Frequently Asked Questions

An Advance Fee is what many attorneys require from a client in order to gain the attorney's commitment to do the legal work. The attorney's time is charged against the Advance Fee, meaning that if the total cost of completing the legal matter is less than the Advance Fee, the client receives a refund.

Yes. There are two ways to have a purchase and sale contract reviewed by Timely Contract: TC Traditional and TC Review.

TC Traditional is recommended for the review of copy-protected documents used by Realtors®. TC Traditional is billed by the hour. When the attorney reviews the standard purchase and sale contract used by Realtors quickly, the total cost of the service should come out to be less than TC Review.

TC Review is recommended for the review of custom-drafted documents. TC Review is billed on a flat-rate basis depending on the number of pages. When the attorney reviews a custom-designed purchase and sale contract, the amount of time it takes to issue a legal opinion regarding the goal of your review is likely to make the cost of the TC Review service more economical.

Legal due diligence is the process of reviewing the legal risks of a real estate parcel. Every real estate parcel is geographically unique. Similarly, legal risks associated with a parcel are unique. Because legal risks can not be seen, like the physical risks of a building, legal risks tends to get overlooked during the stressful process of a buying a home or business. It is the lack of legal due diligence that is the single biggest source of post-transaction legal problems seen at the law office.

Yes. Because deeds affect the ownership of real property, it is critical that deeds are drafted correctly according to the public document record. TC Drafting is the service recommended to make change ownership and terms.

After completing the Order Request and submitting payment successfully, you immediately receive a system-generated Timely Contract Order Request email confirming your order request and payment. Within four hours, you will receive an Order Request Received email from your Timely Contract Certified attorney's office. Thereafter, attorney appointments are completed within 48 hours of receiving your Order Request.

Yes. For every Timely Contract service, you will be assigned an experienced real estate attorney and discuss the goals of your matter with them. For every service except TIER, you discuss your matter before the attorney starts work. Because the goal of TIER is always the same, no matter what parcel is being analyzed, there is no need for an initial attorney phone call. With every service, you discuss the results of the legal analysis with your attorney so you can get your questions answered.

The goal at Timely Contract is to get a new Client on the phone with their attorney within 48 hours of receiving an Order Request. Roughly 90% of the time, we are able to meet this goal.

It depends on the Timely Contract service best suited to your needs. Timely Contract has both flat-rate and hourly-billed services. TIER and TC Review are flat-rate services. TIER Plus, TC Drafting, and TC Traditional are charged hourly. The Internet attorney rate is $200 per hour; Internet paralegal rate is $100. The cost of the hourly-billed services depend on how much time it takes to do the work. If the total cost is less than the Advance Fee, a refund will be issued the next business day. For more information, check the Service page of the Timely Contract service you are ordering.

Yes. If the lender is in doubt regarding the public documents record, TIER® clarifies the legal interpretation. A GREEN Light marketing assessment means that it is the attorney's legal opinion that the parcel will pass all underwriting requirements and get through close of escrow, and that the value is not negatively affects by the public documents record.  

Yes. Cash buyers don’t have the benefit of going through a mortgage lender's underwriting process, a process that identifies common problems affecting title. TIER delivers information that allows cash buyers to become aware of exceptions to title insurance coverage and avoid common problems affecting title. Unlike underwriting information, TIER produces a legal opinion of a parcel's public documents record and is legally authoritative.

Our internet rates are low because the work of processing your new legal matter has been automated through the online Order Request process. Because our intake costs are low, the cost of basic legal services like contract review and drafting is competitive, making these services available to more clients, increasing demand for our services. A busy law office allows attorneys time to be used efficiently, making it easier to keep rates low.

Licensing opportunities are available nationwide for experienced licensed attorneys. For information about becoming a Timely Contract Certified Licensee, click here and answer a few questions. Your inquiry will be responded to in a matter of days.

Yes. There are two circumstances where you get your money back after uploading an Order Request through the Timely Contract platform.

1.  If the cost of an hourly-billed service comes out to be less than the Advance Fee required during the Order Request process, you get a refund of the balance.
2. If upon speaking to your attorney, it is determined that Timely Contract can not do what you require, a full refund of your Advance Fee is issued the next business day.