Distressed acquisitions: do you put counsel on the file before you make offers, or after one gets accepted?

I'm building a list of pre-foreclosure and probate-adjacent single-family files in one county, roughly 30 names, and I want a clear picture of the legal spend before I start making offers rather than after.

The two approaches I keep hearing from people further along contradict each other completely.

One group engages counsel up front, a few hours to review the county's foreclosure timeline, the redemption mechanics and what a valid payoff and reinstatement letter should say, plus a look at the offer letter and the assignment paperwork they intend to use across every file. Call it $1,500 to $3,000 spent before a single deal exists. Their argument is that the rules of the state's foreclosure process determine what an offer can even promise, and that writing 30 letters on a wrong understanding wastes more than the fee. Foreclosure procedure and redemption rights differ substantially by state, so that review is state-specific work for a licensed attorney either way.

The other group spends nothing until a seller says yes, then brings in counsel on the live file with a real title report and a real payoff figure in hand. Their argument is that most files die at contact, that generic advance advice gets stale, and that an attorney reading actual documents gives better answers than one reading hypotheticals.

With 30 files and maybe two conversions, the up-front cost is $750 to $1,500 per closed deal. That is defensible if it prevents one bad promise to a distressed seller. It is dead money if none of the 30 answer the phone.