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How Much Does a Real Estate Attorney Cost?

Updated on 05/11/2023 / Under

When you are buying or selling a house, there are several things that you need to consider. At times, it can be hard to keep track of everything and to make sure that the process goes smoothly. After all, you are probably making the most significant investment of your life up until now, and doing so without being sure that it is not a scam is not a risk that you need to take but rather a stupidity that you need to avoid.

How can you do that? The simple answer is by hiring a real estate attorney!

Real Estate Attorney and Closing Costs

When we said that there could be complications in the overall process, one of the things that we were hinting towards is undoubtedly the closing costs. Now, it doesn’t matter if you are doing this for the first time or if making investments is a regular part of your life while buying a property, you need to be very clear about the total costs that you would have to pay apart from the actual price of the house.

These other house expenses are generally regarded as the closing costs, and if you are wondering, let us confirm that yes, the real estate attorney cost is also included in this.

Apart from the lawyer’s fee, other things that may come under this category can be regarded as title search and title insurance, taxes, lender costs, any additional expense such as house insurance, and so on. However, it depends on the firm or lawyer that you have hired as to what the final cost would be.

Real Estate Lawyer Fee in Illinois

After having a brief idea as to what closing cost is, we can now directly talk about the lawyer fee in particular. Before giving you an estimate, it is crucial to know that there is no fixed price that you can expect from an attorney because of the fact that the cost keeps changing for every case as there can be complications that may not seem to be apparent but are necessary to be dealt with.

Real Estate Lawyer Cost

However, suppose we keep the complications aside for a while. In that case, we can agree on the fact that for those lawyers who charge a fixed fee for standard cases, it can be anything between $500-$1500 for a standard one family single residential closing deal.

Although, there might be a possibility that your attorney charges an hourly fee instead of a fixed rate. Even with fixed rates, the price changes as per the situation, and so we would recommend that before finalizing anything, you should be very clear on the final cost that you would have to pay, depending on your case.

What if the Deal is Not Closed?

To determine the real estate lawyer fee in Illinois when a deal falls through, one can say that it will depend on how much work the attorney has done to make the process easier and beneficial for you.

You cannot expect the lawyer to not charge anything at all just because the deal was not closed. This is the case because there is a difference between having a realtor and an attorney working for you.

A realtor’s primary goal is to close a deal so that they can get their job done and earn what is rightfully theirs. However, for an attorney, the major task is to make sure a deal is signed only when it is in line with the best of interest for their client. Usually, the priority is to make sure that the documentation is as such that there is no chance of deal not being closed or to guide you beforehand.

This situation may occur if a client has asked for guidance for an attorney after already signing the documents or being halfway into the deal, which is very rare, so you probably do not have to worry about it. Also, for the times when this does happen, the attorney fee is surely less than what it would have been if the deal were closed.

Related: Chicago short sale lawyers

Is it Required to Hire a Lawyer?

It depends on your state, whether it is necessary to hire a lawyer or not. For Illinois, having a real estate attorney on the closing is not required, but it is strongly recommended to have one by your side. There are many reasons why having an attorney by your side will not only prove to be beneficial for that time but in the future too. We will be discussing these in detail in a bit, but before that, let us take a look at who needs a lawyer.

Do You Need a Lawyer?

Hiring a lawyer for your real estate deal is an added cost that anyone would want to cut off on. However, keep in mind that a lawyer not only gives you peace of mind but also saves several costs that you might have to pay for later if you do not opt for this. To answer the question at hand, we would suggest that whether you are a seller or a buyer, or even a lender, it is always better to have an attorney by your side.

In some cases, you can also hire the same attorney together who can work for both parties. However, mostly, we would recommend that you have an attorney of your own who can keep a tab of everything you need to do to make this deal a success and not lose everything you have ever earned!

What does an Attorney do for You?

When we say that hiring an attorney and having this additional cost will save you, we mean it. Hence, we have made a list of things that come in the package when you hire an attorney. Remember, you are not just paying the lawyer fee; you are paying an amount that will cut down most of your expenses and help you in making an informed decision.

Documentation

We all are well aware that signing property papers is not like signing a report card of your 1st grader. Real estate can get tricky, and several clauses are included in the contract that both buyer and seller should be well aware of. Having a lawyer means that you will be able to understand everything well before signing the contract.

Moreover, an attorney can also handle all the other documentation that is required at the time of closing, as they will be representing you for that particular deal if you want it that way. Hence, taking us to our next point, which is the maximum chance of having a deal closed.

Stopping a Deal from Falling Through

The reason why we mentioned earlier that a lawyer would mostly make sure that the deal is closed is that if you have hired an attorney from the very beginning, they will make sure that the deal is legitimate.

They will also make sure that needed conditions are added in the clause, which is also legally correct. This means that there can be legal consequences if the other party backs out at the last moment, leaving you in an unwanted situation. Hence, by having the law at your side, you will probably be able to deal with this issue quite easily.

Title Search and Title Insurance

These are just two of the many tasks that an attorney can take care of if you want them to do so. Yes, there may be an added fee, or it might already be covered in the real estate attorney cost. Whatever the case is, it is not more about the amount but rather about the comfort that you get out of it just by hiring an attorney for your property deal.

Avoiding Future Problems

As stated earlier, a lawyer’s task is not to just make sure that the deal gets closed but also to do it in a way that saves you from any further issues for which you might require an attorney again. While we believe in providing services whenever needed, we also prioritize our client’s comfort, which automatically results in lesser legal issues after the deal is closed so that you can be at ease.

Final take on Real Estate Lawyer Fee in Illinois

While we did gave you an estimate as to what you can expect in terms of lawyer fee at the very beginning, we would still like to take this moment to emphasize the point that it can be different for everyone. Hence, before finalizing any deal, it is significant to consult with an experienced real estate lawyer who can guide you about all the expenses that you may have to bear when you buy or sell a property.

How Hiring Ktenas Law Will Help?

We at Ktenas Law not only believe in providing maximum comfort but also doing so at reasonable costs. We understand that buying a dream house can get stressful, and all we want to do is lessen that stress by taking some of your responsibility and giving you the best experience with legal guidance so that there are no issues later on.

If you are thinking of buying or selling personal or commercial property, feel free to contact us, and we would be happy to help.

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