use bank attorney, realtor's or my own for closing

[zolotko]

Where can I find out information about states requiring a buyer to have an attorney at the closing/for a purchase/sale? I'm looking to purchase a property at the local auction (Washington County, NY) for cash and intersted to know whether I "must" have an attorney to represent me. Because the contract I'm going to receive upon the purchase from the sheriff's sale is standard and non-negotiable, there is not that much I or an attorney can do. By not hiring an attorney I can save about $1K. Can anyone having experience or qualifications answer this question? Thank you.

[zolotko]

Originally Posted by artyst

i'll be buying property in upstate ny coming from az. in az when i bought my house i closed with a title company and the lender. from what i've read here it looks like it's a requirement to have an attorney in on the closing in ny. is this correct??

any person desiring to represent them selves takes responsibility for such representation onto them selves and allowed to do so as in a court of law so as in a purchase of a property.
You are allowed to represent your self, if you desire to do so. There is no law making you to hire an attorney. However, you should proceed with caution, since I'm positive, you are aware of the circumstances that may follow.
If you are absolutely strapped for finances, attempt to locate a paralegal whose specialty is real estate and inquire of them to review your contract and maybe give you an advice. Experienced paralegals in most of the situations would know if something is not "clean". If it's a simple transaction, then you will spend much less on a paralegal, and if paralegal finds something questionable you will know for sure to proceed with appointment of an attorney.

Good luck,

z

[zolotko]

Originally Posted by zolotko

Where can I find out information about states requiring a buyer to have an attorney at the closing/for a purchase/sale? I'm looking to purchase a property at the local auction (Washington County, NY) for cash and intersted to know whether I "must" have an attorney to represent me. Because the contract I'm going to receive upon the purchase from the sheriff's sale is standard and non-negotiable, there is not that much I or an attorney can do. By not hiring an attorney I can save about $1K. Can anyone having experience or qualifications answer this question? Thank you.

I found an answer, look below.

[Miker]

Having recently purchased a house I would definitely recommend hiring your own lawyer. Your hand will be tired after signing all of the papers you have to sign at closing. There is no way you would have time to read every one of them(much less understand the legal speak they are witten in). Your lawyer will give a brief summary of each document you are signing. I'm pretty sure the banks lawyer would not be so inclined to do this for you.

One thing I would not do is use a lawyer (same goes for structural inspector, appraiser or anyone else...) recommended by your realtor. After my experience I'm now convinced that real estate is the worlds most corrupt industry...expensive lesson learned but that's for another time. Your realtor will recommend the "professionals" that make sure the sale goes through no matter what. These "professionals" will not so much be looking out for you as they will the real estate office that gives them a lot of referrals.

[cezwho]

I am an Escrow Officer just beginning in the New York area. I started out west in California and Nevada, and relocated here with an opportunity to do escrow the way it's done out west. So, to clarify, NO, the law does NOT require you to hire an attorney at all to represent you in your transaction. YES the attorney would, by all means, act in your best interest. An Escrow Officers position is as a disinterested third party, meaning we close in accordance with THE ALREADY AGREED UPON CONTRACT. By them time the transaction comes to me, all negotiations should be complete. This is why you have a Realtor. As a general rule in the west, nobody uses real estate attorneys. Every now and then I'd have one, but it was few and far between. As far as using an attorney or closer recommended by your Realtor, that decision is best left to the individual consumer. Many Realtors I know want to use closers that can provide their customer with the best, most efficient, cost-effective and accurate closing. Sounds to me like you may have had a Realtor with other things on his/her mind.

[acip]

Yes it is required to have an attorney I will also add alittle something that some real estate agents may not know and that is the buyer can request their own Title company instead of using the one the attorney uses I have done this with several of my buyer's and I have had no problems because the company does not over charge, they are fast and stand behind their work Do attorney's like this since most have their own in house company, no but who is the client the attorney or the buyer Hope this helped and Good luck