Law 624: Real Estate Finance and Transactions

Nearly every lawyer encounters real estate, whether representing a family buying a first home, a lender financing a shopping center, or a developer assembling a project, and this course follows a real estate transaction from the first conversation with a broker through negotiation, due diligence, and closing, with attention to the market forces, business considerations, and ethical duties that shape transactional practice. Students will examine each stage of the deal: the role and duties of brokers; letters of intent and options; drafting and negotiating purchase contracts, including the statute of frauds, financing and inspection contingencies, and allocation of the risk of loss; seller disclosure obligations and the condition of the property; and the closing itself, including the attorney's role, escrows, and wire transfers, along with remedies when a deal falls apart. The course then turns to how buyers and their lawyers protect title through land descriptions and surveys, deed covenants, the recording system, and title insurance, and closes with the financing that makes most transactions possible, from residential mortgages and foreclosure to commercial construction and permanent loans.

Sequence and Prerequisites: None. The course requires no prior background in real estate, finance, or business. It is well suited to students headed toward real estate, banking, corporate, or general practice.

Evaluation: Final exam