{"id":387,"date":"2010-07-12T13:31:03","date_gmt":"2010-07-12T13:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=387"},"modified":"2010-07-12T13:31:03","modified_gmt":"2010-07-12T13:31:03","slug":"fixed-fee-billing-for-purchase-transactions-and-sale-transactions-i-have-found-this-the-only-way-to-provide-effective-representation-to-my-massachusetts-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=387","title":{"rendered":"Fixed fee Billing for Purchase Transactions and Sale Transactions–I have found this the only way to provide effective representation to my Massachusetts clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a Massachusetts real estate attorney with over 40years of experience <\/strong>in the field of titles and conveyancing. If I don’t know how to do a residential real estate transaction by now, it it pretty obvious that I will never know. I am not saying I know every nuance of every kind of a transaction: I am saying my years of experience\u00a0 have pretty much shown me what to expect in terms of time and expertise in any matter I am asked to get involved in.<\/p>\n

That being said, I now take the position, in all residential real estate transactions, of providing my client with the option of a fixed fee for representation<\/strong>. I take a look at the scope of the deal, determine what amount of time I reasonably would expect to spend on the matter, and tell the client what the fixed fee<\/strong> will be. I ask for one-half of the fee as a retainer; the remainder of the fee can be paid at the closing table, by the Buyer or the Seller<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Once the fixed fee is agreed upon, there\u00a0are no more discussions about billing. I keep my end of the bargain, in all instances. Sometimes (not often) I overestimate the time I need to spend on the matter, and the fixed fee presents a small windfall for me. It is more often the case, however, that I spend more time on the matter than anticipated. That has not proved to be a major matter of concern, and I\u00a0 never,ever to mention that fact to my client. From my point of view, it is business risk I have assumed, and it generally has nothing to do with the client.<\/p>\n

The results of this fixed fee approach<\/strong>have been gratifying. I have clients who communicate, who ask questions. They do not call all the time. A few are somewhat pesty. You have the same problems as realtors or mortgage originators. The best effect,for me, is that my clients are unafraid to contact me. They are not worried about that Boogeyman, the time meter<\/strong>. They know that they have an all-inclusive fee, and they have to right to understand what they are signing and committing to.<\/p>\n

I do fully 85% of my business through referrals. Satisfied clients\u00a0tell their friends and family that I was easy to work with. They will use me to prepare their estate plans, or set up an LLC or corporation for them. They have learned to trust me. I have become convinced that my fixed fee approach<\/strong> to residential transactions has been a great part of the reason i have been able to expand my practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a Massachusetts real estate attorney with over 40years of experience in the field of titles and conveyancing. If I don’t know how to do a residential real estate transaction by now, it it pretty obvious that I will never know. I am not saying I know every nuance of every kind of a … Continue reading Fixed fee Billing for Purchase Transactions and Sale Transactions–I have found this the only way to provide effective representation to my Massachusetts clients<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[171,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-customer-service","category-marketing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=138","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":0},"title":"Massachusetts Real Estate Transactions-A world of their own","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I am frequently asked by out of state realtors and mortgage professionals about deals \"going into escrow\" or the work of the \"title company.\" Very few out of Massachusetts people are aware of the idiosyncrasies of Massachusetts real estate practice, which include the following: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1. An Offer and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":308,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=308","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":1},"title":"Selecting a Real Estate Attorney—Some Advice from the Other Side","date":"July 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In my over forty years of practicing real estate law in Massachusetts, I have had clients in all sizes and shapes. Many of my clients have been satisfied with my services, others not so much. When I have dissected what went wrong with the clients who were less than enchanted,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"fees of real estate attorneys\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":369,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=369","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":2},"title":"Massachusetts Real Estate Investors–The LLC beats All the Others for Ease of Operations and Protection","date":"July 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"As a practicing real estate attorney with more than 40 years of experience in Massachusetts real estate transactions, I have pretty much seen all permutations and combinations of investment entities. When I first started practicing, limited partnerships were in vogue. That entity became further refined when people started creating corporations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"investment entities\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":171,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=171","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":3},"title":"Braintree, Massachusetts–A Great Place to Practice Real Estate Law","date":"June 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"While my principal office location is on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts, I spend a considerable amount of time in my Braintree, Massachusetts office (150 Grossman Drive, Suite 405, Braintree, Massachusetts: 781-849-5906; Facsimile 781-848-3656). Real estate attorneys are finding out every day that their physical location is critical to garnering\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"braintree\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":931,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=931","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":4},"title":"Fixed Fees for purchase and sale work\u2014an idea whose time has come","date":"March 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"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?","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":327,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=327","url_meta":{"origin":387,"position":5},"title":"The Offer To Purchase–Massachusetts (and perhaps other) Realtors Should Make Extra Effort on this Important Document","date":"July 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In Massachusetts, where I practice as a real estate attorney, there is a two step process for most real estate purchases. Usually without the assistance of counsel, the parties enter into an Offer to Purchase (the \"OTP\"). There are some contingencies in the OTP, which generally center around a \"satisfactory\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"offer provisions\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=387"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":832,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387\/revisions\/832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}