Questions to Ask a Real Estate Lawyer
Questions for a first meeting with a real estate lawyer, whether you are buying, selling, or dealing with a title or boundary problem. They cover scope and fees, title work, contract terms, escrow handling, and what happens if the closing slips.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Do you handle transactions like mine, and roughly how many a year?
Why ask it
A residential closing, a commercial lease, and a boundary dispute are different practices. A lawyer who does two closings a year in your county will be slower on local title and recording quirks than one who does two a week.
Will you do the work yourself, or will a paralegal handle most of it?
Why ask it
Much of a routine closing is paralegal work, which is normal and cheaper, but you want to know who reads the title commitment and who answers on a Friday afternoon. Vagueness here often means you will not speak to the lawyer again after today.
What do you charge, is it a flat fee or hourly, and what falls outside it?
Why ask it
Ask what triggers extra billing: a second addendum, a survey dispute, a delayed closing, a rush recording. The list of exclusions matters more than the headline number.
Which costs are passed through to me, and can you estimate them today?
Why ask it
Title search and premium, survey, recording fees, courier and wire charges surprise buyers at settlement. A lawyer who can give a range on the spot has closed recently in your area.
What is the timeline from contract to closing here, and where does it usually slip?
Why ask it
Local answers name local causes: municipal certificates, condominium estoppels, lender underwriting, a recorder backlog. A generic thirty to forty five days suggests they have not thought about your jurisdiction.
What will the title search cover, and which problems do you find most often around here?
Why ask it
Useful answers sound like unreleased mortgages, old easements, missing heirs, or contractor liens from a recent renovation. That list is your actual risk, rather than what a policy brochure describes.
If the search turns up a defect, what happens next and who pays to clear it?
Why ask it
Curing a defect can mean chasing a signature from a stranger or filing a quiet title action that takes months. Find out now whether your contract puts that cost and delay on the seller.
What does the title policy you recommend exclude?
Why ask it
The exceptions schedule is the part that matters and the part most buyers never read. A lawyer who walks you through it is doing the work; one who calls the policy full coverage is not.
Which parts of this contract would you change before I sign?
Why ask it
This asks for a position rather than a summary. Listen for concrete edits to inspection periods, financing contingencies, and remedies, because a lawyer who says the standard form is fine may not have read it against your situation.
What happens to my deposit if I walk away, and under which conditions?
Why ask it
Deposit forfeiture is the most common way buyers lose real money. The answer should cite the specific contingencies in your contract and the dates they expire, not general principles.
Have you looked at the survey and the zoning, and are there use restrictions I should know about?
Why ask it
Fences over lines, unpermitted additions, setback violations, and short-term rental bans surface here. If you intend to rent, build, or run a business from the property, say so before this answer.
Are there association or condominium documents to review, and what would concern you in them?
Why ask it
Reserve levels, pending litigation, and planned assessments can cost far more than the closing does. Asking what would concern them shows whether they read these packets or only confirm receipt.
What do you need from my lender, and when will we have final closing figures?
Why ask it
Late disclosures are a routine cause of delay. A lawyer who names the day to expect numbers, and who chases the lender for them, is managing the file rather than reacting to it.
Who holds the escrow money, and how are wire instructions verified?
Why ask it
You want to hear about a separate trust account and a verification step by phone. Closing wire fraud almost always arrives as an emailed change to account details, so ask what would stop it here.
How will you keep me updated, and how quickly do you return calls?
Why ask it
Ask for a pattern: a weekly status note, a same-day callback window, who covers when they are in court. In a transaction full of deadlines, communication failures cause most of the damage.
What could still go wrong before closing, and what would we do about it?
Why ask it
A useful answer names two or three specific scenarios, such as a short appraisal, repairs not done, or a lien found late. It also shows whether they plan ahead or improvise.
If closing has to be delayed, how do we extend without losing the contract?
Why ask it
Extensions need written amendments and sometimes daily costs. Knowing the mechanics in advance keeps a two-day lender delay from turning into a default.
If a dispute arises after closing, would you handle it, and how would the cost differ?
Why ask it
Many closing attorneys do not litigate. Learning that now, rather than during a boundary fight, tells you whether you would be starting over with new counsel and new fees.
Do you represent anyone else in this transaction, or have a relationship with the agent, lender, or title company?
Why ask it
Dual representation and referral arrangements are permitted in some places and restricted in others. You are asking whose interests they are obliged to protect if the deal turns adversarial.
Are you licensed in this state, and has your license ever been subject to discipline?
Why ask it
It is an uncomfortable question with a short answer, and public bar records will confirm it either way. Discomfort at being asked something verifiable is itself informative.
Working with a Real Estate Lawyer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the first meeting
Bring the contract and the dates
Take the signed or draft purchase agreement, the inspection and financing deadlines, the lender contact, and the listing sheet. Advice on a transaction is only as good as the dates it is built around.
Check the license yourself
State bar sites list admission status and public discipline for free, and it takes a few minutes. Doing it beforehand leaves the meeting for the transaction itself.
Decide what you want the property to do
Renting a room, adding a garage, running a business, or subdividing later all change which clauses and restrictions matter. Say it at the first meeting rather than after closing.
Ask for an engagement letter
It should state the scope, the fee basis, and what is excluded. A lawyer who resists putting scope in writing is telling you how later disagreements about billing will go.
Costs to pin down in writing
- Whether the fee is flat or hourly, and the hourly rate of everyone who may touch the file
- What counts as extra work: further addenda, a delayed closing, a title defect, a rush recording
- Pass-through costs: title search and premium, survey, recording fees, courier and wire fees
- Who pays which item under your contract and local custom, since custom varies by county
- Whether the initial consultation is billed, and whether it is credited if you hire them
Signals worth noticing
- They ask what you plan to do with the property before giving any advice.
- They name local specifics: your recorder's office, municipal certificate requirements, a lender they have closed with.
- They separate legal questions from business decisions instead of answering both the same way.
- They are willing to say a term is bad, not only to explain what it means.
- They tell you when something is cheap to fix now and expensive to fix after closing.
Common mistakes
Hiring after signing
Most contracts bind you from signature, and any review window is short. A lawyer can do far more for you before you sign than after.
Comparing quotes instead of scopes
A low flat fee with a long exclusion list often costs more than a higher one that covers the whole closing. Put the written scopes side by side.
Treating title insurance as total protection
The policy carries an exceptions schedule, and survey matters are often excluded unless you request that coverage. Read the exceptions while they can still be negotiated.
Accepting changed wire instructions by email
Fraudulent instruction changes are a known problem in closings. Confirm account details by phone using a number you looked up yourself, never one supplied in the message.