Lawyers

[Ion]

I just made an offer for a piece of land in Kawartha Lakes from MLS. I found that the lawyer wants over $1000 (exactly $1200).  After doing some research on net I realize that some layers do not care about the title search and name search or even if they do that search is not done on the closing day. A lawyer make sure you get the title insurance, the deed transfer and of course your money. In my case I do not apply for a mortgage.
Is really worth a lawyer? 

What happened if a guy pays $4 or $6K for a piece of land?  Looks to pay the same price to the lawyer. Is any way to bypass the lawyer?

[Frank]

You need a lawyer to protect your interest, whether it is $4,000 or $4,000,000.  Yer gettin' ripped off on the fee - shouldn't be more than $700.  doesn't need to be a Kawartha lawyer, with e-reg you can get the guy next door.  He's just charging you to pay for his errors policy and he doesn't have to do any work.

[Driver]

I am far from an expert on lawyers, but I have dealt with a few.  I have finally found what I think is a good one for the jobs I need to do,  good luck with your search.

A lawyer is there to do what you ask of him/her, nothing more, nothing less.  They will do that and then advise you of anything else that should be done, and if you want them to do it.  If you feel confident about doing title/execution searches, by all means, do it yourself.  In my township, I can walk up to the counter and pay the $38 to each department (zoning, health, building,etc.) and get hard copies of all the information and take it to the lawyer for his review,  or review it myself.  The choice is yours.  You don't need to pay a lawyer $300 / hr. to do that for you.  You can get the same information verbally, for free, but get the hard copies!!

I agree with Frank, $1200 is a bit much.  $500 plus disbursements is a good number for the average property.  It doesn't matter if it is a vacant lot for $4000, or your dream home for $400,000.  The searches need to be done.  You could be buying the hidden tire dump under the $4000 lot that will cost you $400,000 to clean up.

Banks will insist on a lawyer if you get a mortgage.  Title insurance is a good idea,  but again, it is up to you.

Like the saying goes,  "He who defends himself in court has a fool for a client".

[Ion]

The Law Society of Upper Canada sets up the lawyer’s fee. But that does not mean I am obligated to pay that price (min $300/hour).  Send them back to Law Society and Law Society should pay them $300/hour if they whish. Those lawyers are ripping off consumers.  I do not want to be rude but a lawyer is doing a secretary work, which is not worth $300 per day.

I know cases where real estate lawyers did capital mistakes and complicated the things. The irony is that they are not liable for their mistakes.   ..  Bloodsuckers …

Barristers and Public notary are also certified lawyers. Are the charges the same?  How about paralegal services?

[Ion]

I made the offer on March 7 and that offer was conditioned until Monday, March 12, 2007. I found totally unprofessional the real estate agent to take my contract copy with him. At my request he didn’t fax the copy of the contract. Also the real estate agent is the owner of the property. I started to be suspicious. I put a stop payment on bank for the cheque and I send him an email for cancellation of deal. Is that a good procedure?

[Frank]

Ion

Let's not get too down on the legal profession.  I have some in my family, and yes I have paid a lot more than the schedule for some representation, but it all depends on the situation and the level of representation you desire for that situation. 

Lawyers are human beings and need not be treated as you have indicated.

On you real estate deal, either you have mis-understood the situation, or you are dealing with an unscrupulous agent.  If the agent was the owner of the property, you should have had your own agent representing you.  Also, how could you have let him take your copy?

If you want to e-mail me more detail directly I wouldn't mind have a look at this - agents can be turfed from their profession for inappropriate dealings.

[Ion]

Hi Frank,

It was my first Real Estate deal and there were 11 pages. The documents were signed in my office and somehow from that package were missing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale - the most important part (four pages).  The agent was very kind by explaining all the details of the deal and answering to all my dumb questions. It was a big mistake from both parts because we didn’t check our packages. Next day the agent faxed all the papers, which arrived too late on my hand. 

Frank is right that lawyers are human beings and need not be treated nice  -  get well documented and know exactly what you ask for.