Real estate.

• Author: Grant, Richard C.
• Position: Board certification

Clearly the number of certified lawyers is a relatively small percentage of Florida lawyers who practice in the real estate area. The Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Bar currently has 7,800 registered members. On the assumption that half of these are substantially engaged in a real estate practice this would suggest that 3,900 consider themselves to be real estate lawyers. Attorneys Title Insurance Fund has over 4,000 member agents who presumably have some form of a real estate practice. Accordingly, the Real Estate Certification Committee believes there are many more than 447 Bar members who could qualify for certification in the real estate area.

Real estate practice is a broad and widely defined area of the law. In a pristine sense it deals with the esoteric subject of real property law and titles. In practice the subject matter handled by real property lawyers is much broader. Many of the areas of law within real estate practice are areas of specialty themselves. Real estate lawyers examine and evaluate real property titles, handle real estate sales, purchases and other transactions, foreclose mortgages, represent developers and contractors in drafting and negotiating development and construction agreements, handle real estate financing, structure and draft the governing documents for planned developments such as condominiums, serve as counsel to community and condominium associations, draft and negotiate leases, litigate title, boundary, and other land disputes, and advise clients respecting zoning and land: use matters. The examination of real estate titles requires knowledge of corporations and other forms of business organization, wills, trusts and estates, and a practitioner handling transactions must understand contractual, business, and tax subjects as well. The subjects that are tested on the certification exam attest to this diversity. They are title issues; real estate finance; environmental and land use; condominiums and homeowner associations; landlord tenant; closings; sellers, buyers, brokers, and title insurers; real property litigation; taxation of entities and other tax issues; and ethics.

Some hold an impression that at least some aspects of the real estate practice are not challenging, that the practice is increasingly title company, form, and paralegal driven, and that when business is light any lawyer with a good paralegal can Ado real estate closings." This impression is not accurate. As with any...