Wholesaler · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2016 · 247 posts · 76 votes
Hey everyone. #askbp
Another newbie question for you all.
I don't know when the best time to approach an attorney is.
I would guess that it would be safest to get legal advice early on, even before trying to tackle a deal so that I don't end up in trouble doing something stupid.
Then again, I have no money to pay a lawyer let alone finance a deal, but I don't want to wait until after I have a deal because it could be too late and my contract is all messed up.
Is this where I get a realtor to do these things?
What's your approach, especially when starting out? When you are new and not sure but have a deal, what team member is most important to have early on? A Broker, a Realtor, an Attorney, or even an Accountant?
Real Estate Agent · Geneva, IL · Member since 2015 · 403 posts · 172 votes
10y
@Benjamin Barredo you don't say, or I missed it, but are you a wholesaler? If you are, the contract must include several items or you can get yourself in lots of trouble financially. Do you have a mentor? If so, your mentor should be able to help you out with these questions. If you are going through a Realtor then they will use standard contracts approved by their Board and here in Illinois once the contract it written it is contingent upon attorney review (5 days). You need to know the rules for your state. Good Luck!
Real Estate Agent · Geneva, IL · Member since 2015 · 403 posts · 172 votes
10y
@Benjamin Barredo you don't say, or I missed it, but are you a wholesaler? If you are, the contract must include several items or you can get yourself in lots of trouble financially. Do you have a mentor? If so, your mentor should be able to help you out with these questions. If you are going through a Realtor then they will use standard contracts approved by their Board and here in Illinois once the contract it written it is contingent upon attorney review (5 days). You need to know the rules for your state. Good Luck!
Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 135 posts · 40 votes
10y
Ask a local realtor if they have a standard contract for the area then use that. It's the best way to ensure you don't get in trouble becaus it has already been reviewed by lawyers and approved. That's what us realtors use for the same reasons, we aren't legal experts.
Wholesaler · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2016 · 247 posts · 76 votes
10y
@Patrice Boenzi That's great advice. What does a standard contract cover? Does it cover "creative" approaches to gaining deals? For example a wholesale deal of a "subject to" or something like that?
Healthcare · Decatur, GA · Member since 2014 · 31 posts · 11 votes
10y
Not sure if this helps but I was at a local REIA last night. They talked about general REI and also wholesaling.
They advocate a team approach. It sounds like if you join that REIA, you can bring deals to them and different members with different skills can fill in your gaps of knowledge.
Perhaps your area offers something like that?
Real Estate Agent · Geneva, IL · Member since 2015 · 403 posts · 172 votes
10y
@Benjamin Barredo unfortunately I don't! However, I would start with my agent and ask if the have an attorney contact. I would see if I could get a free consultation with them
Attorney · Skokie, IL · Member since 2016 · 270 posts · 109 votes
10y
Tyion Bridgeman and Patrice B. Had some great suggestions and I second those. A mentor will be able to help you avoid some of the pitfalls that you may otherwise fall into. I agree with Tyion Bridgeman that you should use A pre-printed contract rather than reinvent the wheel. In Illinois there are contracts that are made by realtor associations that are used on a regular basis. We refer to these as the multi board residential real estate contract 6.1. However this is specific to Illinois and may not apply to your specific situation.
As far as attorneys goes they're not as expensive as you would imagine. For instance my firm currently offers a promotion where we charge $250 to represent a seller per residential transaction and $500 to represent a buyer in a residential transaction. My firm only bills when the transaction closes, so if the transaction doesn't close there is no charge. Although i can't offer you legal advise, I don't charge to review contracts with potential buyers and sellers and work in conjunction with the clients realtor.