hello there
Can anyone pls tell me how much a real estate attorney charges for
doing the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction...we have a
situation where its a for sale by owner and we do not have any agents
involved.

1: How much are the costs involved by using real estate attorney
instead real estate agents?
2: Who (buyer/seller) pays for these fees.


thanks in advance

Ruch

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 19:45:52 -0800, ruchika_khera wrote:

hello there
Can anyone pls tell me how much a real estate attorney charges for
doing the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction...we have a
situation where its a for sale by owner and we do not have any agents
involved.

That depends on where you live. Much of the work is customary and varies
from area to area and the price of the house.

1: How much are the costs involved by using real estate attorney instead
real estate agents?

An attorney will be cheaper than an agent. You *were* going to hire an
attorney in either case, right?! There *is* only one right answer here!

2: Who (buyer/seller) pays for these fees.

One way or another the buyer *always* pays. You can negotiate who writes
the check, but the buyer pays.

This does bring up a good point though, if the seller writes the check,
who are they working for? Hint: hire a lawyer yourself and forget the
agent. You've already done the agent's work (you and the seller found each
other). An agent can offer you nothing for your 6% (or more).

....now watch the agents crawl out of the woodwork. ;-)

--
Keith

In article .com,
wrote:
Can anyone pls tell me how much a real estate attorney charges for
doing the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction

It varies a lot from one region to another but is fairly consistent
within a region. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Attorneys Real
Property Law" and call a couple. They should be able to provide
a ballpark figure over the phone.

In Rochester NY, there are 2 that have prices right in their YP ad,
$275 and $195.

1: How much are the costs involved by using real estate attorney
instead real estate agents?

An agent would typically expect 3% from the seller's agent. Since the
seller doesn't have an agent your agent would probably expect either
you or the seller to pay him.

But 3% is for the full deal. Listening to your desires, figuring out
what your price range is, walking through houses with you, checking new
listings as they come in etc. If you've already got a house picked out
you should be able to negotiate a much lower cost, possibly even a per
hour rate, for whatever services you still need.

Even with an agent you would almost certainly want your own lawyer so
the question is which of the remaining things can an agent do better
than you or your lawyer, and whether they are worth paying for.

If price is still up in the air, then a buyer's agent might be able
to earn their keep by advising you on comparable sales, offer strategies,
non-obvious things that might apply to this particular location etc.

But if you've already set a price you want to stick with then there
probably isn't much that you'd need an agent to do for you.

2: Who (buyer/seller) pays for these fees.

It varies. Traditionally the seller pays the agents and you each
pay for your own lawyer. But the details are all part of the offer.
If you've got some specific need you can change things around.

Whoever pays, make sure that your lawyer, and your agent if you get
one, owe their fiduciary responsibility to you. Not likely to be an
issue for the lawyer but with agents the default used to be, and still
is in some places, that both agents actually represent the seller. Most
places now have the concept of "buyer's agent" but it may not be the
default if you don't ask about it.
--
Jim Prescott - Computing and Networking Group
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, NY

On 11 Jan 2005 17:32:02 -0500, (Jim
Prescott) wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:
Can anyone pls tell me how much a real estate attorney charges for
doing the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction

It varies a lot from one region to another but is fairly consistent
within a region. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Attorneys Real
Property Law" and call a couple. They should be able to provide
a ballpark figure over the phone.

In Rochester NY, there are 2 that have prices right in their YP ad,
$275 and $195.

Yes, and those lawyers are cheap for the area: most charge $350 and
up in our region. I'd venture to say that anyone who advertises a
price in an ad, whether YP or local paper, is trying to undercut the
competition by a bit for volume, and I'd be worried about their
attention to detail. Regardless, get a lawyer.

wrote in message
oups.com...
hello there
Can anyone pls tell me how much a real estate attorney charges for
doing the paperwork involved in a real estate transaction...we have a
situation where its a for sale by owner and we do not have any agents
involved.

1: How much are the costs involved by using real estate attorney
instead real estate agents?
2: Who (buyer/seller) pays for these fees.

During our most recent home purchase, we had a Real Estate Attorney handle
the closing for us (customary in our area). The seller had his own Attorney
sitting at the closing table, and we had ours. Our Attorney did the title
search and prepared the closing documents, then filed all the appropriate
forms with all the appropriate offices (state conveyance tax forms, deeds,
mortgage forms etc).

We paid approximately $600 for the lawyers fees. This was in Vermont. I'm
sure the reasonable and customary fees vary by where you are (I'd think a
lawyer in New York City would charge more than one in Rural Alabama, for
example).