Real estate lawyer · Tulsa
Loretta Kittredge reads the contract, checks the title and sits beside you when you sign. What the fee leaves out: title insurance, recording fees and whatever your lender charges.
Plain
Every fee in writing before you hire meCalm
Ask the same question twice; it's still includedSteady
The lawyer you meet is the one at your closing
Packages
Each package is one flat fee for my work, quoted in your engagement letter. The lines without a tick are costs other people charge; you'll see them on your closing statement, not my bill.
From the signed contract to the keys, for one house and one closing.
The premium and fees go to the title company, county and lender.
For an owner selling one house, with or without an agent.
Payoffs and taxes come out of your proceeds at closing.
A lease written for one rental house or duplex, and the papers that go with it.
If a tenant has to go, you get a separate flat quote first.
Title, survey, lender and county charges are set by them, not by this office.
Who calls
Most of the work is one of three things. Each has its own page with what I check and when.
Contract, title, survey and the closing statement, read by a lawyer before you sign anything you can't take back.
Buying a homeA deed drafted for your sale, old liens found early, and payoffs that match what the lender says you owe.
Selling a homeA lease that fits your house, your deposit and your rules, plus the notices you'll need if rent runs late.
Renting out a homeFlat fee or hourly
Hourly billing isn't wrong, but on a home closing it leaves you guessing. Here's the difference on the parts people ask about.
| Billed by the hour | A flat fee here | |
|---|---|---|
| When you learn the cost | Billed by the hourWhen the invoice comes | A flat fee hereBefore you hire me, in writing |
| Phone calls and emails | Billed by the hourCounted in tenths of an hour | A flat fee herePart of the fee, however many |
| A closing date that slips | Billed by the hourMore hours | A flat fee hereSame fee |
| A title problem turns up | Billed by the hourAdded to the running total | A flat fee hereIts own quote before any work |
Before you call
You don't have to have one. An agent finds the house and negotiates the price; a lawyer reads the contract and title for the legal problems, and works only for you. Plenty of people hire both.
Before you sign the purchase or sale contract, if you can. If you've already signed, call anyway: there's usually still time to read the title and the closing papers.
I'll explain what it is, what it would take to clear, and give you a separate flat quote for that work before I do any of it. You can say no.
Half when you sign the engagement letter, half at closing. If the sale falls through before closing, you owe only the first half.
The address, the closing date if you have one, and whether you're buying, selling or renting it out. I'll reply with the package that fits and its price.