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Same here. I have family in NY and know what they go through to buy or sell a home. I moved away from NY a long time ago for a number of reasons and was happy to do it. As the years progressed I've added home ownership to the list. No lawyers and anybody with half a brain doesn't need a realtor.
On a recent resale that we liked , had an agent in Fl tell us that attorney review would “kill the deal” in this hot competitive market in Fl.. Well sorry, we have bought and sold about 6 homes during our marriage and we have always used an attorney to review the contract, even though we are not novices. Not going to willing to spend between $500 and $609K without an AR! No thanks!
It's always funny to me when someone threatens to speak with an attorney, in an attempt to bully or intimidate, and my response is "Go ahead. While you're there just give them my cell phone number and ask them to call me." They never expect that reply.
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Working in insurance we hear this every now and again...usually after a conversation about how they don’t have $500 to their name. But they “have an attorney” on speed dial. I always say I can’t speak to someone who is represented so please give me their name and number. That ends the call pretty quick. In general dealing with attorneys is easier than dealing with the general public but yeah - if they don’t stay in their lane you end up having to explain things to them.
I am in the process of selling a house in NJ. Offer was accepted a week ago today. Yesterday my attorney sent the contract back to me asking me to initial a handwritten amendment (that made sense having to do with taxes on the property) and sign, and she said that when I sent it back to her she would send it to the buyer's attorney and that would end attorney review. So, one week.
We own 2 homes here in NJ. The first one, easy peasy, attorney review lasted just a few days. No issues. The second one that I referenced is a piece of junk lake home in Sussex County that needed a new septic. Even with back and forth about how to proceed - making sure the sellers remedied, attorney review took maybe 2 weeks or 10 business days.
If I were the sellers in the OP's post, I'd be looking for other offers too if the OP or OP's attorney is the one dragging out the process.
I used to be, like so many others, intimidated by attorneys. Then I realized I was actually more intelligent and more intuitive than many of them after some dealings. I don't know the law better in their expertise, but I'm certainly not intimidated of them anymore. In fact, I've chewed a few out here and there over the years. On the flip side, 2 of the smartest guys I know are attorneys. They are both brilliant individuals.
SC also allows attorneys to just mail in and get a license. That's what happens when the majority of lawmakers are lawyers.
My father is an attorney. So, I never have been intimidated by them.
My personal feeling is that experience is an important source of knowledge in pretty much any walk of life. A real estate attorney might now more about what I do than a divorce attorney for example. However, they still don't have a lot of the knowledge about buying/selling homes that I do. Usually I can tell when an offer form has been filled out by an attorney and not an agent because they usually do a horrible job of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wherewhatwho
We own 2 homes here in NJ. The first one, easy peasy, attorney review lasted just a few days. No issues. The second one that I referenced is a piece of junk lake home in Sussex County that needed a new septic. Even with back and forth about how to proceed - making sure the sellers remedied, attorney review took maybe 2 weeks or 10 business days.
If I were the sellers in the OP's post, I'd be looking for other offers too if the OP or OP's attorney is the one dragging out the process.
Just curious . . . what is happening typically in NJ during "attorney review"?
Just curious . . . what is happening typically in NJ during "attorney review"?
It's the real negotiation. The first "contract" that the offer comes in on is a throwaway. It can say anything under the sun and the first act of the first attorney who responds is to write a rider that starts with "First off, we reject the entire contract. Second, we will accept if the following changes are made..."
On a recent resale that we liked , had an agent in Fl tell us that attorney review would “kill the deal” in this hot competitive market in Fl.. Well sorry, we have bought and sold about 6 homes during our marriage and we have always used an attorney to review the contract, even though we are not novices. Not going to willing to spend between $500 and $609K without an AR! No thanks!
you should get the blank FL standard contract, read it yourself, ask the Realtor questions. And THEN if you're not comfortable, get an attorney involved.
In the vast majority of states, based on what is posted here, the contracts are all standardized in the state, and some # of blanks are filled in.
But yes, writing a contingency such as "subject to attorney review" in a market they don't do that/sales are fast will get you nowhere.
you should get the blank FL standard contract, read it yourself, ask the Realtor questions. And THEN if you're not comfortable, get an attorney involved.
In the vast majority of states, based on what is posted here, the contracts are all standardized in the state, and some # of blanks are filled in.
But yes, writing a contingency such as "subject to attorney review" in a market they don't do that/sales are fast will get you nowhere.
There are vast areas in the US where attorney review is uncommon to nonexistent. The advice to always have purchase contracts reviewed by an attorney...is unrealistic.
As far as OP is concerned- NJ is one of those rare states that does not allow customers to pump their own gas. Think about it.
I've had plenty of clients over the years who are VERY successful business people, went to MIT or Harvard, are doctors, CEO's, CFO's, etc., etc., etc. Basically, SUPER smart/intelligent people and while most of them are wonderful and lovely people a percentage of them are definitely think they are smarter than everyone else. Without fail, my experience has been that people with this attitude are the ones who know the least about real estate and without fail try to shoot themselves in the foot most frequently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCresident2014
It's the real negotiation. The first "contract" that the offer comes in on is a throwaway. It can say anything under the sun and the first act of the first attorney who responds is to write a rider that starts with "First off, we reject the entire contract. Second, we will accept if the following changes are made..."
The term "attorney review" is really a misnomer.
Interesting, I don't know a lot about NJ but I was under the impression that in NY the offer is not binding. Here in MA, we're a "two contract" state (our offer form is considered a binding contract and then we have a Purchase & Sales Agreement). However, our attorneys base the P&S on the offer perhaps because the offer is a binding contract. Interesting that a little south of here in NY/NJ that they just throw it in the garbage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal
you should get the blank FL standard contract, read it yourself, ask the Realtor questions. And THEN if you're not comfortable, get an attorney involved.
In the vast majority of states, based on what is posted here, the contracts are all standardized in the state, and some # of blanks are filled in.
But yes, writing a contingency such as "subject to attorney review" in a market they don't do that/sales are fast will get you nowhere.
I never understood why anyone wants an attorney to review a "fill in the blank" form that was written by a room full of attorneys and vetted in thousands of court cases. I can understand if you don't understand what the form says and want someone to explain it to you in advance but I've never had an attorney make a meaningful modification to one of these forms. They just cross out and re-word a couple of things that make no meaningful changes to justify the fee.
As you say . . . especially in a hot market trying to force real estate norms from your home market on the local market is not going to end up in your favor.
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