Real Estate Attorney Fees
Q: 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?
A: -That depends on where you live. Much of the work is customary and varies from area to area and the price of the house. 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! 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. -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. 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