Real estate law deals with the legal proceedings that surround land ownership and the parcels that are part of it. Real estate law is divided primarily into two sections, residential and commercial.

Residential real estate law pertains to the legal right to own (or lease) property that is deemed for the habitation of people. There are many different forms of residences such as: houses, condominiums, duplexes and mobile homes just to name a few. Real estate law attorneys are typically retained by both the buyer and seller of a property to negotiate the contractual language that will be part of a sale. The attorney will also ascertain if the potential seller owes outstanding taxes on the land which, depending on where the transaction takes place, must be incurred by the new owner if not resolved. Typically, in a residential lease agreement situation, only the seller would retain a real estate lawyer to help draft the contract that the potential tenant must agree to before establishing residence on a property. These contracts typically include rules that the lessee must adhere to in order to maintain occupancy of a property.

Commercial real estate law typically concerns property with four or more residences comprising it. It also involves property used in the operation of businesses. Commercial real estate for business usage comes in host of different forms such as office buildings, industrial complexes and retail stores. In these instances, the real estate is typically leased. Commercial real estate law is typically more situationally specific in that the contract language is more elaborate. Lease agreements are actualized over a much longer time frame than residential transactions and the parameters are customized on a case by case basis. Certain elements such as zoning restrictions and profit sharing are subtleties that can exist in a commercial real estate contract that may not ever appear in a residential real estate contract.

Real estate law is a booming faction of the legal field, as of late, due to the rise and fall of both the commercial and the residential real estate markets in recent years. Lawyers who were presiding over the multitude of transactional agreements a few years ago find themselves dealing with foreclosure situations due to the decline in these markets. A qualified professional will guide the average person through the purchase and acquisition of a property and preventing them from the legal entanglements that these agreements may harbor. Real estate law, although tricky and sometimes confusing, is a necessary body of law in regulating how real estate transactions progress to effectively protect everyone involved.