A lawyer is uniquely qualified to advise you in all legal aspects of a home purchase, and should be consulted when you start shopping for your home rather than after you sign the purchase contract. Unlike the real estate broker, who often owes his loyalty to the seller for whom he is the agent, your lawyer is working only for you. Your lawyer is an invaluable source of information about area regulations, such as your ability to rebuild your home should it be damaged by a storm. He or she typically knows about planned taxing districts, which could affect the future cost of maintaining your home, as well as other government projects. Your lawyer is best suited to protect your interests once you have selected the property you wish to purchase. The lawyer will make sure the purchase contract is enforceable, has customary provisions, and protects you. He or she can provide for the type of ownership of the home that will fit into your overall financial needs and plans. Did you know that title insurance, often offered in place of attorney representation, excepts from coverage matters disclosed, and those matters are not always standard? Unless you understand the law involving land titles in Florida, you cannot evaluate whether title is good and will be acceptable to a future purchaser. Additionally, there are many other professionals involved in a real estate purchase: the real estate broker whose job it is to put sellers and buyers together; the mortgage lender who provides financing to purchase the property; the appraiser who evaluates for the lender whether the value of the property is sufficient to support the loan; the surveyor who makes sure that the land being purchased is as set forth in the contract; the title agent, often a lawyer, who researches ownership of the property. Who better to advise you on all the aspects of a real estate transaction and the various determinations arrived at by these other professionals than your lawyer?