Attorney Fee for Purchase of 2 Family House
How are attorneys typically compensated for property sales/purchase in NYC boroughs. Do they charge by the hour, or do most have a flat rate? Does it vary by type of deal?
How are attorneys typically compensated for property sales/purchase in NYC boroughs. Do they charge by the hour, or do most have a flat rate? Does it vary by type of deal?
Flat fee usually under 2000. But it depends on the purchase price and the degree of difficulty involved in the deal. Call Alex Suslensky 212-929-7333. Very knowledgeable.
1500-2000 is the going rate for a good lawyer. Anything more than that for a simple purchase is nonsense.
for my house purchase I asked around and got a great Brooklyn Heights-based lawyer who did the entire thing for a flat fee of $1500, even though he was going above and beyond the agreed services. Best yet, he found so many things in surveys, title searches, and contracts that he had to straighten out, he probably saved me an additional $20,000 in things I would have had to pay for to fix later. If you think of what a realtor gets for a sale, your lawyer gets paid nowhere near that much but is your only advocate at the closing who is 100% on your side. Considering what he or she could save you, in time and money, even at $2200 a good lawyer would be a bargain.
try jim ratliff in park slope
used him several times (purchases and re-financing)
very reasonable flat fee and know his sh*t.
(718) 768-0025
jratlifflaw@aol.com
Thanks all. I’m about to close on my second purchase, same lawyer, Manhattan guy who does mostly co-ops, but helps me out in the boroughs with houses. When I asked him about fee he said, “just give me a little more than last time and we’re good.” I think it was $2000 or 2500 last time, but for a MUCH simpler deal (this contract has been canceled, reinstated, and assigned from one party to two.) So I’m just wondering what to expect and at what point I should feel like I’m ripping HIM off. I can’t really imagine why you would do the work for $1000-1500.
to answer your original question $1500-2000 seems like the median flat rate for the locals. I see no advantages to locals except lower price for, well, lets just say not the cream of the crop services. Be weary of anything less, because its probably a schlub on a stick.
Tops in manhattan – where you should be looking – is by the hour, but you always try to negotiate a cap rate (i wouldn’t want to pay more than 10k personally), or at least an estimated one, which in my experience was honored.
we paid I think $2200 for an attorney to close on a 3-family last fall. and loved her.
$1,500 is right about the middle of what most lawyers charge on a purchase transaction. Coop deals may be a little higher due to the work involved.
1550-2000 is acceptable.
you get what you pay for. (no i’m not a lawyer) i firmly believe people need to self-assess why they need lawyer, what could possibly go wrong. light years ahead of some local schlub for $1000 or $1500.
remember, its one person against the other in these transactions. the brightest most ambitious and experienced person gets the best language. like insurance, it may never matter, but if it does it is everything. and for most people is everything they have and will work for their whole life.