On 1/13/2011 11:22 PM, aemeijers wrote:
On 1/13/2011 11:07 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Jan 2011 03:12:40 +0000 (UTC), Mel
wrote:

On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:42:36 -0500, aemeijers wrote:
Not everyplace uses attorneys for property purchases.

In California, it's almost unheard of to have an attorney present when
you purchase a home. Dunno why. Just is.
Ameicans have atorneys involved in just about anything else - why not
a real estate transaction - quite possibly the largest investment of
your life????

Because in most states, unless it is a private person-to-person sale,
you have a Realtor (c) or two involved. They have boilerplate contracts
they have to use, or lose their membership or something. And the title
transfer houses (which seem to be a ******* cross between a lawyer and a
bank) are in on the racket. I showed the paperwork to a lawyer buddy of
mine, and he said just go with the flow. Beyond getting their massive
cut for a few hours work, they aren't interested in screwing the buyers.


Same for person to person. I bought a property directly from the owner.
We had to go to a title company where they use the same standardized
forms that everyone must use.


Given that the canned contract is written in stone, a lawyer simply adds
no value. Not like a commercial real estate deal, where you are starting
with a blank piece of paper, and everything is negotiable. All the
realtors use exactly the same forms, and they all act like they were
handed down from God.

Now, the house I bought in Louisiana did involve a lawyer, but he didn't
do anything more than the title company here in Michigan did. His clerk
made up the canned paperwork (at least not a pre-printed form), he
signed his name a few times, and made a couple hundred bucks. And in
both states, of course, they tacked on all sorts of meaningless junk
fees just because they could. I think I ran through half a pad of checks
that day, and I'm pretty sure one was for the pizza that was getting
delivered as I left.

Next time, I think I'm gonna try paying with a briefcase full of cash.
Of course, the feds would be after me within hours if I did that. Or a
FSBO sale, with the exchange taking place at a bank.