How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Lawyer to Come to Closing?

As you might imagine, costs vary depending upon location and the attorney. Many attorneys have a policy to charge hourly rates, regardless of the matter; other attorneys use flat fees. A Home Closing is the type of matter that we  believe can be set as a flat fee.

The actual price will depend upon your locality within Missouri and any anticipated difficulties that might occur at the closing. A safe range of prices, however, is somewhere between $250-$750. This price may or may not include the attorney’s travel fees to and from the closing.

Prior to hiring an attorney, a potential client should understand the terms, scope and cost of representation. The fee agreement (a contract between you and your attorney for the services rendered) should also be signed either before the closing or at the very least, at closing.

There are many reasons why having an attorney at the closing is very helpful. Specifically, Attorneys:

• Review the Title Commitment upon which the final Title Insurance Policy will be based, explaining what the Title Company will not cover in their Title Insurance Policy.
• Decipher the HUD-1 Closing Statement; get clarification from the Title Company and make corrections to any mistakes on the HUD-1.
• Ensure all Grantors are listed property on the granting deed. (Often the actual Grantors are not the party the buyer is dealing with – the Grantors could be a Trust, Executor of an Estate, Third-party investor, etc.)
• Determine whether updates need to be made to the lending documents. A lender will often ask the home purchaser (borrower) to re-sign the lending documents at closing. This packet of documents can be between 25-100 pages, depending on the lender. If any circumstances have changed since the borrower’s application, the borrower may be under some obligation to notify them of the changes that took place.

Having a Lawyer at your side during a home closing is a smart move to make. We attend numerous home closings on behalf of clients.

If you would like us to attend one for you, or wish to inquire about our residential home services, please contact us at 314.862.2237 or email us at mjacob@marcjacobesq.com