I am new to real estate investing and still searching for my first deal. I have started a direct mailing campaign as well as contacting brokers. So I have started the process of searching for deals. I am trying to put a team together and am hoping to find a lawyer that specializes in real estate investing in the Tampa, FL area. I believe this lawyer to be essential in getting the correct contracts drawn up. Also as I have found one deal that i would like to get tied up but in order for the seller , who is a whole seller not the owner, is requiring a LOI before sending the financials over on this 21 unit apt. He has provided mostly proforma info. I'm not sure if this is normal protocol or not, but I had not intended to send a LOI with an offer until i received the actual financials (rent roll, profit and loss statment, and trailing 12 mo financials). So I'm hoping to get some advice on this subject as well as a possible referral for a real estate investing lawyer in the Tampa, FL area.