In area of the real estate transactions, numerous professionals are involved: real estate attorneys/lawyers, salespersons and brokers, mortgage brokers and banks, title companies, insurance agents, surveyors, condominium associations (if a condo is purchased), building inspectors, appraisers, etc.

Usually, however, foreign investors (purchaser), will deal with only one or two of these professionals (the realtor and the mortgage broker) and let them take care of everything. The danger in doing so is that if you are dealing with an incompetent or unreliable realtor or mortgage broker, your first investment might be you last. Below, are some tips that will help you make your first investment an enjoyable one.

1. Make sure that the person you are dealing with is properly licensed.

During my years of practice in Miami, I have noticed that numerous individuals fraudulently claim that they are licensed to practice in the State of Florida. When dealing with an individual, you should always request to see a copy of their license at your first meeting and call the appropriate state department to verify that their license is still valid. You can also check to see if they have ever been sanctioned or if their license has ever been suspended.

2. Know what are the duties of the different professionals.

Usually, all transactions in Florida are what are known as "AS IS" transactions. This means that once you purchase the property, you are stuck with all of the problems attached the to property. As a result, when purchasing real estate, you need to obtain numerous items for different reasons. Below are just some items which may be required:

• A title insurance policy to insure that there are no clouds (problems) on title.
• A survey to insure that there are no issues with the boundaries of the property.
• An unrecorded lien search to insure that there are no city violations on the property.
• An inspection to insure that there are no defects with property.
• An appraisal to insure of the value of the property.
• Hazard insurance to insure the property in case of perils.
• A mortgage to secure financing of the property.
• A tax search to insure that there are no past real estate taxes due on the property.
• If you are purchasing a condominium, you will need to obtain the following items:
  • an estoppel letter from the condominium association to insure that the seller does not owe any past maintenance or assessments.
  • A condominium approval letter from the condominium association to insure that you will be allowed to purchase the unit.
• If you are purchasing a home in a planned unit development (PUD), you will need to obtain the following items:
  • an estoppel letter from the homeowners association to insure that the seller does not owe any past maintenance or assessments.
  • A homeowners association approval letter from the association (in some cases).

Realtors, mortgage brokers, title companies and lawyers are all responsible in assisting you in securing these various items. However, because there is no specific rule on which professional is responsible for securing them, you can get to the closing table and some of these items will be missing. In order to avoid these mishaps, make sure that all of the professional know what they are securing for you. Because you will usually be paying your attorney on an hourly rate, I would suggest that you have your realtor and/or mortgage broker who is getting paid a commission to secure most of these items and have them forwarded to your attorney to review. You will have to follow up with the realtor and broker that all of the items have been secured.

3. Seek independence of the different professionals.

Make sure that the attorney, the realtor and the mortgage broker you hire are not "business partners." If they are not related to one another, they will be in a better position to inform you about the other's misconduct.

4. Have mortgage brokers and banks compete with one another.

Never rely on mortgage broker's assertion that you will qualify for such and such loan until the day of the closing. Even if a bank or a mortgage broker delivers a loan commitment, do not rely on the same as they are always conditional. The best safeguard you have not to be surprised at closing is to have at least a couple of commitments from different lenders prior to closing.

5. Hire a lawyer who will prepare the title for you.

A title agency only prepares documents for closing and issues your title insurance policy. The title agency does not represent your legal interests and cannot give you legal advice. In order to avoid having to pay a title company for the title commitment and a seperate lawyer to review all of the the documents, you should have your lawyer prepare the title for you as you will save some money in doing so.