Is it necessary to Verify contracts with Attorney first?

Question

ok, I need to know is this a must to go to an attorney office and have them look at your contracts in order to start wholesaling? I have an assigmnent contract, and purchase contract, and they are what other wholesalers are using online, so I saved them.  But is it an absolute MUST to go to an attorney to verify them first? I called some and they are all booked for the next 3-4 weeks, I dont really want to wait around for that long just for them to look for 1-2 minutes. One lady even told me 200$ for a visit! That's crazy....  What are some other alternatives? I suppose I can ask other wholesaler if they can let me use the contracts they use?.. I don't know.. Help?

J Scott · Answer

Matt -

You asked for advice, you got it, and now you're arguing that you know more than those whose advice you solicited in the first place.

The value of a longer contract is that it has more provisions to clarify the rights and responsibilities of all the parties involved.  This, in turn, offers more protection of everyone's interests in the case something unexpected arises.

As you can imagine, there are dozens (hundreds?) of situations that can arise during the purchase/sale of real estate, and any situations that are not directly addressed in the contract are going to be open to interpretation by the parties involved.

If one party then takes action that the other party believes in in violation of the contract, a lawsuit is more likely to occur.  And, when two people go in front of a judge, with one being a real estate investor who provided the contract and the other being a simple homeowner who had never seen the contract before, who do you think the judge is going to give the benefit of the doubt to?

Not you.

You are correct that when a real estate transactions goes smoothly from beginning to end, a one-page contract suffices just fine (in fact, you could probably use a 1/3 page contract).  The value of the longer contract is when things DON'T goes as planned, which happens more often than you probably realize.

Alex Hart · Answer

Is this something you're willing to risk?

Maybe your contracts are ok but why not just spend the loot so you can sleep better at night. You can find a RE/Contract Attorney on Elance.com quick for less than $200 bucks. Just create an ad on there about what you need done and let them bid on it. Don't pay untill you're satisfied. I've had nothing but great experiances working with professionals on Elance. Check it out.

Matthew J. T. · Answer

Hey all, I appreciate the answers, I checked around, and found an attorney appoint for this Wednesday, for not a lot of money, better safe than sorry, Thanks guys.

Sean D. · Answer

Matt, I've used the USLegal forms in several transactions, and tweaked them a bit, but the sellers had no problem with the length of the forms. You can use a one page contract. Some "gurus" even teach that 1-page method, but the longer contracts are out there and available for a reason, and like Ann said, "there's not a problem until there is a problem."

Ann Bellamy · Answer

Matt, you don't get sued for not using a state contract.  You get sued for doing something, or not doing something.  The contract supposedly spells out what both parties are going to do.  If the contract spells out something that violates a law, and something goes wrong, you are then in the soup.

And there is never a problem until there is a problem.  You can do lots of deals and not run into an issue, even if your contract violates all kinds of local laws.  But the minute there is a issue, and the other party engages an attorney, that is when the issues arise if you have violated the law, or if your other party decides they weren't treated properly.

One bad deal can wipe out the profit from dozens of others.  Or your life savings.  Spend the money, have your contracts reviewed.

But it sounds like you have convinced yourself that it's not necessary.  Remember, there's not a problem until there is a problem.

Matthew J. T. · Answer

I don't get whose going to be sueing who for using a contract? And are there any stories of people getting sued for not having the exact contract that complies with your state laws? I would like to see.  The fact is, a contract asks for simple things it complies with, and most of them look EXACTLY the same in other parts of the nation why is that? They are short on point, they all ask the same general questions, and all the different 1 page purchase all have the same formula.

I don't see any wholesalers using any "unique" contract that goes by the state or realtor ever.  The fact is, I have to wait 4-5 weeks to see an attorney for about 350$, I don't got that kind of time here, I got motivated sellers already wanting to get deals done, what am I supposed to say? I would like to get the ball rolling ASAP! Even if it is just one deal, I mean from a scale 1-10 how riskie is it just doing it for even a couple of deals to start??  I found another wholesaler who does deals around where I live, and she said she never verified them, but she says she's done some deals already no problem, so I don't see why not?.

This guy talks about it here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKvakfLHorU&feature=channel_video_title

Account Closed · Answer

Your one page contract may workout for you nearly all the time.  It only takes one bad experience though to wipe out many good jobs.  Your call what you want to use.  Personally I have found that it is quite important to have a good contract. Were talking about large sums of money and large potential liabilities.

Matthew J. T. · Answer

Those contracts on uslegalforms.com are 8 pages long, seriously.  I don't believe wholesalers use all that mumbo jumbo.  I have a one page contract that is on point, that I got online from a wholesaling coach.  As long as it asks the same particular questions, I don't see a problem?  I have never heard of anybody getting sued from the contract being not according to the state?  I googled around, and no answers on the risks if you don't use the states actual contract.  I looked at contracts you can purchase, but they are 8 pages long.. Ha.. good luck explaining that to your seller. I don't understand why a simple contract that is on point, should be looked at by an attorney first, if it's the same contract, I've seen other wholesalers use from around the country?

Sean D. · Answer

You can try http://www.uslegalforms.com/realestate/. They have nationwide contracts that conform to state laws.

Matthew J. T. · Answer

Thanks guys, appreciate your input.

Is it necessary to Verify contracts with Attorney first?

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