Attorney Sue Caskey originally posted this article on our
Main News Group.
I posted this in response to someone asking how to find a good real estate
lawyer. It can be hard to know whether a lawyer is worth the money you're being
charged, and it can be a lot of money to waste! Hopefully my ideas will help
you find someone competent and willing to work with you. I've added a little
bit about pre-paid legal service plans that was not in my original post.
Sue Caskey
As a corporate lawyer myself, here's what I looked for when seeking out an
attorney. Find a lawyer who:
1. Spends 60% or more of his practice doing ONLY real estate. Lots of general
practitioners will tell you yes, they can do closings, trusts, etc., but they
are actually learning on your nickel.
2. Has been doing real estate law for at least 5 years.
3. Is recommended by other experienced investors you know. Contacts through
your local RE association are valuable here.
4. Is a member of the local REIA.
5. Invests in real estate.
6. Has several if not many full time, professional RE investors as clients. Ask
about some of their clients. You want to hear that they represent individuals
with everything from Section 8 portfolios to rehabbers to strip malls and other
commercial stuff. You'll know they've been tried and tested!
7. Is on the RE committee of your local bar association, or is involved in
running or developing the continuing legal education courses for the county.
Those are classes taught by lawyers for lawyers, and the guy who's running them
will know his stuff. The county bar association should be able to help you find
those people.
8. Works for himself, or is a partner in a small firm. While you might find
someone very experienced in a big major law firm, they will charge you like
crazy. A big firm letterhead is absolutely NO guarantee of quality. In my
opinion, lawyers running their own shops are closer to the businessman's mind
set, because they have to run a business too. They are more flexible, and
willing to work with you on price and more. They don't have to answer to
managing partners, or hoards of other partners demanding certain profit
margins.
9. Is willing to listen to you about certain creative transactions. Things like
lease/options, double closing, setting up a land trust, 1031 exchanges,
creating paper, holding your deposits in escrow instead of having to hand it
over to the listing agent, and some other things you've seen on this site are
worth running by them. The response you re looking for is one of interest and
willingness to work with you. You may not get complete acceptance, because some
of it might not be familiar, but if they say they're at least willing to
explore your ideas, that's good. You DON'T want someone who starts
pontificating about why all that stuff is illegal, can't do it, etc. You don't
need a parent, you need a team member.
10. Is available to you, regardless of how much $$ you are spending with them. No
matter how "good" the lawyer is, how experienced, if they ignore you
they are not worth your time. You need someone who understands that you want a
long-term relationship/partnership, and if they treat you with disrespect, they
don't deserve your $$. They should return calls and emails within a reasonable
time frame, and should be willing to answer BASIC questions off the meter.
11. Understands that one hand washes the other. If they can refer you to other
investors or potential members of your REI team (CPAs, sellers, etc), and they
give you the service I've noted above, be sure to send other clients their way.
You'll be surprised at how fruitful a relationship will develop - This person
will have CONNECTIONS which can benefit you mightily.
Notice I didn't say anything about price. If you get everything I've listed
above in a single lawyer, he or she will be worth their weight in gold. You
will learn enough after a few times to be able to work with him or her
efficiently going forward. Build the costs of legal into your analysis like you
would any other costs, as you would a general contractor. While many good
lawyers will work with you on price, don't insult them by demanding they charge
you less because you're "going to bring them a lot of work" (yeah,
right) - you identify yourself as a client not worth working with. Remember,
someone like the person I've described doesn't need you, but you will
definitely benefit from using them. Switch to someone cheaper, just based on
price and ignore all the other benefits I've listed above, and you might save
money in the short term, but you'll lose quality and longer-term $$ in building
your business.
As for pre-paid legal services: I have never used these services myself, but I
have heard more negative experiences than positive from subscribers. Because
legal fees can be high, it can seem like a good deal to only pay a small
monthly fee and have “unlimited” attorney access. However, proceed with
caution. In my opinion, whether you are using a plumber or a lawyer, you get
what you pay for; some of the issues with pre-paid services include
unresponsiveness, lack of thoroughness, and an unwillingness to work on
anything other than a very basic cookie-cutter legal matter. If you don't think
you'll need more than a few contracts reviewed or other minor needs, a pre-paid
service may be able to help. In any case, it’s probably a good idea to avoid
signing any kind of long term commitment to pay (say, for one year) and to try
to get a two or three month trial first. Be sure you understand completely what
the service covers and what it doesn't cover.
Ultimately, it’s advisable to make the costs of a good lawyer a non-issue by
building the fees into any deal right up front. As I say above, the value of a
good long term relationship with a competent and reliable attorney can be worth
far more than the fees you will pay for quality service.
Good luck! Hope this helps.
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ALWAYS
use an attorney when getting started in real estate investing. When I
first started in REI, I realized houses are easy to purchase and
homes are easy to sell. I have purchased houses with no equity, houses with
$100,000 equity and houses with equity everywhere in between.
Before I purchased my first property I went to the top real estate attorney in
my state and had her prepare all the documents required to
legally purchase and sell properties to protect both the buyer and the seller.
Then I took this paperwork to several escrow companies (title
companies) and had them review the paperwork to see if they would accept the
paperwork when the time came for the buyer to re-finance the
property or for me to sell the property outright. They accepted the paperwork
without question.
No matter which state you live in, you have elected legislators that pass laws
in your state. The state statutes contain these laws passed by
the legislators. These laws vary from state to state. In other words, what
works for me in my state may not work for you in your state for
?true ?protection. You could use what I call ?generic paperwork?.
However, I do not know if this paperwork will protect you and the new buyer or
your seller in your state. Maybe some of the attorneys that
post here would have an answer.
I was reading an article where the seller wanted his attorney to review the
paperwork. Occasionally you will run into this situation. One person
used his sales skills to overcome the objection by saying, (I will paraphrase
here) ?is your attorney going to live here and make your
payments?? He got the deal. What I use is, ?This paperwork was prepared by the
foremost real estate attorney in our state. I am sure your real
estate attorney knows her. It will only take a few minutes to call your
attorney and have them talk together now on my dime.? What do you think
the chances are that someone has a real estate attorney? Besides I had the best
and that was enough to close the deal.
There is a military base where I live. I purchased quite a few of their
properties, which had V.A. loans. Made my life easier. Military bases are a good place to prospect for motivated sellers, as military personnel are
transferred quite frequently. I found that military people would say, ?I will need to have your paperwork reviewed by the Judge Advocate
General's (JAG) office?. For one thing it is free; so why wouldn't they use that free legal advice. The JAG office never turned down my
paperwork. I received a call one day from the Colonel in charge of the JAG office. He explained that he had just received orders and needed to
sell his house quickly, would I be able to help him? I asked him if he needed to review my paperwork. He laughed and said, "it would
not be necessary.? I purchased the house.
When one of my buyers was in default, I obtained a simple Five Day Eviction
Notice. When I went to court the buyers had an attorney. He said something about an ?Equity Issue? and then recited a state statute I never
heard of. The judge said this should be in District Court not Justice Court
, no simple eviction. I went to the state statutes and read that law. Wait a
minute here; this statute referred to a "Trust Deed" not a Contract for Deed.
In my state, a Contract for Deed (CFD) is a stand-alone document. Meaning the
way the contract reads is how it is interpreted by the court system. It contains the wording stating if the buyer
defaults then the seller (that's me) becomes the landlord and the buyer (that's them) becomes the tenant. When I went back to court and their
attorney brought up ?equity issue?. I replied "the court system" recognizes this document (CFD) as what is says is what it means (not very
legalese) and has nothing to do with State Statute XYZ which is an equity issue concerning trust deeds?. The Judge took a fifteen-minute recess,
came back and said ?can your client be out of the house in 48 hours?
I just read where a young lady just starting out in REI was charged with
selling real estate without a license. She was selling a house she just purchased and was turned in by a real estate agent. Her T/B's (I think this
means tenant / buyers) moved out because they became panicked. A real estate investigator talked to her so she sought legal advice. Two
attorneys advised her to plead guilty and said it was just a misdemeanor. One attorney said it was a novel case and would take it for a
charge of $1,500. She doesn't know what to do. I do not know what the outcome of this case will be. I would bet, if she started with an attorney, she
would be suing the real estate agent for filing a false criminal complaint, "torts" and other charges. I do feel empathy for this lady.
Also, when you get ready to sell your portfolio of houses, when you are ready
to retire or just want out, your buyer or buyers will have the paperwork on the houses you own reviewed by an attorney. If the paperwork is in
order, it's an easy sell. It worked for me.
I'll say it again, when you are first starting out in REI, I would advise that
you also consult with an attorney in your state or see if any of the attorneys who post on this board can prepare the "proper"
paperwork you will need. I have often said, I am not fond of them (attorneys), however I'm not crazy enough not to use one when necessary.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article Provided by:
John Cash Locke, Private Real Estate Investor specializing in Subject To
investing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lawyers and Real Estate Investors
-------------------------------------------
How to find a Good Attorney
Contributed by: commercialking
One of the most persistent questions here on TCI is how to deal with the
professionals, the attorney, the Real estate broker, the mortgage broker. “How
much is too much to pay?” “Are Realtors the friend or the enemy?” “How can I
find a mortgage broker who understands creative real estate?”
Answering the question, oddly enough, requires you to develop some
understanding of how the Professional thinks, what his needs are, how his
business runs. It’s just like negotiating with a seller. The real key to
successful negotiation is
Advertisement
not in knowing the difference between a lease option and a short sale contract.
It’s being able to get the seller to tell you what he wants and what he needs
in a way where you can understand and decide whether you can give it to him.
One of my many hobbies is gardening. I’m not necessarily very good at it but I
enjoy getting my hands dirty and eating food that I grew myself in my city
rooftop garden, overcoming obstacles like not having any actual ground to plant
things in. One of the things I’ve learned in gardening is that each kind of
plant has its own characteristics. Some like sun, some prefer shade. Some will
climb up anything, others cannot be made to climb at all. The secret to getting
the look you want is to find the plant that likes to do what you want done. You
can, if you wish, attempt to grow a sun-lover in a shadowy corner. But if you
do they won’t be happy about it. And in the long run neither will you because
you’ll always be complaining that the plant doesn’t do what you want it to do.
Lawyers come in many types (like plants). The key to getting one who you will
be happy with is to find the one that has the characteristics you want. The
problem is that most lawyers don’t have a clue about what kind of person they
are. So they don’t know when to say, “I’m sorry but I just am not very good at
that. You want to go find somebody else.” So as the boss (remember “client” is just
a power play, keeps you in your place. You write the checks, you call the
shots) you need to know what you want and how to eliminate the people that
don’t fit the bill.
So, herewith an opening discussion of some of the major types and how to get
them to flourish:
The Litigator
At the top of the food chain is the Litigator. This is the guy you see in all
the lawyer movies. He thinks of himself as a fighter, going to bat for his
clients in court. Unfortunately if you’re not involved in a lawsuit already
he’s pretty worthless. Without the adrenalin of a court case he’s bored. He
needs to have enemies, know who the opponent is, understand victory. But it is
the litigator who most people think of when they go out to hire an attorney: “I
want a real bulldog”. “I need somebody who will be a real tough guy.”
This is why realtors, and some investors, think that attorneys are the enemy.
They put a certain amount of work into negotiating a contract, getting it down
in writing and all signed and sealed only to have lawyers tear it apart and,
frequently kill the deal. The lawyer thinks he’s protecting his client, in his
world view you are the enemy, the opponent to be mastered. Remember this when
you get your own attorney. If what you want to do is close deals you don’t want
a litigator negotiating your contracts for you.
The litigator spends a lot of time researching the law on each case he handles
because each case is different, each has its own intricacies, its own
possibilities. He’s really expensive, but a good one gives you personal
attention. When you need to sue because your seller backed out of your option
on a $1.5 million deal and you’re stuck with tens of thousands in sunk costs
this is the guy you want.
The Sweatshop
But like all “top of the food chain” animals the litigator is a rare breed.
Most attorneys are of different species. For example there is the factory
worker. This guy is just trying to make a living. He figures the answer is in
specialization and production. This is great if what you want is the same thing
over and over again. For example: evictions. Evictions are all pretty much the
same. There is a tenant who is a bad guy (says the landlord) either because
he’s failed to pay the rent or because he’s obnoxious in some other way.
There’s a landlord who’s just trying to cut his losses and get this deadbeat
out as quickly and as cheaply as possible. There’s a state law that governs how
the eviction can be done.
In every big city there are a couple of firms that just do evictions. A good
eviction attorney can handle 50 cases in a morning. He spends next to no time
in researching the law because he already has mastered the intricacies of his
jurisdictions’ eviction law. His business is about “churn ‘em out, don’t worry
about the details or the individuals”. He wins almost all his cases because
he’s a professional at this and he’s up against a bunch of amateurs.
Other examples: the guy who processes tax lien foreclosures. It’s a crank ‘em
out kind of process. Even many real estate attorneys whose practice is almost
all closings and whose review of the contract is pretty perfunctory are
sweatshop kind of guys.
If what you want done is this kind of thing then the sweatshop attorney is your
guy. Quite frankly, it’s a much better use of my time to be out doing deals or
sailing or almost anything than driving across town and sitting around some
courtroom waiting for my case to be called so I can evict a tenant. The sweat
shop guy is already there, he doesn’t charge you for transportation, he works piecework.
In the end he’s really cheap when you think about it.
The Dealmaker
Here’s a guy who’s not sure if he’s an attorney or an investor. He makes his
living making deals happen. Buying a big apartment complex and need a guy to
write a syndication agreement and help raise the money among the Limited
Partners? Find a deal maker. Buying an old factory to knock down, rezone, deal
with the EPA on the environmental problems and build condos? He’s your guy. He
understands the complexity of these deals and has the political and economic
connections to help get it done. He’s probably part of a big firm so he can
farm out the mundane details like actually writing the partnership agreement.
He’s not cheap and he’s just as likely to have his own self interests and/or
those of his contacts ahead of yours but in the right deal he’s invaluable.
What you are paying for here is his rolodex, not his legal expertise.
The Specialist
Here there are a whole group of sub-species: the guy who just does IRS work.
the patient lawyer, the retirement plan specialist, the zoning change person.
The trick here is that outside their specialty they are almost useless but
inside they are a big help. This is probably the person you want. Dealing with
foreclosures? Find someone who specializes in this. Buying paper and
collecting? There are specialists in such things. Need a zoning change? In
every area there are one or two firms which do 80% of them, hire one of those
guys.
At first blush the specialist looks expensive. He has a higher than average
hourly rate. But keep him inside his specialty and he’s a bargain because he
doesn’t charge you for research time.
The Jack of all Trades.
Just want a guy who can review your contracts, keep you out of hot water, break
the occasional deal that goes south without a follow up suit that costs you
thousands? This is the bulk of the lawyers out there. They do a little of
everything. Some real estate closings, some wills and probate, the occasional
traffic ticket and the small stakes trial. Like most generalists they’re not
terribly good at any of it but they are better than nothing—most of the time. I
used to love to go against these guys pro se because they assume that since
you’re not a lawyer you must be an idiot. But the fact of the matter is that a
smart person willing to put in the hours to read the law can stand his own in
this bunch most of the time. Get them outside an area where they have had a
case and they’re not much smarter than the general public.
Well it’s not a comprehensive list by any means and I’d love to have others
help out with their own sub-species. Feel free to comment with your own tales
of woe or success, maybe even a few lawyer jokes. What do you call 12 lawyers
buried up to their chins in crap? . . . . . “Not enough crap.”
-------------------------------------------
How to Find a (Good) Real Estate Lawyer by Sue Caskey
Attorney Sue Caskey originally posted this article on our Main News Group.
I posted this in response to someone asking how to find a good real estate lawyer.
It can be hard to know whether a lawyer is worth the money you're being
charged, and it can be a lot of money to waste! Hopefully my ideas will help
you find someone competent and willing to work with you. I've added a little
bit about pre-paid legal service plans that was not in my original post.
Sue Caskey
As a corporate lawyer myself, here's what I looked for when seeking out an
attorney. Find a lawyer who:
1. Spends 60% or more of his practice doing ONLY real estate. Lots of general
practitioners will tell you yes, they can do closings, trusts, etc., but they
are actually learning on your nickel.
2. Has been doing real estate law for at least 5 years.
3. Is recommended by other experienced investors you know. Contacts through
your local RE association are valuable here.
4. Is a member of the local REIA.
5. Invests in real estate.
6. Has several if not many full time, professional RE investors as clients. Ask
about some of their clients. You want to hear that they represent individuals
with everything from Section 8 portfolios to rehabbers to strip malls and other
commercial stuff. You'll know they've been tried and tested!
7. Is on the RE committee of your local bar association, or is involved in
running or developing the continuing legal education courses for the county.
Those are classes taught by lawyers for lawyers, and the guy who's running them
will know his stuff. The county bar association should be able to help you find
those people.
8. Works for himself, or is a partner in a small firm. While you might find
someone very experienced in a big major law firm, they will charge you like
crazy. A big firm letterhead is absolutely NO guarantee of quality. In my
opinion, lawyers running their own shops are closer to the businessman's mind set,
because they have to run a business too. They are more flexible, and willing to
work with you on price and more. They don't have to answer to managing
partners, or hoards of other partners demanding certain profit margins.
9. Is willing to listen to you about certain creative transactions. Things like
lease/options, double closing, setting up a land trust, 1031 exchanges,
creating paper, holding your deposits in escrow instead of having to hand it
over to the listing agent, and some other things you've seen on this site are
worth running by them. The response you re looking for is one of interest and
willingness to work with you. You may not get complete acceptance, because some
of it might not be familiar, but if they say they're at least willing to explore
your ideas, that's good. You DON'T want someone who starts pontificating about
why all that stuff is illegal, can't do it, etc. You don't need a parent, you
need a team member.
10. Is available to you, regardless of how much $$ you are spending with them.
No matter how "good" the lawyer is, how experienced, if they ignore
you they are not worth your time. You need someone who understands that you
want a long-term relationship/partnership, and if they treat you with
disrespect, they don't deserve your $$. They should return calls and emails
within a reasonable time frame, and should be willing to answer BASIC questions
off the meter.
11. Understands that one hand washes the other. If they can refer you to other
investors or potential members of your REI team (CPAs, sellers, etc), and they
give you the service I've noted above, be sure to send other clients their way.
You'll be surprised at how fruitful a relationship will develop - This person
will have CONNECTIONS which can benefit you mightily.
Notice I didn't say anything about price. If you get everything I've listed
above in a single lawyer, he or she will be worth their weight in gold. You
will learn enough after a few times to be able to work with him or her
efficiently going forward. Build the costs of legal into your analysis like you
would any other costs, as you would a general contractor. While many good
lawyers will work with you on price, don't insult them by demanding they charge
you less because you're "going to bring them a lot of work" (yeah,
right) - you identify yourself as a client not worth working with. Remember,
someone like the person I've described doesn't need you, but you will
definitely benefit from using them. Switch to someone cheaper, just based on
price and ignore all the other benefits I've listed above, and you might save
money in the short term, but you'll lose quality and longer-term $$ in building
your business.
As for pre-paid legal services: I have never used these services myself, but I
have heard more negative experiences than positive from subscribers. Because
legal fees can be high, it can seem like a good deal to only pay a small
monthly fee and have “unlimited” attorney access. However, proceed with
caution. In my opinion, whether you are using a plumber or a lawyer, you get
what you pay for; some of the issues with pre-paid services include
unresponsiveness, lack of thoroughness, and an unwillingness to work on
anything other than a very basic cookie-cutter legal matter. If you don't think
you'll need more than a few contracts reviewed or other minor needs, a pre-paid
service may be able to help. In any case, it’s probably a good idea to avoid
signing any kind of long term commitment to pay (say, for one year) and to try
to get a two or three month trial first. Be sure you understand completely what
the service covers and what it doesn't cover.
Ultimately, it’s advisable to make the costs of a good lawyer a non-issue by
building the fees into any deal right up front. As I say above, the value of a
good long term relationship with a competent and reliable attorney can be worth
far more than the fees you will pay for quality service.
Good luck! Hope this helps.
---------------------------------
Lawyer
For most people, the purchase of a house is the biggest purchase they will ever
make. The legal documentation that goes along with it is one of the most
important legal documents they will ever sign. Making sure your interests are
represented to the letter of the law is crucial in protecting your investment.
To do this, you need to have a lawyer.
Much of the documentation in real estate transactions are complicated and
usually written in legalese. They are designed to be legal documents that stand
up to scrutiny. For us laymen, this means that lawyers are really the only
people who can understand them and make sure that they are written properly.
Again, I cannot stress the importance of finding a lawyer for your team.
Finding a lawyer is similar to finding a real estate agent. Start with your
friends and family network and work from there. The Yellow Pages, the Internet
and lawyer referral services also offer great starting points.
You need to find a lawyer that specializes in real estate or property law. Once
you find them, start the selection process. Go through and interview as many as
it takes to find one you are comfortable with.
There are many factors that affect the price of a lawyer: the number of years
of training and specialization, competency and experience, legal complexity of
each case, and the projected outcome.
Legal fees can be calculated in a number of ways.
• The most common is an hourly charge. In this case, lawyers
charge an hourly rate for all work done. They should be able to estimate the
length of each project.
• Other lawyers offer fixed fees. In this case, work is
billed on a project-by-project basis.
• Regardless of the billing method, make sure that you can
afford their rates. Further, ensure that you get a written estimate regarding
the cost of each project.
--------------------------
Hi and thank you for interest. Our company www.Soldin9days.co.nz
(Financial Advantage Limited, Auckland) is a local real estate
investment company that specializes in purchasing real estate for investment
and offering solutions to homeowners that need to sell their home fast.
There is no doubt you come into many situations where because of one reason or
another properties need to be liquidated - DIVORCE, BANKRUPTCY, MORTGAGEE SALE
and DECEASED ESTATE.
These are reasons why we buy properties, so people can get on with their lives
and have a quick no-hassle settlement. I would hope that you keep us in
your Card File as a resource for properties that need quick attention to be
sold.
We offer a $2500 referral fee that gets paid to you once we settle on a
property that you had referred to us. We realize that as a professional there
are attorney client privacy privileges and we would not ask you to break any
laws to refer us business. Give your clients our number and have them call us or
leave your name and mailing address and we can send you a FREE REPORT on “How
we can buy and close on any person's house in 9 days and still pay a fair
price”.
Please feel free to call me 09 849 2301 anytime to discuss a potential
referral.
We also offer investment opportunities to individual consumers with a
guaranteed 12% return on their investment secured by a first mortgage on local
real estate.
Thank you for your interest we look forward in helping you.
Sincerely,
Brian Gibbons
soldin9days.co.nz
www.soldin9days.co.nz
Financial Advantage Limited, Auckland
------------------------------------------------------------
Leasing Business Premises & Your Liability
How long does your liability as a tenant continue under a commercial lease?
When starting a new venture, or acquiring an existing business, one of the more
significant considerations will be your business premises. John Bannerman of
Bannermans in Gore discusses a tenant’s liability under a commercial lease.
In many situations, premises will be leased rather than purchased. Security of
tenure, therefore, becomes important and this is often seen as part of the
goodwill of a business in the event of future sale.
Assignment of lease
Consequently, many regard a lease with provision allowing assignment of the
lease with successive rights of renewal as being desirable.
It is also usual for a landlord to require someone to guarantee performance of
the lease by the tenant, particularly where the tenant is a company, in which
case the guarantors will invariably include the directors and principal
shareholders of the company.
On-going liability
The perceived advantages of a long term lease should be considered against the
potential disadvantages in terms of continuing liability following assignment
of the lease.
A commercial lease creates a contractual relationship between the landlord and
the tenant. Basically, the first or original tenant’s contractual liability
with the landlord continues throughout the term of the lease.
Typically leases are assigned in conjunction with the sale of a business. What
may seem like a good deal at the purchaser to whom you assign your lease “falls
over” or, for some other reason, defaults under the lease.
The original tenant’s liability remains, even after the assignment of the
lease, so that any covenant contained in the lease may be enforced by the
landlord against the original tenant. This would include, for example, recovery
of rent arrears.
The liability of the original tenant also continues if the party to whom the
lease is assigned subsequently goes into liquidation or is declared bankrupt. A
chain of assignments will not usually absolve the original tenant from
continuing liability.
Where the lease contains provision for rent reviews, the original tenant remain
liable for any increased rental, even though the original tenant also continues
throughout the renewed period.
Guarantor also liable
As a general rule, this continuing liability also applies to the original
tenant’s guarantors and needs to be considered by any person entering into a
lease as a guarantor. The extent of a guarantor’s liability may vary depending
on the terms of the guarantee.
There are exceptions to the continuing liability of original tenants and
guarantors where, for example, an assignment varies the terms of the original
lease.Liability can also be limited by including indemnities in the assignment
documents.
Conclusion
Your lawyer can assist with having appropriate provisions put in place when the
assignment is made which will ensure some protection against possible future
liability to the landlord.
Talking to Lawyers
I’m a financial consultant and I talk to people who have big debt
problems. They need to know if they should be in Consumer Credit
Counseling, Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
I need an attorney to whom I can refer people when they need bankruptcy
consultations. But, I don’t want to waste your time – I want to learn
your rule of thumb for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Help me know when to
send people to you and when to tell them to go somewhere else. Give me
your questionnaire and I’ll make sure they don’t call until they’ve filled it
out.
When I get a client with upside down debt, I try to avoid talking them into
considering bankruptcy and I try to send them to Consumer Credit Counseling.
I also help people repair their credit. I get them a secured Mastercard
and teach them how to use it in order to get fast results on their FICO
score. I help them dispute bad credit. If they have good income, I
set them up with a Lease Purchase for a home where they can build equity FAST
and qualify for a mortgage.
I need referrals of people with high income and terrible credit. I’m
asking you to consider me when you have someone coming out of Chapter 7 and
they ask you for help repairing their credit. Chapter 13 I don’t want – I
can’t help them. Chapter 7 - I can help them get a secured
MasterCard. I can help them dispute marks on their credit. And, I
can turn them into a homeowner with equity in a house in a few years such that
they can qualify for a loan.
Just like I won’t send you people with whom you can’t work, don’t send me
people with no income. Does that make sense?
>Ray
Raymond P. Mannion,
Jr.
607-432-2423
Angel Property Consulting, LLC.
We buy houses in any condition as quickly as 2 days. Call for a free,
professional, courteous, and private consultation.
http://Houses911.com <http://Houses911.com>
-----------------------------------
Choosing An Attorney
Before you sign an agreement of sale, you might consider asking an attorney to
look it over and tell you if it protects your interests. If you have already
signed your agreement of sale, you might still consider having an attorney
review it. An attorney can also help you prepare for the settlement. In some
areas attorneys act as settlement/closing agents or as escrow agents to handle
the settlement.
An attorney who does this will not solely represent your interests, since, as
settlement/closing agent, he or she may also be representing the seller, the
lender and others as well.
If choosing an attorney, you should shop around and ask what services will be
performed for what fee. Find out whether the attorney is experienced in
representing home buyers. You may wish to ask the attorney questions such as:
What is the charge for negotiating the agreement of sale, reviewing documents
and giving advice concerning those documents, for being present at the
settlement, or for reviewing instructions to the escrow agent or company?
Will the attorney represent anyone other than you in the transaction?
Will the attorney be paid by anyone other than you in the transaction?
Please note, in many areas of the country attorneys are not normally involved
in the home sale. For example, escrow agents or escrow companies in western
states handle the paperwork to transfer title without any attorney involvement.
--------------------
From: Brian Gibbons <Team@Brian-Gibbons.com>
Date: Thu Jul 10, 2003 1:07pm
Subject: RE: FW:lawyer search
Dear Nancy:
Use this script for attorney search:
Hi I am interviewing attorneys that have a great strength in real estate
contracts and tenant evictions.
I am a landlord (do not use investor).
THEN
I only work with tax and legal advisors that are landlords themselves.
How many properties does ______________ currently rent out?
Or go to property management company and ask them for a GREAT property contract
attorney.
Ask for free 30 minute consultation.
Say you'll need advice on 4 properties a month.
And you need a good personality fit.
Good luck!!
Your Mentor,
Brian
© 2003 www.BRIAN-GIBBONS.com.
This material may not be reproduced or utilised in any other form.
Lawyer
For most people, the purchase of a house is the biggest purchase they will ever
make. The legal documentation that goes along with it is one of the most
important legal documents they will ever sign. Making sure your interests are
represented to the letter of the law is crucial in protecting your investment.
To do this, you need to have a lawyer.
Much of the documentation in real estate transactions are complicated and
usually written in legalese. They are designed to be legal documents that stand
up to scrutiny. For us laymen, this means that lawyers are really the only
people who can understand them and make sure that they are written properly.
Again, I cannot stress the importance of finding a lawyer for your team.
Finding a lawyer is similar to finding a real estate agent. Start with your
friends and family network and work from there. The Yellow Pages, the Internet
and lawyer referral services also offer great starting points.
You need to find a lawyer that specializes in real estate or property law. Once
you find them, start the selection process. Go through and interview as many as
it takes to find one you are comfortable with.
There are many factors that affect the price of a lawyer: the number of years
of training and specialization, competency and experience, legal complexity of
each case, and the projected outcome.
Legal fees can be calculated in a number of ways.
• The most common is an hourly charge. In this case, lawyers
charge an hourly rate for all work done. They should be able to estimate the
length of each project.
• Other lawyers offer fixed fees. In this case, work is
billed on a project-by-project basis.
• Regardless of the billing method, make sure that you can
afford their rates. Further, ensure that you get a written estimate regarding
the cost of each project.
