Real Estate Law
Real estate is a legal term in the United States that deals with land and anything affixed with that piece of land, including buildings, and deals with property that is fixed or stationary in location. Along with the term real estate, real estate law is the body of law that governs the real estate industry including the regulations and legal codes that pertain to such matters as jurisdiction. Real estate is the industry that deals with the buying and selling of property. That property can be either bare land or land with a house or an office building on it.
The real estate industry has been around for hundreds of years and continues to grow with each passing year. Real estate can be broken down into two main categories. Those two main categories are business real estate and residential real estate. The business side of real estate includes appraisals, brokerages, development, property management, real estate marketing, real estate investment, relocation services and corporate real estate. The residential side of the real estate industry includes apartments, multi-family houses, terraced houses, condominiums, semi-detached dwellings, duplexes, single-family detached homes, mobile homes, houseboats and tents.
The most lucrative aspect of the real estate industry belongs to the residential area. After the 2002 fiscal year, the residential property aspect of the industry pulled in close to $50 trillion. Equities and government bonds each pulled in $20 trillion while commercial property pulled in $14 trillion and corporate bonds brought in $13 trillion. The real estate industry in 2002 amassed $115 trillion. The real estate industry is one of the most lucrative industries in the business world today even during the recent tough economic times.
The real estate industry has a variety of different pieces to its puzzle that make the industry continue to thrive. One of those pieces is a real estate broker. A real estate broker is a person that acts as a go between for the buyer of a piece of property and the seller of a piece of property. The real estate agent will show the prospective buyer various pieces of property for them to possibly purchase. They will know what the price range is for the buyer and what type of property they are looking for before they begin their search. The real estate agent will also help the seller market their piece of property when it comes to getting the word out about the property being for sale and what the asking price should be for the piece of property.
Real estate brokers have to agree to a contract with the seller of a property before beginning to offer their services. The contract can be written or verbal but must include the percentage that the broker will receive upon the sale of the piece of property for their services performed. Once the contract is agreed upon, the broker can begin working his or her magic when it comes to selling a piece of property.
When a piece of property is transferred from one party to another, this is known as a real estate transaction. The property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. Both parties will sign a contract regarding the price of the piece of property among other topics outlined regarding the property. If the contract is not ratified or approved by both parties than it is null and void and not accepted. Once the two parties come to an agreement and sign the contract, this concludes the sale of the property to a new party. The new party now owns that piece of property and can begin moving their belongings into the house or the office space.
For most buyers of a piece of property, they will obtain a mortgage from their bank prior to purchasing the property they are interested in, because they cannot afford the asking price with the money they have in their account at the time. With a mortgage, it will be paid back over time with specified interest rates.