These are the three mistakes that buyers make when they're buying property.

They all start with mistake number one, which is that they didn't hire a lawyer, and that leads to mistakes number two and three.

Mistake number two is that buyers think that the real estate broker is going to review the title commitment and all the documents of record. In fact, the broker is not trained to review these records. It's really a legal function.  

If you don't have a lawyer on your deal, unfortunately, that means title review is not going to be done by anyone, and you might end up closing with a restriction, covenant or an easement of record that you didn't know about.

Mistake number three is that most buyers, and their brokers, do not know what title endorsements to ask for.  Again, that's really a lawyer's job.   Endorsements will insure a buyer after closing based upon specific types of problems that may arise.

Your lawyer can determine what title endorsements are appropriate for your deal. As boring as this sounds, you might want to ask for a subdivision endorsement, a mineral endorsement, or maybe an access endorsement.

Those are the three mistakes that I see people make. They don't hire a lawyer. They think they're realtor is reviewing the title commitment, and they don't know about endorsements.  

If you hire a lawyer, your deal will have the right title, and the right title endorsements, and you can sleep at night knowing that you'll have protection against future title deficiencies that come back to haunt you.

DISCLAIMER: This article does not constitute legal advice.

Please contact your attorney to discuss the legal requirements of purchasing and selling real property.

Diane Wolfson is the managing partner of Sphere Law Firm. She specializes in real estate, business and commercial litigation.