I’d have to agree with that logic as attorneys are of very limited use in RE transactions. I was recently referred a RE transaction where the buyer found the property and I handled the negotiations and escrow for the buyer at a very reduced rate. It was a fairly high priced property and had they gone directly to the listing agent they would not have been able to bend the listing agent and sellers over a barrel like I did. Based upon the utterances of pain I’ve heard from both listing agent and seller, I negotiated a price between $75,000 to $100,000 below what would have been possible directly from the listing agent. The buyer was certainly able to and might even have been willing to pay a higher price but I saw no reason for them to do so.
I also uncovered inflated escrow charges that a layperson would have no way of knowing were unreasonable (saving buyer about $3,000). Best of all, I got to pull my signature move (grabbing a couple thousand dollar credit for no reason from a seller the day before contingency removal). By my rough estimation, I saved my client about 5 times what I got paid.
You know what they say about an attorney who represents himself in court? He has a fool for a client.
