Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 15:00
Posted in
I'm a first-time homebuyer and am currently looking for a home, but will most likely pay cash (no mortgage). It seems that one advantage of getting a mortgage is that, in protecting their interests, the mortgage company indirectly helps the buyer out as it protects its own interests (getting an apppraisal, inspection, title search) etc.
Without this help I think I should hire an real-estate attorney to represent my interests. What approximate cost or billable hours would I expect from an attorney to handle a standard real-estate transaction?
Editor's Response
I like the way you're thinking. You are on your own, so you need to cover all the bases. Unfortunately, because I do not (and never have) practiced real estate/transactions law, I cannot give you a reasonable guess about how many billable hours your attorney will require. However, you can and should talk to a few attorneys in your neck of the woods that do this type of work and ask THEM to give you an estimate. While you are getting that information, you can get a feel for their level of experience, responsiveness, demeanor, and whether you think you should hire them. Good luck.