Posted by Jerry Greer on January 08, 1999 at 17:07:57:
Robert, I had allmost the exact same thing happen to me.The attorney didn’t even have a closing statement ready. He didn’t know what or if the taxes were paid. I ended up assuming the taxes. Yes! you do need an attorney. The key is finding one that knows what he or she is doing when it comes to RE. Keep looking untill you find a good one. I recently found a great attorney. Of course it is costing me $175 an hr… (Wow). Anyway, It could cost me a lot more if I have a problem in the future.
Good Luck.
Jerry Greer
We purchased our first rental property (a 3 flat) this last Nov. We had a lawyer at closing that we were very dissapointed with. To begin with, seeems like we were the ones doing all the leg work. He answered a few questions prior to closing but on alot of questions we had he said “good question” and we had to go find the answers ourselves. At the closing the only thing he was good for was to tell us where to sign. He charged us $475.00 for this. We are in the process of purchasing a 4 flat now. Being new at this, is it reasonable that we can represent ourselves throughout this deal and at closing?
Re: DOES A NEWBIE NEED A LAWYER ??? - Posted by Sue (NC)
Posted by Sue (NC) on January 08, 1999 at 09:48:47:
I’m not at all new to this, and I still need a lawyer.
You NEED title insurance. DO NOT EVER think of scrimping on this. Title companies require someone they trust (no jokes about trust & lawyers, please) to send them an opinion of title before they will issue a title policy. They will not insure based on YOUR title search. If the title company provides this service, you might be able to avoid having a lawyer for this issue, but…
Lawyers can be good resources for interpreting surveys (are there any encroachments on the property that you should be aware of?)
If you buy creatively, letters on thier letterhead carry more weight when push comes to shove, if anyone tries to question the deal later.
When I buy foreclosures, the lawyer tells the junior lienholders the bad news, sets up our homeowners dues accounts (if there is one), and performs many other valuable services.