房地产投资过户的“坑”(2)憋屈的合同

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Nancy Liu | Category: Chinese

     王先生火急火燎地走进我办公室的时候,手上拿着一份购房合同,满脸写着焦灼与不安。看到我,他仿佛抓住了救命稻草一般:刘律师,都说您又专业又负责,这回您可得帮帮我啊! 我让他不要着急,坐下慢慢说。 原来,经过千挑万选王先生看中了一套房子,买卖双方几经交涉,签好了合同,拟好了过户日期,可谓万事俱备,只差过户了。 “刘律师您看这儿”,王先生指着合同上的一个条款对我说,“按照过户律师的解释,这里卖方需要承担的房屋维修费用现在算到我这个买方头上了!这也太不靠谱了!不是白纸黑字糊弄人吗?” 我接过合同仔细看了一下,发现那一项条款的英文表述确实不够清楚,容易产生歧义。既可以从维护买方利益的角度解释,也可以从维护卖方利益的角度解释。再一打听,这个房子的过户律师是卖家指定的,那自然是不肯让卖家吃亏,也难怪搞得王先生着急上火了。 在这里给大家科普一下,房屋购买合同通常是以乔治亚州地产经纪协会的范本合同为基础,再通过买卖双方协商后稍作修改的结果。修改过程中难免出现一些特殊条款表义模棱两可的情况,这时过户律师的解释就起到了至关重要的作用。 再回到王先生这儿,我向他分析了条款表述中存在的问题,应该如何修改才不会产生歧义。但王先生表示,现在卖家不答应做任何修改,由卖家指定的过户律师又处处维护卖家利益,拒绝了他提出的调整费用分摊的要求。眼看着过户日期就到了,拿着这样的合同去过户,王先生心里憋屈啊! “刘律师,您说还有办法挽救吗?” 看着他满怀期待的眼神,我多希望告诉他“有”。可事情发展到这一步,木已成舟,纵使我经验再丰富,也爱莫能助了。当然王先生可以选择拒绝过户,但这一行为属于违约,需要按合同承担违约责任。除了一笔数目可观的罚金,还有纠纷带来的劳民伤财的诉讼,所以最终王先生只能以哑巴吃黄连般的“含冤”过户收场了。正可谓“宝宝心里苦,宝宝说不出”。 那我们在房产交易过程中该怎么避免重蹈王先生的覆辙呢? 首先建议大家用自己指定的律师过户,这样出现问题时,自己的利益才能得到最大保障。再以王先生为例,如果当时的过户律师是他指定的,那便不会轻易将合同向利于卖方的单一方面解释,而是给双方一个重新协商的机会。如果我来处理的话,则会问清双方在签署这一条款时的真实意愿,然后在这个基础上将条款的措辞重新修改,既不让一方钻空子,也不会让另一方含冤不服。 另外建议广大做地产经纪的朋友在对合同条款的阐述把握不到位的时候,及时向有经验的律师咨询,使合同向对自己客户有利的方向定稿。 在王先生不无失落地起身告别后,我许久不能从遗憾的情绪中回过神来。我们这些在异国打拼的人,离乡背井,除了克服地域文化差异,还要克服语言文字的不同,一个不留神就栽个大跟头。而自己从业这么多年,一次次将客户们约到办公室,逐字逐句地推敲合同,当面问询客户对交易条件的理解和要求,找出书面合同和客户真实意愿的出入,及时修改完善相关条款,就是为了避免客户吃这种“哑巴亏”。虽然这样做无形之中加大了自己的工作量,但每一次的顺利交易和客户的满意,都让我觉得所有的辛苦都有了意义。 赠人玫瑰,手有余香,我想这也是过户律师这份工作带给我的乐趣吧。   本文章只用作背景知识的了解, 请勿套用您的或任何其他人的情况当成法律意见。如果有问题,可咨询刘念庆律师事务所刘念庆律师 at info@attorneyliu.com. 电话770-481-0609.  传真:770-481-0597.  联络地址:Liu & Associates, P.C., 1210 Warsaw Road, Suite 200, Roswell, GA 30076. Web address: www.attorneyliu.com. 刘念庆律师,武汉大学国际法本科、研究生,美国圣路易华盛顿大学法学博士。曾在美国著名律所工作多年,现为刘念庆律师事务所合伙人,主要提供房地产,商业交易,遗嘱和信托等方面的法律服务。处理了上万房地产案件,金额上亿大型商业地产案件。是乔治亚州房地产律师协会董事会第一位亚裔董事。曾获《亚特兰大宪政报》头版报道及中国中央电视台采访。  

房地产投资过户的“坑”(一)

Posted on July 29, 2025 by Nancy Liu | Category: Chinese

这几年亚特兰大房地产非常热,尤其是亚特兰大最近被多家媒体评为全美最宜居的城市之一,越来越多的公司把总部搬到乔治亚州来,很多公司员工也来亚特兰大安家落户了,更不用说很多买投资房的。但不少客户都不明白律师在地产投资方面所起的作用,常常是在找到了价钱合适的房子就匆匆开始过户手续了。等出了问题,面临巨大的经济损失的时候才想起找律师咨询帮忙。往往是亡羊补牢,为时晚也!   华人因为喜欢地产投资,在房地产买卖过程中作为买家的时候是比较多的。按常理作为买家,是能处于比较有利的地位来保护自己的利益的,尤其在选择自己的过户律师方面。因为乔治亚州只需要一位律师处理整个过户手续,费用一般是买家出的。既然买家出钱,就有权利指定自己的律师,但是不少客户往往在签约的时候就在不知情中放弃了选择自己的律师的权利,任由卖方把自己想用的律师指定为过户律师了。其结果是卖方没有付费,但有律师保护自己的利益。而华人作为买方,虽然付了律师费,但律师却是帮卖家说话。在这样的情况下,华人作为投资方,是赔了夫人又折兵。   乔治亚州和美国其他很多州比如加州很不一样,其他州多用Title Company(产权公司),也叫Escrow Company(第三方信托公司),来处理房产过户。而乔治亚州为了保护消费者的利益,必须用律师过户。虽然都是律师过户,为什么每年还有那么多产权纠纷案件发生,而且产权保险的保费几乎每几年都涨一次呢?这说明不同的律师,服务的质量是很不同的。不少律师办的案子有遗留的产权问题,给投资人带来不少麻烦和损失。鉴于地产过户费多半由买家出,买家就应该多方打听,聘请一个办事严谨、信誉好、经验丰富的律师为自己把关,以免给自己造成重大经济损失。   俗话说:人无远虑,必有近忧!很多投资人只关注于买房,没有考虑卖房所可能出现的问题。在地产“买卖“中,卖远比买重要。因为买房只是我们安家置业的第一步,只有把房子卖掉了,才能赚钱,不管这个房子是自己住还是投资出租。如果买房时律师过户处理不当,在产权或者其他方面有瑕疵,卖起来就很困难,投资就不能成功。   在接下来的文章中,我会针对房地产投资中比较关键的四个方面,根据我处理过的实际案件,来说明客户可能会掉在那些“坑”里,有什么办法保护自己的权益。   本文章只用作背景知识的了解, 请勿套用您的或任何其他人的情况当成法律意见。如果有问题,可咨询刘念庆律师事务所刘念庆律师 at info@attorneyliu.com. 电话770-481-0609.  传真:770-481-0597.  联络地址:Liu & Associates, P.C., 1210 Warsaw Road, Suite 200, Roswell, GA 30076. Web address: www.attorneyliu.com.   刘念庆律师,武汉大学国际法本科、研究生,美国圣路易华盛顿大学法学博士。曾在美国著名律所工作多年,现为刘念庆律师事务所合伙人,主要提供房地产,商业交易,遗嘱和信托等方面的法律服务。处理了上万房地产案件,金额上亿大型商业地产案件。是乔治亚州房地产律师协会董事会第一位亚裔董事。曾获《亚特兰大宪政报》头版报道及中国中央电视台采访。

What’s The Best Time For Refinance?

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

In the last article, we have mentioned the three main reasons for refinance and a lot of owners come to consult what the best time is for refinance and what factors need to be considered besides interest of refinance Generally speaking,refinance is worth considering for owners as long as the interest is 0.25% -0.5% or… Read More

Types Of Warranty Deed

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

The Warranty Deed is a property ownership document. There are many kinds of Warranty Deed and acronyms. The most common forms are the following three: General Warranty Deed, Special Warranty Deed and Quitclaim Deed. 1. General Warranty Deed General Warranty Deed is also called Warranty Deed. It is the most comprehensive deed transfer document. In… Read More

Title Ownership For Married Couples

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

If two or more buyers plan to buy a piece of real estate property together, how to set up their ownership properly is very important for them. Usually, there are two types of concurrent ownership. One is Tenants in Common, the other is Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship. In Tenants in Common situation, each… Read More

The Importance Of Owner Title Insurance 2

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

Attorney Liu presented an article on how owner title insurance can prevent client A losing $400,000 from his property investment in the previous newsletter. However, many readers still do not understand. They wonder why they may still have a problem on their title since they already had a title insurance. Why do they need to… Read More

The Importance Of Owner Title Insurance

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

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The Importance of Survey

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

Several years ago, survey was a requirement from the lender for purchase transactions.  Now the Georgia law does not require the borrower to provide a survey before closing, lender seldom requires a survey done for purchase. However, survey, especially for the commercial real estate, is very important; it helps the buyer fully understands the property,… Read More

Steps Of Getting A House

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

Essential Steps of buying a house 1. Loan Pre-Qualification          As a buyer, the first thing you need to do is not to look for a desirable house or look for a real estate agent, but to find a mortgage broker. A mortgage broker can help you by examine your credit and… Read More

Sell By Owner

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Nancy Liu | Category: English

Buy your property DIY, is it worth it? As the Real Estate market blooms in Atlanta, a lot of people ride along the Real Estate blooming train and became property owners.  Maybe because purchase process for real estate simplified, most people preferred to go through the process DIY style: not only they would “sell by… Read More