Monthly Archives: March 2014

Fixed Fees for purchase and sale work—an idea whose time has come

Condominium, Home Ownership, Mortgages, real estate law

When I first started practicing law, it was accepted practice to bill matters by the hour. After all, the only thing I was selling was my time, and if I spent more time on a matter than I expected, why shouldn’t the client compensate me for that effort? While these axioms remain true, the marketplace has changed, and consumers are now aware that “shopping” for an attorney is no different than shopping for any other service or commodity. Because of these trends, and because I want everyone I represent to believe they have been well served and fairly charged for services, my firm now uses a “fixed fee” approach to almost all real estate transactions. My practice is to enter into an initial discussion with the client to determine the level of complexity of the transaction, and then to agree upon a fee, which will not change even if the transaction goes viral, and I spend more time on the matter than anticipated.

Accordingly, if you work with Topkins & Bevans for the purchase or sale of your home, you will know, up front, what the matter will cost you, and you can factor that expense into your budgeting process.

There are several inherent advantages to this approach:

  1. You and our firm establish a relationship of TRUST, our most important product.

If you believe that you are working with honorable professionals, you will feel comfortable telling your friends and family about us, and that helps Topkins & Bevans to expand our client base. You may also feel comfortable using our firm for other legal matters which may arise, including helping you develop an Estate Plan for your family.

  1. You are not hesitant to email or call when you have a question.

Many people worry about calling when the meter is “on”. They have concerns, but they do not want to expand the amount of their legal fee. Fixed fee billing eliminates that factor from the equation. When the pressure is off, people communicate better. On the other hand, the situations are few and far between where a client takes unfair advantage of the fixed fee approach.

  1. We get all the information from you that we need to give you appropriate representation.

Our firm has real estate experience at almost every level. We have completed condominium conversions. We have prepared subdivisions. We are familiar with current lending practices. None of this expertise will help you unless we know all the facts of your situation. When you are not worried about the added cost, you can open up and give us good information. That usually translates to our being able to give you effective representation.

If you are considering buying or selling a home, we would love to hear from you. We will work with you on a fixed fee basis and even defer payment of some, or all, of your fee until the closing. There is nothing better in our line of work than a satisfied client, and that is what we aim for, each and every time.

The Ins and Out of Easements—A Primer for the Non-Lawyer.

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Like everyone else’s business, my business as a Massachusetts real estate lawyer runs in spurts. Lately, I have been involved in three situations concerning Easements. In one situation, a client of mine is buying a guest house while the Seller is retaining the major home. All the systems, however, run through the major home. To make things more complicated, some of the utility lines actually leave the street and pass over the land my client is purchasing. A reciprocal Easement is needed to protect both sides in terms of repair and access. With the assistance of an excellent surveyor, who drew up recordable plans which I can use, I should be able to articulate the rights of the parties in a manner that does not give rise to disputes somewhere down the road.

The other Easements were retained restrictions imposed a relatively long time ago by a land owner who wanted to protect the environment. Since these Easements were put in place, the Towns where the property is located have become much more vigilant in enforcing local and state conservation laws and codes. The people who put on the restrictions originally now are willing to remove some of the more onerous restrictions, since times have changed and there has been other development in the neighborhood. We are very close to reaching agreement, which enhance the value of both the retained and purchased land, and still provide requisite environment protections.

Because they represent encumbrances of the title, all Easements start with an accurate title report. Until we know who the current lien holders on the property are, we cannot complete the Easement work. In the case of the major home-guest house, the owner of the major home has a mortgage on his property. A Subordination of this mortgage to the Easement must be obtained before the Easement can be fully in effect. This takes some time, so we will hold back some funds from the Seller until the Seller delivers the Subordination. One never knows how long obtaining the Subordination will take. I am going to request that 1.5% of the purchase price be held back. That should “encourage” the Seller to act quickly.

In the restrictive Easements situations, my goal is to either eliminate, or weaken, the effect of the restrictions. That will take some negotiating and compromise, but restrictions like these, while laudable, can really make the value of property diminish.

The last issue is whether a full certified Plan is necessary for an Easement. I have prepared Easements where a sketch of the property lines and rights of way is adequate. Naturally, I would prefer a Plan prepared by a Surveyor, in recordable form. Most of these considerations are financial, but unless there is precision in Easement drafting, which includes accurate depiction of the property in question, the money saved in the present tense may be spent many times over in the future.