There are many complicated documents to sign that are drafted by a lawyer who doesn’t represent you, and there is a lot at stake if something goes wrong. Issues also come up along the way that can cause a great deal of stress or serious financial loss if not handled properly. Protecting you and your family is important, and you deserve objective, experienced legal advice when dealing in real estate.

If you qualify for FREE legal services, it can actually cost nothing at all. Click here to see if you qualify.

If not, we offer several flat fee packages for home buyers and sellers, ranging from $699 to $1,999, depending upon the level of service you want.

We also offer a “partial contingent fee” option, where you pay only 40% of the package price and then, only if you close the deal, we get an additional 100% of the flat fee amount. So that if you close we get 140% of the fee; if not, you only pay 40% of the flat fee. For example, if you hired us for the $999 Package on a partial contingent fee, you would owe $399. If the deal closes, you owe another $999 for $1,398 total. If it does not close for some reason, you only owe the $399 for the package.

This is one of the most common questions we get. Here are some examples to help you differentiate.
Your lawyer:

• Reviews and modifies contract language based upon the lawyer’s experience, knowledge and your specific situation. Drafts custom documents when needed, such as a “Bill of Sale” for personal property of Seller the Buyer might want to purchase.
• Monitors the deal so that if/when issues arise during the course of the deal (like a breach or failure to get a loan, etc.), they are dealt with properly to avoid you winding up in a bad situation.
• Can review title, survey, and lender’s closing documentation to explain to you what you are signing and to protect you from signing something you don’t have to, as well as from problems at closing.

Your agent:

• Helps you locate a house to purchase (if you are a Buyer) or helps you advertise to Buyers (if you are a Seller).
• Helps you fill out the “standard” contract paperwork, schedule inspections, show/view the property, and lets you know from their experience what their thoughts are about the house and its value. They can also help with negotiations.

Unfortunately, this is just not possible. There are obvious conflicts between the interests of the Buyers and the Sellers such that no contract can protect both parties. Some parts will protect the Buyer better and some the Seller. Some parts will not really protect either party. The drafter may have made some effort at fairness, but ultimately, you were not the client of the drafter and so your protection is unlikely to have been their top priority. With something so detailed and complicated, most people would prefer a contract that benefits them, or at least one that was negotiated, rather than letting somebody else decide what they should or should not benefit from in the contract.

No. While they do have their own lawyers, their jobs are to protect their own clients, not you. This is a common misconception. While in some respects some of your interests align with the lender, that lender will be looking at issues that affect its own financial interests. Similarly, the title company is looking at issues that affect its exposure to title claims. Only your own attorney is tasked with protecting you.

Once you have found a home (if a Buyer) or found a Buyer (if a Seller) the time it takes from signing the contract to closing generally takes around sixty (60) days. While many deals used to get done in less time, federal closing guidelines tend to lengthen the process. This extra time also takes some pressure off of the deal, which can lead to making poor decisions. We are hopeful that this longer time period will benefit our clients.

We generally prefer our clients work with at least two lenders when buying real estate, but every situation is different. One reason is that loan products and costs are slightly different at each lender so it enables you to shop for the best deal. More importantly, though, since the loan contingency deadline is generally some days or weeks prior to the closing date, if one lender pulls out after that date, you might still be able to close the deal with the other one, rather than risk losing your earnest money or getting sued for breach of contract.

In general, we suggest getting “pre-qualified” or, better yet, “pre-approved” before writing an offer to purchase. While neither of these is a true loan approval the lender is bound by, they at least give you some indication of your credit-worthiness in the price range for the home you are looking to buy. Pre-approval requires you submit some more information to the lender first, but do not assume that just because you have a pre-qualification or pre-approval letter that you will get the loan. The lender must go through the full underwriting process before issuing a loan commitment.

Most “standard” residential contracts we have dealt with contain an optional provision or allow for a separate addendum indicating whether the Buyer’s obligation to close is conditioned upon Buyer selling its existing home. If you fall into this situation, make sure you alert your real estate agent or lawyer to make sure that provision or addendum is included. You should also have your lawyer review the addendum or section of the contract dealing with this issue to see if the language should be modified to fit your situation or to be more favorable for you. If this is done properly, Buyer should not have any liability if it cannot sell and may even get its earnest money back. Obviously, this is a very important provision and your Lawyer should be tasked with drafting or modifying that provision for your protection.

Well, there are several good reasons:

1. You want to get the best deal you can in the contract terms, obligations, rights, who pays for what, etc.;
2. You want to be protected from those “standard” terms that are not good for you;
3. You want to be ready for any issues that arise that could derail the deal or cause you serious loss…and in our experience, they come up all too often;
4. And more circumstances can arise in which you would find yourself in need of expert legal advice…

Generally, the contract terms will indicate when the Buyer gets the earnest money back and when it does not. Your attorney can help you strictly comply with the contract terms regarding deadlines, written notice requirements, etc., or else you could lose your right to the earnest money.

If you sign up for FREE legal services, you are only on the hook to the extent you signed up for services in excess of our Basic Package AND we actually performed those services. In most cases, if the deal falls apart early, that will be $0.

We only keep that portion of the fee we have earned. For example, if we charge you for one of our packages ($699, $999, etc.), but we only wind up doing the work to prepare/review/negotiate a “standard” contract for the purchase or sale of a residential home because the parties don’t sign the contract, we have only done that work and the parties do not sign the contract, we will have earned only that much.

For Clients choosing the “Partial Contingent Fee” option for the “Basic” or “Standard” packages, only the non-contingent portion (the 40% of the package amount) will be earned if we have only prepared/reviewed/negotiated the “standard” contract. After that, our other flat fees or regular hourly rates are used to determine if the Client should receive any refund or discounted bill.