicated legal team committed to ensuring a smooth, efficient, and effective closing process.

Guiding Buyers and Sellers Through Closing

The journey of buying or selling a home is often exciting, but the details of the transaction can feel overwhelming. Our role is to make the closing process as clear and stress-free as possible.

  • For Buyers: Purchasing a home is frequently the largest financial commitment an individual makes. We guide you through each step, explaining the documents, coordinating with lenders, conducting title searches, securing title insurance, and ensuring all requirements are met so you can confidently take ownership of your new property.
  • For Sellers: Whether you’re upgrading, downsizing, relocating, or selling an investment property, maximizing your return requires careful handling of the closing. We ensure any existing mortgages are properly satisfied, prepare the necessary deed for transferring ownership, represent your interests at the closing table, and facilitate the accurate disbursement of funds.

We strive to manage the complexities so you can focus on the transition ahead.

The Real Estate Closing Process

In South Carolina, an attorney oversees the real estate closing. The path to closing involves several key steps, typically managed by the closing attorney designated in the purchase agreement. We hope you’ll inform your real estate agent that you wish to use The De Bruin Law Firm for your closing needs when drafting your offer.

As the closing agent, our responsibilities include:

  • Conducting a thorough title examination.
  • Coordinating with lenders, agents, buyers, and sellers.
  • Preparing or reviewing closing documents, including the settlement statement.
  • Ensuring all necessary documents are correctly signed and verified.
  • Receiving and properly disbursing all funds related to the transaction.
  • Recording the deed and mortgage.
  • Issuing title insurance policies.

Our meticulous approach ensures all legal and financial requirements are satisfied for a successful transfer of property.

Commercial Real Estate Transactions

Commercial real estate transactions involve properties intended for business or income-generating purposes, such as office buildings, retail spaces, industrial sites, or multi-family complexes. These deals are inherently more complex than residential closings, involving higher stakes, more intricate documentation, and a broader scope of due diligence. The De Bruin Law Firm represents businesses, developers, lenders, and individuals in these sophisticated transactions across South Carolina.

Key Complexities in Commercial Closings:

  • Extensive Due Diligence: Unlike standardized residential processes, commercial due diligence requires a deep dive into various aspects. This includes a meticulous review of the property’s financial health (income statements, rent rolls, tenant leases), physical condition (structural inspections, deferred maintenance), legal standing (complex title searches, ALTA surveys, zoning compliance, permits, land use restrictions), and environmental status (Phase I and potentially Phase II Environmental Site Assessments to identify contamination risks and potential liabilities).
  • Zoning and Land Use: Verifying that the property’s current zoning and land use regulations align with the buyer’s intended purpose is critical. This may involve navigating local ordinances, securing permits, or even seeking rezoning approvals.
  • Financing Structures: Commercial loans often involve more complex underwriting, based heavily on the property’s income-generating potential rather than just the borrower’s personal credit. Loan terms, down payments, and lender requirements are typically more stringent.
  • Entity Involvement: Buyers frequently purchase commercial property through legal entities like LLCs or corporations. This adds layers of complexity, requiring verification of the entity’s good standing and the signing authority of the individuals executing documents on its behalf.
  • Lease Agreements: If the property includes existing tenants, a thorough review of all lease agreements, tenant estoppel certificates, and subordination agreements (SNDAs) is essential to understand current obligations and income streams.
  • Negotiation and Documentation: Commercial purchase agreements are often heavily negotiated and customized. The documentation involved is more extensive, including specialized contracts, detailed environmental reports, surveys, and potentially complex financing instruments.

Combining our real estate knowledge with our business law background allows us to effectively handle these multifaceted closings for corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and individual investors, ensuring the transaction aligns with your strategic objectives while mitigating potential risks.

Title Insurance: Protecting Your Investment

Title insurance is crucial for protecting property owners and lenders against potential claims or defects related to the property’s title that may not be apparent from public records. Hidden issues like undisclosed liens, errors in public records, forgery, or claims from previously unknown heirs could jeopardize ownership rights. We facilitate the issuance of two types of title insurance:

  • Lender’s Policy: Protects the lender’s financial interest in the property.
  • Owner’s Policy: Protects the buyer’s equity and ownership rights for as long as they or their heirs own the property.

Securing title insurance at closing provides essential peace of mind and financial protection against unforeseen title problems.

Serving Real Estate Investors

Purchasing real estate for investment purposes involves unique considerations. We assist real estate investors in navigating transactions, from analyzing title and zoning issues to structuring the purchase and handling the closing. Whether you’re flipping a single home or acquiring commercial properties, our experience with various transaction types and knowledge of the local market helps you achieve your investment goals while mitigating risks.

Partnering with Agents and Brokers

We value our relationships with real estate agents and mortgage brokers. We understand that a smooth closing is the final, critical step in serving your clients effectively. Real estate transactions are major life events, and we share your commitment to providing expert guidance and a positive experience. Our team works diligently to ensure timely communication, efficient processing, and a seamless closing, reflecting positively on the professionals who entrust their clients to us.

Contact The De Bruin Law Firm for dedicated and experienced legal support for your next South Carolina real estate transaction.

Real Estate Closings

The road to closing is short, with only a few stops. Generally, all steps are handled by the title and closing agency laid out in your contract. We at the De Bruin Law Firm hope that upon writing an offer, you let your real estate agent know you want us to be used as title and closing firm.
At closing, you will be there with (in some cases) a representative from your lender, your real estate agent, and an attorney who is acting as the closing agent.

As the closing agent, our job is to ensure all the necessary documents are signed and verified and that all funds are properly disbursed.

Commercial Real Estate

The De Bruin Law Firm represents banks, mortgage companies, and individuals in real estate closings for single family homes, as well as multi-site properties, including hotels, motels, factories, and other commercial properties.
If you own a business and are buying or selling real estate, our real estate closing services can help. Our business law knowledge combined with our real estate services allow corporations, LLCs, partnerships, and sole proprietors to know their closing will be handled correctly.

Title Insurance

Title insurance provides homeowners and lenders with protection from claims made against a piece of property. Imagine this scenario: you purchase a home. You paid the cost of the house, and have moved in with your family. One day someone shows up saying that they have a claim against the property. Perhaps the previous owner used the property as leverage in order to get a loan. As it turns out the person has a legitimate claim to some of the value of the property. What can you do to avoid this situation from occurring?

The answer, of course, is to get title insurance. These insurance policies will protect your ownership. If there is a defect in the title that you received in the transaction, then the insurance will cover the costs associated with settling the lien or other interest that another person has in your property.

Of course, title insurance is extremely important to lenders. Lenders do not wish to lend money to someone, using the home as collateral, just to find out that their interest in the property is secondary to someone’s prior interest.

Real Estate Investors

Purchasing real estate is a complex transaction. From finding the right property to obtaining financing with the bank, a real estate transaction requires multiple steps before the deal can be completed. For real estate investors, several factors must carefully be considered before purchasing a property. At the De Bruin Law Firm, our Greenville, South Carolina attorneys are experienced in various types of real estate transactions and possess the knowledge our clients need to help them achieve their investment goals.
Investing in real estate is often profitable. Whether a single individual purchases a home to “flip” it or several individuals go in to purchase an investment property, in the right market, investors may make an impressive profit. With advice from an experienced real estate attorney who knows the local market, buyers have a much better chance of earning a return on their investment.

Agents and Brokers

For real estate agents and mortgage brokers the closing is the final hurdle when helping their clients purchase or sell their home.

Real estate transactions are not only major purchases or sales for most people but are actually major life events. When people make the decision to sell their home or to purchase a new one they are laying a lot on the line, which means that the experience can be emotional and stressful as well. The best real estate professionals understand this reality and work to provide their clients with expert advice.

At De Bruin Law Firm, we understand how important our role in real estate transactions is and we strive to make the process of purchasing or selling a home run as smoothly as possible.

Talk to a Greenville Real Estate Attorney

Real Estate Services