real estate

Choosing Your Real Estate Attorney

Posted by LeeAdmin on January 20, 2014
Attorney, real estate, Real Estate Attorney, Sabra Sasson / No Comments

If you are in the market to purchase real estate, then you are probably going out regularly to visit property that is listed on the market.  You may have been looking for a while or you may have just started.

At some point during the process, when you find a place that you like, you will have to engage in negotiations – typically through a real estate agent who is representing the seller.  If you read my prior blog post about choosing your own real estate broker, you may be negotiating through one chosen by you, which is great.

Are you prepared for when an offer of yours is accepted? 

What I mean is that once your offer is accepted, the real estate broker will want you to move quickly into contract they will ask you for the name of your real estate attorney who will be representing you.  If you haven’t already chosen the attorney who will be representing you, then you are already “behind the eight ball” and if you take too long in deciding who to hire, you will probably feel rushed and pressured into finding somebody fast.

Choose the wrong real estate attorney and you could wind up unnecessarily risking your down payment or agreeing to contract provisions that don’t best protect you.  Be careful to choose a real estate attorney and not a generalist, a real estate attorney who practices in real estate law on a regular basis.  An experienced real estate attorney will represent your interest and help you to avoid unnecessary additional expenses. A real estate attorney will understand the real estate market and will understand what provisions you need in the contract.

So how can you get ahead of the eight ball?

You can choose your own attorney before an offer is ever placed on a property.  You can contact a few attorneys at the same time while you are shopping for a property. It doesn’t take too much time, but interviewing a few attorneys when you are not under pressure to select one will give you the time and the space to objectively choose one whom you like, someone who can answer your questions and whom you have pre-qualified to represent your best interest.

Why is it important to choose the “right” real estate attorney for you?

Your real estate attorney will be negotiating the most important aspect of your purchase – the Contract of Sale.  Get any of the provisions wrong and you are “stuck” with them to the end of the transaction.

I once received a telephone call from a buyer who was already represented by an attorney.  This buyer had “heard” that I was representing another prospective purchaser of another unit in the condominium building where they were also in contract to buy and they wanted a similar provision in their contract that I had negotiated into my clients’ contract.  Unfortunately, since they were already “in contract” – meaning that both they and they seller had already signed their Contract of Sale, it would be very difficult (impossible actually) to convince the seller at that time to amend the Contract of Sale to include a provision that would be very favorable to the buyer, and not to the seller.  And that buyer was “stuck” with the Contract that they had – for better or worse.

You see, sometimes contracts can be amended after they are signed by both parties, but as with any contract, the terms are negotiable until the contract is signed.  Once the agreement is signed by both sides, it is difficult to change the terms unless it would be beneficial to both parties.

As you can see, choosing an experience attorney is essential to your purchase.

 

BONUS:  I recently spoke at a workshop with a few panelists on this topic.   There was a lot of information shared during the workshop.  You’re invited to claim your free instant access to a clip of the presentation. You’ll hear about the biggest mistakes that buyers make and avoiding them when purchasing real estate in New York.  Brought to you by Sabra Sasson, Esq., a New York City attorney dedicated to helping you secure your purchase, your legal interests and getting you title and the keys to your new home.  Get instant access here.  https://www.sassonrealestateattorney.com/mteSRSaudio

 

 

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Purchasers Should Choose Their Own Real Estate Broker

Posted by LeeAdmin on January 06, 2014
New York, real estate, real estate agent, real estate broker / No Comments

When purchasing real estate, you will need to decide whether to use a real estate agent to assist you in your property search. Some buyers choose to do their own research – as there are many resources online which give a lot of information about properties.  However, real estate agents have access to the most recent and most current information out there – in particular, the MLS (multiple listing service) system which is not accessible to the public.  Moreover, real estate agents have the knowledge, expertise in negotiating and can guide you through the negotiation process so that your interests are best represented.  Plus it doesn’t cost you, the buyer, anything.

 

Though you will have access to a listing agent with information regarding the property, it would be in your best interest to “hire” or select your own real estate broker or agent who will represent your interests. The listing agent, is the real estate agent who listed the seller’s property and represents the seller.  When you negotiate with the listing broker, you are relying upon yourself to best represent your interest and anything that you say to the agent will most probably be communicated to the seller even if you ask them not to, since the agent is the seller’s agent. Again, choosing your own real estate agent to represent you, costs you nothing as the listing broker and your broker will work out an arrangement to share the broker commission that the seller pays to have its property sold.

 

Bidding wars and market statistics vary depending on the particular property. For instance, real estate agent, Teresa Staiano mentioned during a presentation recently that a bidding war for a brownstone in Manhattan ended up selling for $500,000 over the asking price! The market statistics are a simple understanding of supply and demand. When a particular property is “hot,” it can be sold very shortly after it is placed on the market, whereas a property that is not so popular can be on the market for years.

 

The best way to find a broker is through referrals, and the most popular way is via the internet. 86% of buyers start their searches using the internet, which is a good source of telling you which brokers know more about the particular property you may be interested in.

 

BONUS:  I recently spoke at a workshop with a few panelists on this topic.   There was a lot of information shared during the workshop.  You’re invited to claim your free instant access to a clip of the presentation. You’ll hear about the biggest mistakes that buyers make and avoiding them when purchasing real estate in New York. 0 Brought to you by Sabra Sasson, Esq., a New York City attorney dedicated to helping you secure your purchase, your legal interests and getting you title and the keys to your new home.  Get instant access here.  https://www.sassonrealestateattorney.com/mteSRSaudio

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Real Estate: Tips for Buyers in this New Market

Did you notice the change in the real estate marketplace?

You didn’t notice?

Yes, even six months ago, it was a buyer’s market.  But, as things do, particularly in New York, the market changed, nearly overnight.

It is now a seller’s market.

In other words, there is very little inventory and there are many buyers for every property that is listed for sale.  Interest rates for mortgages are still very low and buyers have buying power, but because there is low inventory, purchase prices are increasing.

There are bidding wars.

So, how can you, as a buyer, position yourself as the “winning” buyer or the “winning” bidder?

I interviewed two stellar New York real estate agents and they spoke to me about what buyers can do to really set themselves apart from the pack.  You can hear the interview in the link below.  What you will hear them speak about includes:

What does that mean that buyers need to be more prepared?

How can a buyer prepare?

_____ kills deals

The importance of engaging in a “_________ negotiation”

It is possible to experience gazumping – and you don’t want to!

Importance of having the right team in place

 

You can listen in to the call with Leonard Gottlieb and Lori Winick if you missed it by clicking “play” below:


To hear future broadcasts with many of our other professionals, please visit this page to sign up for your unique call-in information.

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