Attorney

As a real estate attorney, I try to solve real estate problems, especially problems that are keeping a real estate transaction from getting to the closing table. I want to be known as a “deal-making” attorney and not a “deal-breaking” lawyer.

With that in mind, I try to be as flexible as possible with my legal fees, because I would never want a deal to collapse because someone couldn’t afford to pay me. So let me know what your real estate problem is and I will let you know what I can do for you within your budget.

 The cheapest way for me to help you is for you to download the legal forms and contracts that you need for your particular transaction. Buying my forms does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, but it will provide you with what you need to close your deal and you can always e-mail or call me with questions about the forms. And if you download the forms and then decide you need to hire me anyway, I will credit whatever you spent on the forms against my legal fees.

If you do decide to hire me, it will probably cost at least $500.00. That is what I charge to prepare paperwork for standard real estate transaction and creative transactions like wraparound mortgages and lease options. If you and the other party just want me to paper the deal and not officially represent either of you, I will ask each of you to sign waiver of conflict letters and it will cost at least $300 per party.

My usual rate for LLC and corporate formation is $500 plus filing fees, but I am offering to do that right now for $99 plus filing fees, because if I form your company for a good price and you make a lot of money, you’ll come back to see me again! I hope.

If you are an investor and you want me to assist you with two transactions in one, e.g., buying “subject to” and selling on a wrap, I can probably do that for $800. Again, it will be more (but less per party) if I paper the deal for both parties without representing either party.

If it’s a complex deal and there are a bunch of moving parts, like a probate matter with 5 different heirs, or a divorce with two angry people and one house in the middle, or another lawyer on the other side whose mission in life is to maximize his billable hours, then I will have to charge more and evaluate things as they go along. I hate billing by the hour but if I need to, I will usually charge $200-250 per hour.

With everything I do, I will charge you much less if you can pay cash upfront versus paying me at closing or some other time. If I am billing you by the hour, I will ask for a retainer upfront, or else a much higher rate to protect my time. In some cases, I may be able to act as your real estate agent on a transaction, collect a commission at closing and do the legal work for free. I can accept credit cards and I am willing to finance your legal fees in certain cases, but that is my least favorite way to get paid and it won’t be any fun for you either, because I will have to charge you a high interest rate to make it worth my while.

But again, I try to be as flexible as possible, so just give me a call or send me an e-mail, let me know what your problem is and what your budget is, and I will do my best to figure out a way to help you out.