Might be in wrong forum, but does anybody know if any mileage/loyalty programs are affiliated with legal services? I want to do a simple title change with my condo, but am balking at handing over $300-400 and not getting any miles besides my credit card points.

Thanks!

I am a lawyer AND a miles/points addict. I know of no attorneys who provide miles other than CC miles, but I STRONGLY recommend that you NEVER, NEVER, NEVER choose a lawyer or doctor or CPA based upon mileage earning. Sometimes we have use common sense and ignore our points obsession.

As another fellow lawyer... +2

Because I often work internationally (mainly U.S. immigration), I actually have made contact with some of the airlines about becoming a miles provider for clients who engage my services. I am still in the process of accumulating information about costs and processes before jumping in to become a provider.

Unfortunately, I don't practice in the area of real estate. But, I believe many U.S. attorneys will start offering miles for those who engage their services once they see their value as potential client recruitment.

After all, the U.S. churns out nearly 60,000 law school graduates annually, and more than half the world's attorneys are located within one nation. Anything to have a competitive edge...

IMHO, If it's a simple title change, removal of a name, transfer to a family member or similar, you consider just filing a quitclaim deed. I've done it. $8 to file and you're done.

You may also consider on of those "legal services" outfits that specialize in filling out forms (because they can't offer "legal advise") if you have them in your state? Typically they're used for uncontested divorces around here, but I've seen them used for other matters. You'll probably get the same out of one of those legal apps (like quicken legal, etc.)...

Just some options to save some money, as it sounds like this isn't an ordinary real estate sale to a traditional buyer anyways.

-Not a lawyer

If an attorney has to resort to offering miles to drum up business I'd never consider hiring them.

I'm not a lawyer but why not? Would you use an attorney who was 3% cheaper than the other guy (assuming 3% is the cost of miles)? Or do you solely go with the guy asking the most?

I'm not saying look at just the miles but giving away miles is just like advertising in the yellow pages. Instead of paying the yellow pages you "pay" the client. You target a different group of individuals this way.

A 3% price difference in hiring a lawyer isn't a large difference IMO.

Out of the general public, how many actually care about frequent flier miles? 5%...maybe?

I can just imagine an ad like this: "Free 1000 Frequent Flier miles with Title Change Service!"

Phone calls would go like this:

"How many plane tickets can I get with those?"

"I don't care about frequent flier miles, what else can I get instead of the miles?"

"You're not offering the program I want"




Offering miles as an incentive to use one's legal service is about as ludicrous idea as I've heard.

I am a lawyer - but not a real estate lawyer - and I live in Florida. Florida is a title insurance state - and even a "simple" title change may require an endorsement to an existing title insurance policy or a new title insurance policy. Which may or may not have an impact on any existing mortgage(s). There are also all kinds of court filing requirements (and fees). Don't know beans about the law where you live - but I'd figure out what I had to do to accomplish my goal before I worried about FF miles.

Also - the ethics rules in Florida say that lawyers can accept credit cards (although the credit card fees cannot be passed on to the client). They don't say that anything similar to points/miles is allowed to induce the client to hire the lawyer. Also - we have pretty strict advertising rules. IOW - I think a lawyer here might run into ethics problems by offering anything other than the points/miles that come with the use of your credit card. Robyn

M,
In FL all you do is fill out a very easy form ( you can get @ box stores),follow the instructions and file yourself. Whole process about $10... Unless it is different in your state.. I have done this many times without any problems..

Good Luck..:

Just want to say - I don't agree with you. Wasn't going to respond to your message at all - but - as a member of the Florida Bar - I thought you were giving people misleading legal advice. There is no way one can make a proper transfer of real property in Florida for $10. This will be the last thing I'll say about this subject. But recommend that people consult suitable professionals (especially lawyers) before doing any kind of real estate transactions in Florida. Robyn

In my state, (not FL) title insurance is optional. Of course every mortgage company will require it, but if you own the place outright...

Here it's $8. Down to the county recorder. They stamp it, enter in some stuff on the computer, and return to you the original. Then file new homeowners exemption if applicable.

I really do suggest if this is anything like a traditional transfer or involves the exchange of money, or involves disinterested parties, you should get a title company or lawyer. Typically, they'll handle this anyways through the normal real estate sales process.

However, if this is something simple and non-traditional, quit-claim might just be the ticket.

I've used them before to:
* Adding family member to title
* Give a property to a family member

I'm also in a fixed title-insurance state (and $1,500 or whatever for title insurance on a $25,000 beater/rental condo, or $10,000 parcel of land, is just not cool)... Transaction costs are brutal in real estate transactions, disproportionally to lower-value properties, and really need to be reduced.

Title insurance tends to be optional in a lot of places - just like flood insurance is optional. Nothing to worry about until a problem comes up - and you don't have coverage for it. Robyn

As another lawyer who is licensed in multiple jurisdictions, including FL, Robyn is correct on multiple points, including the need to consult with a professional. I have litigated cases in multiple areas of law where if the party would have sought help upfront, the cost on the back end would not have been exorbitant.

And $300 sounds cheap...