Don't Defer Your Real Estate Dream!
There is also the Canadian Real Estate Association to contend with, where you will have to pay dues annually at the local, province or national level. You will also be required to obtain a license to work as an independent contractor. There is no minimal start-up capital with real estate; you have to literally pay the price.
Referral Services. There are a number of referral services in Texas. The State Bar of Texas provides a list of referral services around the state. Referral services require lawyers to register and generally require lawyer members to carry malpractice insurance. In the Austin and central Texas area, contact the lawyer Referral Service of Central Texas. Referral services often also set a limit on the fee charged for an initial consultation. The Lawyer Referral Service of Central Texas requires its member lawyers to provide a 30 minute consultation for $20.
A few good questions to ask of your lawyer are: how many bankruptcy cases have they have tried? How long have they practiced specifically in the field of bankruptcy law? Ask them: how complicated is my case, and how do you plan to go about handling it? Beware of a lawyer who will just tell what you want to hear. If the lawyer doesn't talk about any of the difficulties of the process, they may just be looking to you to sign a contract with them.
Getting a new lawyer may not change the results. If something has come up in your case that you don't like, you may be hoping that a new attorney will be able to get you the results you want. Though you may not like what is happening, it may not be any fault of your bankruptcy attorney. For instance, if you are facing a dismissal because plan payments haven't been made, getting a new attorney won't get you off the dismissal docket. With that being said, there are behaviors that are under an attorney's control like not returning phone calls, not coming to important meetings, or making a mistake when filing your case for which an attorney can (and maybe should) be fired.
One of my mentors, Robert Kiyosaki, bestselling author Rich Dad, Poor Dad often says, "Think with your calculator, not your heart". This is important because once you understand the area you've chosen to invest in and know what property you are looking for, you need to follow through by looking closely at the numbers on your chosen property. The numbers are; the price you pay; the mortgage interest; rental income; maintenance cost; vacancy rate and every other factor you need to analyse the profitability of your investment. These numbers should all add up to...making you, money or else you wind up with financial problems.
There is a concept in the law that makes people responsible for the things people who are acting as their agents do. This is known as "respondeat superior." With a few exceptions, an employer is liable for the actions of an employee. That means a client is responsible for the actions of his or her lawyer. In general, this means that a debt collector is responsible for anything that its attorney does. Or to put it differently, you don't need to sue the lawyer to attack the debt collector.
When you call the lawyer's office, how are you treated? Is this staff rushed or do they treat you like a welcomed visitor? Are they helpful? Are they empathetic? The lawyer sets the tone for the office. How her staff treats you is a good indication of how the lawyer will treat you.
To get to real estate lawyer in your real estate career, you must continually educate yourself. Education enables you to find solutions to any challenges that may come up when you're doing deals. Education also helps to eliminate unnecessary risk. Unfortunately, many investors believe that their lack of knowledge prevents them from doing the tougher types of deals like commercial properties. That couldn't be farther from the truth. You must continually educate yourself. Read books. Attend seminars and don't hesitate to ask questions.
The perks of being a one-woman show are unending. For one, I make a lot more money than other real estate contract attorney agents because I don't have to pay for assistants and a bunch of assorted staff. Best of all, working on my own allows me to deal with people directly, which makes this business a lot easier and more efficient.
The next item that should be considered is the personal connection between you and the attorney. Dealing with an attorney is going to be stressful because of the nature of the relationship. Obviously, the event that has lead you to this point can be very nerve wracking. Therefore, it's very important that you find someone you can connect with. You need to be able to confide in them and not be afraid to ask questions. Without that personal connection, you will find yourself stumbling through this ordeal.