Hey everybody,
I am very new to real estate investing and have one important question.
When do attorney’s usually get involved with real estate deals??
Should I get one or should I worry about them??
Thanks,
Chris
Howdy Fortune_seeker:
Some say if you do not get one they will get you. After doing several deals and having my lawyer draw up the closing documents he showed me how to do it and I learned on my own as well. Unless a new lender is involved I do the legal work on all my own deals. As far as earnest money contracts I do my own or let the Realtor do them.
When I met my first RE partner he had an attorney draw up a 37 page one sided agreement that no seller would sign. It had 5 year warranties for all the plumbing, electrical, slab, roof and much more. He was trying to buy REO’s also. In my opinion the attorney did him a disservice by providing him such a purchase money contract. Maybe he tried to get him not to use it as my partner was pig headed. Using the standard form for your area is easier and far more accepted than one you may have created.
Lawyers are great when you need them. I have had disputes and could not have resolved the matter without one. Bigger deals will require lawyers for sure.
This is all just my opinion. Consult your attorney for legal advice. Just thought I would throw that in for a laugh.
LOL
Hey Ted,
Thanks for answering my question so fast.
You have to forgive my being new to all the terms and techniques but I didn’t quite understand a few things fully.
Do you use the same lender everytime?
Instead of using a realtor, do you ever sell your own property?, and is it more cost effective?
Whate is a REO?
Thanks for the help,
Chris
Howdy Fortune_seeker;
I was using the same hard money lender until recently. They got greedy with bogus collection fees when I got late. They charged $450 to collect plus late fees to the lender of 10% plus attorney fees of $150. I was only two months late. I am searching for a new lender. I did close two deals with a private lender a few weeks ago.
I would love to sell myself but it is hard and expensive to place ads in the local newspaper. A sign most times is not enough. I get a discount listing broker to get it in MLS and only pay them a few hundred plus 3% to the selling agency. of course it is more cost effective (cheaper) to sell yourself if all you need is a sign in the yard.
REO is real estate owned. A term used for property that a bank has foreclosed on. LOL
Hey Ted,
sounds like you deffinately need a new lender. If you find a good one that gives you a good rate and doesn’t hit you that hard with fees shoot me a pm or email with their info. Seems like private investers are the way to go, how do you go about finding good ones to work with? Also what is it exactly that you do / specialize in, sounds like you are very good at it?
Also about selling your stuff I heard it was a good idea to do stuff like put signs up that say stuff like cash back at close like $500 or $1000 even for buying and selling.
Most of the time direct advertising is allways the best (word of mouth).
I read recently in this book that making many contacts is the way to go.
I also read that a good REI guy has people looking for them, instead of the other way around…
But like I said before I am very new and don’t really know much yet…
Good talking,
Chris