Sellers attorney /negotiator asking large fee
We are buyer and received the number from our lender but the sellers attorney is asking for about 9% in fee in addition to lenders amount. Is this normal? My understanding was that lender amount will include all of these cose
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Bryant Tutas on
-
If it's the sellers attorney then the seller should pay for the services.
-
Permalink Reply by Thom Colby CA Brkr 888-391-5245 on
-
Bryant is correct - if the seller engaged the attorney - the seller needs to pay their fee. Tell the attorney to go back to their client.
Best of luck,
-
Permalink Reply by Dennis Smith on
-
Jamesw,
If it is not in the contract and agreed to by all parties, It should fall on the person who hired the verdor - what ever their trade.
-
Permalink Reply by David Tang on
-
I don't know what the laws are in each state, but in California it is okay for the buyer to pay Negotiation fees (or whatever you want to call it) to people hired by the seller / listing agent. Generally, this would have had to come up at the beginning of the transaction - not something that gets thrown on at the end.
9% seems quite high (unless it was agreed upon and the value is still there). I typically see 1% or less - occaisionally have seen as high as 3% (again, agreed to upfront as to who would pay). Of course it has to be disclosed on the HUD-1.
Assuming this fee was disclosed up front, whether it is 1, 2, 3 or 9%, the decision the buyer has to make is whether the total price (including Negotiaion Fee) is worthwhile. If the fee was NOT disclosed up front and the seller's attorney is adamant about getting paid by buyer, I would complain to the appropriate jurisdictions for your state.
-
Permalink Reply by Smitty on
-
I don't think the fee was disclosed and that's likely what the issue is. IMO if it wasn't disclosed before the signing of the P&S then they can tell this lawyer to pound sand.
-
Permalink Reply by Jeff Payne on
-
I agree with Smitty. Smitty, how do you ensure that you get paid on a short sale that you negotiated? What would stop the seller in this case from moving forward with the approval letter without the attorney? Unless the attorney can quickly place a lien on the property, seems like they can get this one closed without paying the 9% to the attorney and the seller can deal with it later. Thoughts?
-
-
Jeff, my contract is with the buyer and seller UP FRONT and disclosed ON THE MLS for the world to see and that's how I ensure I get paid. I wouldn't negotiate a short sale if someone came to me AFTER the P&S was signed if there was no disclosure. LOL..I don't think that's appropriate at all.
I encourage the seller to speak with an attorney at the beginning of the process, however in this case, I would imagine the seller and attorney need to work out what their agreement is at this point. IS there an agreement? I mean if there is none, I don't see why the seller couldn't move forward, but if there IS an agreement, then the seller needs to address the lawyer's fee. I also would make the case if this lawyer is holding up the sale of the property because of the fee, they are not acting in their client's best interest.
I think the lawyer COULD put a lien on the property fairly quickly, but then the fee will likely have to be deducted from the proceeds or put on the buyer anyways. It's a crappy situation either way.
-
-
Thanks for the reply. I understand that you have a contract with buyer or seller. My question is this. What ensures that you get paid AFTER the listing agent, closing company, seller etc get their hands on the approval letter? I hope it would not happen but what would stop them from closing and cutting you out and not telling you. The bank is not concerned about your agreement in reality and they would have no problem closing the deal. It is a crappy situation either way. Without a lien they could easily close it and then you would have to handle it with the person you contracted with.
-
-
Oh, easy. My fee is on the HUD1 and *I* submit the HUD1 - My fee is also right in the purchase contract. The title attorney pays me at closing via wire in most cases. I work with all closing attorneys and title companies and when they finalize the HUD1's those are sent to ME to send to the closing officer, so of course I verify accuracy ;) - I suppose if a closing or title company "skipped me" and went direct to the lender or cut me out, all I have to do is show them the purchase contract AND negotiation contract. It's never happened but I guess it could right?
-
-
I hope it never happens but desparate times can lead to desparate measures. as you can see from other posts, I have some free time today :)
My What if scenario is this.... Seller has approval letter in hand and their attorney is saying they owe him 9%. Sellers agent and buyers agent take the approval letter to another closer who omits the attorney from the HUD-1 and close the deal. I know the attorney would have legal recourse but what would stop this from happening in the first place? Are you a party to the sales contract?
Interesting to say the least.
-
-
Jeff, seems far fetched but I suppose anything is possible. I am NOT a party to the sales contract, but just like a buyer paying smoke certificates, wellfare liens, occupancy permits, septic inspections and any other things that are USUALLY the responsibility of the seller, the BUYER then is responsible for and we write all of that into the contract. The buyer knows WELL up front what they are responsible for paying unless we missed a lien somewhere (that's the title companies job) - so in addition to stating the buyer is responsible for let's say a smoke certificate to close they are also responsible to pay a 3rd party negotiator.
To answer your question I GUESS the lawyer would have recourse if the parties took the contract somewhere else to close, but I'm not an attorney and my thought is if the seller did that, they were VERY unhappy with the attorney to begin with.
-
Permalink Reply by Joseph Alfe on
-
Jeff, the way I do it is make the buyer sign my fee agreement at the time of the offer. It is now a binding contract that is signed off by buyer's attorney during attorney review. I had only one try to weasel out, and the title company made them include it on the HUD and pay it when I showed them the signed agreement.
Because of the service we provide and the deals we get buyers, 99% of buyers are happy to pay!
© 2024 Created by Short Sale Superstars LLC.
Powered by
**********************************
like buttons