I own a home in Charleston, SC that was given to me by my parents. Since they did not have a will when my Father died, my Mother & my sister signed their portion over to me. That left my brother who has been missing for over 10 years now. I'm not sure if he is alive or dead, but he has chosen not to contact anyone & there is no death certificate on file for him. We hired an investigator to search for him & no luck. Last known address was in Las Vegas, NV. I now have a buyer for my house & cannot complete the transaction due to my brother owning 1/6th of the property. I have started the Quiet Title process 6 months ago & the Law Firm just came back to me stating that they have to publish another ad in Las Vegas (the first ad was in Charleston, SC-where the property is). They want $1800.00 before they will proceed any further (I have already given them $1300). Is this normal? I have to sell because I can't afford to repair the house where it needs it & now I am going broke trying to pay the attorney fees. Is this reasonable? How much does quiet title usually cost & how long will it take? How can it cost $1800 for a Legal ad in Las Vegas, NV? Please help! Thank you!

I'm rather surprised that an investigator can't find your brother or at least find a "last known legal address" where he can be served. That being said I'd run another search for him - very unusual not to find anything if you use a Licensed Investigator. Even homeless people show up with some sort of address, particularly those receiving any type of benefits or who have passed through the system at any time.

$1,800 may or may not be reasonable. I don't know the cost of LEGAL advertising (which is not the same as selling a car) in Las Vegas. Publication has to be made in a certain fashion, a certain number of times, in a publication with a circulation over a certain number (depending on the State). Legal advertising in NYS is a killer! You are also paying the Attorney's fees and that varies State to State, city to city.

Quieting title, depending on the complications, can be accomplished quickly or take a very long time - you don't want to sell the property and have your brother reappear ten years from now.

I am completing a Quite title with an Attorney in Charleston, South Carolina. She quoted me $1800.00 to place a legal ad for 3 weeks in Las Vegas, NV. I just wanted to check on the actual cost of placing the ad because I feel that price is very high. So I emailed the Las Vegas Newspaper and this is how it went:

From: Laura
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 8:01 AM
To: Brian
Subject: Legal Publication

Good Morning,

I need information on placing a Legal Ad in your Newspaper. It will need to be in the paper for 3 weeks. I am completing a Quiet Title and have to place the ad for legal purposes. How much would this cost?

Thank you,

Laura

Response:

Laura,

I have copied Wayne Courtney, our SR. VP of our print edition.
He will be able to help you get this published.


Best,
Brian

Brian

Then I got another response:

Good Morning,

Thank you for your inquiry on placing a legal notice. Brian and Wayne have forwarded me your info. Our legal notices are published in the BC News and the Henderson Home News. The rate for the Henderson news is $18 per column inch and for a liner it is $2.00 per line. If the notice needs to run in BC, it is $8 per column inch and .65 per line for a liner. Please contact me with the information listed below for any questions, I will be happy to help :)

Thank you and have a great day!

Melissa

Am I being way over charged or what? Could I place the ad myself & save well over $1000.00? Please advise, Thank you!

{Edited to remove identifying info-<>}

You seem to be quite resourceful; why not contact the South Carolina Bar Association and ask? SCBar - Public Services

You are being charged for "them to do it" now does the 1800 just for placing the add or for all of the legal work for the quiet title action, all of the title search, all of the review of past liens for years and years. Preparing the documents for the judge and appearing before the judge with the paper work.

This is your attorney.
You can fire them, and start over if you want to.
They can charge you what ever amount they want to, and you have the right to accept or refuse the offer.
Were it me, I would inquire as to what other services I am purchasing for the $1800, since I know how much the ad will cost?
If the $1800 provides the service of the Attorney until this process is complete, it could be a bargain.

Posting this same question under another thread title is not going to get you any different advice. I guess you didn't believe me the first time around?

I've merged your two threads, please don't start a new thread if you are adding information, just post a reply to the thread. Also, please do not post people's full names, and especially not phone numbers and/or e-mail addresses. I edited your post to remove that info.

As noted, it depends on what the $1800 was for. If it was just placing the ad, then it does seem exorbidant. But if it was the total fee for changing the title it seems reasonable.

I did believe you. I am new to this site & I'm not sure exactly how everything works. I had acquired new information as to how much the ad really costs and wanted to add that in... I am totally clueless to Attorney costs & just do not want to get taken advantage of. Thanks again for the advice.