At the closing for the sell of my coop, my lawyer asked me to pay a bill that was 50% more than our agreed amount. This was for the work she did on an earlier contract for a buyer that ultimately failed to pass the board. Is this level of charge a fair amount? The contract was rather boiler plate, and was very similar to the the second contract that sold the apt.

seems fair as she had to work with two buyers and negotiate two contracts. Since contracts are similar, 50% discount. What it she had asked you for her fee once the first buyer did not pass?

Also, since the personal real estate contracts are so boiler plate, that is why the cost is only 2-3K. For a complex commercial agreement, you would pay at least $500 an hour.

What was the time frame between the failed closing and you getting a new buyer. During that time frame why didn't your lawyer send you the bill? Could it be that since you had your checkbook out at closing it wouldn't hurt to ask you for more by bringing that up now. Will you do business with this lawyer again?

Seems more or less fair. You could ask her to itemize what work she did on the first transaction, as it may work out to more than $500 an hour.

I like the way lawyers dont talk money until the work is done. Seems forthright and fair.

Seems fair.

I thought lawyer contracts state that half is payable upfront and covers everything until closing and half at closing if that happens, ie. if not you dont pay for the second half.

Thank you for the response! The reason of my post is to see whether I should use the same lawyer for purchasing again. I was a bit surprised by the amount of the extra cost, since we never discussed it until we were at the closing table. But I guess this is a fair charge, I will probably use this lawyer again, since all my emails and calls were promptly returned. It is perhaps fair to assume similar amount of charges will incur for future purchase contract review, when the deal does not go through.

Well, few people work for free.

I wouldn't puit up with that. There should have been a discussion started by your lawyer if not by you about the fee for that.

Sorry to be so candid but this is just plain poor form on both your parts.