Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much do you charge for your legal services?
2. I am a subcontractor and my general contractor or owner of the property I performed work for, will not pay me. What should I do?
3. I have an investment home in South Carolina. I cannot make my primary home mortgage payments as well as the payments on my investment home. What do I need to do?
4. I am a lender, a financial institution and/or an individual who just lent someone money and now they are not making payments, what are my options?
5. My partner and myself have had a falling out and I am not sure if I want to stay in this partnership with him, what do I do?

How much do you charge for your legal services?

1. Litigation:
   
   This is by far the most frequently asked question for prospective clients inquiring about our services, and it should be. Mr. DesChamps charges at an hourly rate of $285 per hour. His associate's time is charged at $150 per hour and his paralegal's time is charged at $95 per hour. Mr. DesChamps usually charges a retainer fee, which ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 depending the anticipated time to be spent on the case. As is evidenced by the fact that over 80% of our business is the result of repeat and satisfied clients, many of whom have come back many time for over a twenty year period of time, the fee arrangements have been and are reasonable and satisfactory or out client(s). Very rarely does Mr. DesChamps take a case based on a contingency fee, as most of our work does not encompass as a remedy funds from which a contingency fee could be paid; however, if you feel your case may contain such an available source of monies, please feel free to call and inquire.
2. Real Estate
   
   
   1. Residential: Fixed quoted fees can be obtained by contacting Peggy DesChamps at her e-mail address and including in the request he legal description of the real property, contract sales price or mortgage amount, lender's name and address, and anticipated closing date.
   2. Commercial: Fees are generally charged at the same hourly rate as litigation matters. Estimates may be obtained by contacting Mr. DesChamps at his e-mail address, including, in as much detail as possible, the requested scope of work and details relative to same.
3. Contract and Business Matters
   
   Similar Fee arrangement as Commercial real estate.

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I am a subcontractor and my general contractor or owner of the property I performed work for, will not pay me. What should I do?

First, you need to make sure you have done work on the property in the past 90 days. If 90 days have passed when you last provided labor, services or material on the property, then you may not be able to file a mechanic's lien, but may have other avenues such as suing for a breach of contract (assuming you have a valid contract with either the general contractor or the owner). If 90 days have not passed, contact an attorney immediately and tell the attorney you need a mechanic's lien filed on the property you have provided labor, services or material for, immediately. Once the mechanic's lien is filed, you will have 6 months from the date work was last performed or materials were provided to file a lawsuit against the general contractor and/or owner for your damages.

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I have an investment home in South Carolina. I cannot make my primary home mortgage payments as well as the payments on my investment home. What do I need to do?

First, you need to immediately list the property at fair market value with a short sale agent. Second, contact your lender (often the loss mitigation or short sale department) and let them know that you are interested in short selling your property since you will not be able to make the mortgage payments. Most lenders will require that you submit to them the following: 1) a valid short sale offer, 2) a hardship letter, 3) last two pay stubs, 4) last two months of bank statements, and 5) your income tax returns for the past two years. The lender will also require you to fill out a financial information form. Once all this has been accomplished, the lender will send your file to a negotiator and let you know whether the short sale offer is sufficient and whether you qualify to proceed with a short sale. Our law firm often communicates with lenders on behalf of our clients to speed this process a bit and to avoid annoying phone calls from the collections department when you have defaulted on your payments.

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I am a lender, a financial institution and/or an individual who just lent someone money and now they are not making payments, what are my options?

Your options are as follows: 1) enter into a work out agreement between the debtor and the creditor, 2) bring a lawsuit against the debtor for payment under the note and possible foreclosure under the mortgage (if you have secured collateral for the note). If the collateral is a piece of personal property instead of real property, you can bring a cause of action to retrieve those items upon default. Our firm represents many prominent lenders in the Grand Strand area to help them get the highest return from their debtors.

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My partner and myself have had a falling out and I am not sure if I want to stay in this partnership with him, what do I do?

Mr. DesChamps is a certified mediator and arbitrator and is always advising his clients to "work out" their problems to avoid the cost of extensive legal fees to both parties when the cost of settling is substantially less. Mr. DesChamps can either represent you in the dissolution of a partnership or corporation in the most amicable way possible prior to litigation or he can litigate the issue on your behalf if negotiation does not resolve the differences.

Call The DesChamps Law Firm at 888-591-7826 or use our email form and contact us today for help with your legal matter.