Hiring a Real Estate Attorney.
Hiring a Real Estate Attorney for your team is one of the most important decisions to consider when first becoming involved in real estate investing. The right Attorney will keep you on tract and lessen your liability in your real estate investments. I would not and did not start investing until all my paperwork was State Specific, meaning it was not some generic paperwork offered in an office supply store.
I subscribe to Lexis to do my real estate law research. Since I do sell a real estate investing course, it is important to me in keeping knowledgeable of the latest court decisions regarding real estate. Lexis is really for Attorneys and is somewhat expensive for the layman to subscribe to. However, since I am a serious professional investor, I feel it is important to stay on top of my profession. Subscribing also cuts down on attorney time if some of the research is done before a consultation. I never advise my students regarding real estate law. But, I might recommend they have their Attorney look at a certain case to help them should the occasion arise. There is a small service at www.versuslaw.com that charges about $8.95 a month. This would be all you would need if you if you want to keep up to date on cases and decisions.
After you select two or three Real Estate Attorneys from a list you can get from www.martindale.com or www.law.com, which shows their qualifications, I would then go to the Court House in your area, check with the clerk there and ask to review cases in which those Attorneys have been involved and most importantly whether they won or lost their cases. If you are going to hire an Attorney make sure he is a winner, or at least won the majority of time.
Questions to ask a prospective Attorney.
1. My first question would be; what experience do you have in creative real estate investing such as (use the method that you use for investing) Subject To investing? If you get an off-in-the-distance stare as he contemplates what to tell you, be assured he does not have the first clue. The Attorney should be open to and understand creative real estate investing. This is very important in making your final decision. The Attorney must be very attentive to your needs; he lets you discuss your method of investing then responds in a forthright manner.
2. How much of your practice is in Real Estate? Depending on your market size it should be at least 30% to 50%. In smaller markets there would be less need for an Attorney to devote all their practice to real estate. 5 years of Real Estate law experience would be the minimum acceptable to me.
3. Do you have other Real Estate investors as clients? If so, ask if you can contact them for references.
4. What are your fees? The size of the law firm is not an important factor except larger firms usually charge more because of their overhead and are not as available to you as a smaller firm. The price the Attorney charges is not as important as how well he works for you, with you and gets the job done. The old adage you get what you pay for applies here.
5. Do you work with other real estate professionals? The Attorney should be able to recommend and refer you to other professionals such as CPAs, Mortgage Brokers, (for Refinances), etc.
These are a few things to look for, but what I feel are the most important to me.
John $Cash$ Locke
My state is an attorney state instead of a title company state -- that is, all real estate settlements are conducted by attorneys, and (in my state), only an attorney can prepare a recordable deed.
Questions:
1. In looking at court cases involving real estate, are you looking at evictions and foreclosures, or something else like partition suits, quiet title suits, and specific performance suits?
2. A number of attorneys here specialize in real estate settlements. For this group, how should I modify your questions or change your criterion threshholds, if at all?
Dave T,
I look for how they have done in court in general. I want an Attorney who is well diversed in real estate and is a winner.
I would not modify my questions because the questions should be answered that are important to me. The questions as I outlined are ones an Attorney should be able to answer to my satisfaction.
John $Cash$ Locke
My lawyer firm is about 1/2 hour away from me in Pittsburgh. I have an 800 number to contact them.
I know they are expanding all the time. When is the last time you checked?
Barb
Hi John,
Have you heard of Prepaid Legal? They are a company that offers legal services for a monthly price. One of the services is an unlimited number of document reviews (< 10 pages). I have a friend who used this service, and they apparently contract with the big law firms in each state.
Have you had any experience with this company? Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks.
I always have been getting pre-paid legal junk mail for years. I responded twice.
1st time: Didn't have one in our area.
2nd time: Had to wait a week to find out they had a lawyer an hour away. Seemed like they needed to recruit one in our area before they got back to me.
I really would like to find one cause attorney fees are really pretty high.
My lawyer firm is about 1/2 hour away from me in Pittsburgh. I have an 800 number to contact them.
I know they are expanding all the time. When is the last time you checked?
Barb
planders 99,
Glad to meet you.
I do not believe that they could provide an Attorney that specializes in Real Estate in your area or the chances would be very slim.
You really need an Attorney that understands Real Estate investing, pre paid legal would not be my first option, unless the could prove to me they have what I need in my area.
John $Cash$ Locke
I am a member of PrePaid Legal. I have unlimited question access to a AAA law firm and many other benefits.
If I am dealing with real estate, my question, contract, etc is directed to a lawyer in the firm who specializes in this. More or less, you get a attorney who specializes in whatever you question is about.
Tootles,
As long as this service provides you with answers to your questions and are on target, then you are fortunate you can use them.
Some areas are not covered by Pre Paid Legal. My concerns are if they are not specializing in my area regarding real estate will they have the right answers. If you are comfortable in using them this will save you a lot of money.
You will find out quickly if they can get the job done for you.
John $Cash$ Locke
How much have you used their services in the past year??