Lawyer and legal fees

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Frank_London

Frank_London

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How much is a fair price for a complete legal opinon on a real estate transaction in Brazil ? I have two quotations, one from a UK law firm and one from a Brazilian law firm. The price in the UK is astonishing expensive.
 
B

Brazilian Homes

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Legal fees

How much is a fair price for a complete legal opinon on a real estate transaction in Brazil ? I have two quotations, one from a UK law firm and one from a Brazilian law firm. The price in the UK is astonishing expensive.
Hi Frank,

Usually the bigger international legal firms tend to charge more, but if they are good they also do quite a bit of research. One reason some of them can look expensive is that since they don´t have any staff in Brazil themselves, they are forced to work through a legal firm in Brazil.....which means in practicality the client is charged almost double.....

Like any service you buy, price usually depends on the amount of work the service provider does for you. Some cheaper lawyers might only do the "compulsory checks" such as checking land ownership and building licenses. A good legal work though could go way deeper and check issues such as records of potential bankruptcy history of the the developer (in the name of another company),historic or pending legal cases etc. In all, the list of potential checks can vary enormously.

Our advice is for you to ask what the lawyer is quoting you for, i.e. a breakdown of the actual work they are actually doing for you. That way you have a better image why one company might seem more expensive.

It is pretty normal for legal firms to work around a set % percent fee, but if the purchase price is very low, they usually have set minimum fees. Legal fees of 1-1,5% is quite normal (of the purchase price),but can be lower or higher.

How much were you quoted ?

Best regards,
 
R

robh

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How much is a fair price for a complete legal opinon on a real estate transaction in Brazil ? I have two quotations, one from a UK law firm and one from a Brazilian law firm. The price in the UK is astonishing expensive.
Frank,

What sort of transaction is it first of all, resale, offplan, swap or something else?

Regards,
Rob.
 
Frank_London

Frank_London

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The property is a beach front apartment in Florianopolis, South Brazil and the price is around GBP 150,000. The first quotation (Brazilian lawyer) is GBP 500.00 plus GBP 100.00 disbursments and the second one (UK lawyer) is GBP 1,500 plus disbursements. I totally agree with you that the UK law firms will charge double and will use a law firm in Brazil to check the paperwork.
 
M

mitico67

New Member
... a law firm in Brazil also may charge more if they do not have a local office in the city where you're buying as they will have to appoint someonelse!
 
Frank_London

Frank_London

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Thanks for the inputs. I have double checked with the Brazilian lawyer and his legal fee covers the local search and paperwork.
 
L

laura.moreno

New Member
How much is a fair price for a complete legal opinon on a real estate transaction in Brazil ? I have two quotations, one from a UK law firm and one from a Brazilian law firm. The price in the UK is astonishing expensive.
Dear Frank,

We do have an office in Brazil. Please, if you are still interested contact me directly for a cuote and details of the services that we cover. This is my e-mail: laura . moreno @ martinezechevarria . com.

Good luck with your purchase and best regards,

Laura Moreno
 
D

DirkBrasil

New Member
Hi Frank,
I am Dutch, living in Brazil for more than 10 years, and my wife is a Brazilian lawyer active in the Real Estate field in Rio de Janeiro. Because of my knowledge of several languages, I am often requested to assist in translations with foreign purchasers.
In Brasil the 'paperwork' related to real estate can be very complex, with a lot of hidden dangers for the buyers, and in-depth investigations are always necessary. There are situations where superficial investigations show that legally the purchase can be executed, with all documents being in order, but within a short time after your happy purchase you may have your problem : Latest example: a German buyer went through the administrative process of his purchase. A beautiful property in Rio, value R$ 850.000,00 . The seller, a man of 83, diseases of Alzheimer and Parkinson, much younger wife with child of 15 years. The wife has full power of attorney to handle his business, including a medical declaration of the diseases of her husband. So far so good. But, according to brazilian Law, the son, reaching the age of 18, can fight the sale of the property executed by the mother, and Brazilian Law will support him, and the sale of the property can be cancelled. And there is nearly nothing the foreign buyer can do ...
This is just a recent example, where my wife advised the German not to buy this property due to the possible problems, and they found another one. Therefore, a good lawyer will always investigate the second level of securities for a buyer, and not just depend and or advise (!) on the documents. My wife works with fixed prices for such investigations, and charges R$ 1.500,00 , which includes the complete administrative assistance at purchase.
 
J

Jose C. Santiago. Esq.

New Member
Lawyers Legal Fees

Dear Forum Participants;

According to the National Association of Attorneys, known in Brazil by the abreviation of OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil),every single attorney must charge his or her fees according to a Mandatory Table, this table can be seen by everyone in their website and confirm whether the price is reasonable and obey the OAB Mandatory Fee Schedule.

For more information, please feel free to send an e-mail to [email protected]

Good luck!
 
B

brazilianlawyer

New Member
Dear Forum Participants;

According to the National Association of Attorneys, known in Brazil by the abreviation of OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil),every single attorney must charge his or her fees according to a Mandatory Table, this table can be seen by everyone in their website and confirm whether the price is reasonable and obey the OAB Mandatory Fee Schedule.
Dear Jose,

The OAB presents a Table with the Mandatory Minimun fees that may be charged for each service not a Maximum fee.

If any price charged by the lawyer is bellow the mandatory table, the lawyer can have problems with OAB.

However the lawyer is able to charge a fee over OAB table. Only new lawyers or lawyers with no more than 2 years of practice charge the Minimum Fee of OAB Table.

Reputable lawyers charge more than the minimum fee always.

Regards,

Diego Sales
Untitled Document
 
Frank_London

Frank_London

New Member
International lawyer calls it a day‏

July 2009

Former Homes Overseas legal columnist John Howell is to close his International Law Partnership firm following a collapse in income, according to Overseas Property Professional (OPP).

The UK-based law firm, which specialised in cross-border legal issues and international property, says that it will start to wind-up from 10 July 2009.

Howell told OPP that his company had written off in excess of £500,000 of anticipated income so far this year, while actual income had fallen by almost 75%. He also said that he had subsidised the firm with over £100,000 of his own money over the last year.

“Over the last few months our clients – and, in particular, our developer clients – have been going bust at a catastrophic rate and many of our other clients are unwilling or unable to pay their bills,” said Howell. “We have, therefore and with great regret, decided to close the business.”

source: International lawyer calls it a day
 
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