Five Things Real Estate Lawyers Do For Sellers

Whether it’s a house, condo, or coop apartment, selling real estate in Somers and throughout Westchester may seem like a basic process on the surface: buyer makes an offer, seller accepts offer, buyer gets a loan, and then seller provides a deed (or stock certificate)  at closing when the buyer forks over the balance of the purchase price.

Of course, on the surface, selling real estate is simple. However, getting to the closing after accepting an offer from a buyer takes more due diligence with which most sellers are familiar.

Here are five things real estate lawyers do for sellers.

Real Estate Lawyers Have A Wealth Of Relevant Experience

If you needed to have brain surgery, who would you want: the physician just out of medical school or the doctor who’s been operating on brains for a few years? While there do seem to be some trends in the corporate world that make hiring decisions based on potential rather than pedigree, no one in their right mind would leave brain surgery to (a) someone with no experience, but (b) has the potential to be a great surgeon.

The same holds true for selling real estate. Every reason for hiring an experienced real estate lawyer falls under the overarching umbrella of paying a reasonable fee to a professional to help sellers not just navigate the transaction, but also to avoid the costly mistakes associated with trying to go it alone.

Real Estate Lawyers Draft And Negotiate Contracts of Sale

The Contract of Sale is one of the most important documents when it comes to residential real estate transactions because it controls the transaction between the buyer and seller. And the buyer’s attorney ain’t gonna write it for you because it is the seller’s obligation to produce it

The Contract of Sale is long and comprehensive. It is the result of decades of real estate lawyers fine-tuning every provision. It not only includes the property address, the purchase price, the amount the buyer will put down as a deposit, the amount that will be mortgaged (if any), and the approximate closing date, but it also includes other important terms such as who is responsible for paying transfer taxes, how liabilities will be apportioned between the parties, what happens if either party needs to reschedule the closing, what is to be provided at the closing, etc.

Real estate lawyers will often attach “riders” or “addendums” to the Contract, the purpose of which are to reinforce and clarify provisions in the Contract, or include additional provisions, e.g., the seller to have the electricity on the day of the closing, maintain the landscaping, consent to electronic signatures, etc.

Ultimately, the Contract of Sale is a document that can contain upwards of ten pages of language such as, “there is no pending in rem action,” “The Parties shall comply with IRC §§ 897, 1445 and related provisions, as amended, and any substitute provisions of any successor statute and the regulations thereunder[,]” etc.

Needless to say, there likely isn’t a real estate attorney in Westchester who would recommend that a buyer or seller attempt to negotiate a Contract of Sale without help. Doing otherwise would be like jumping into shark-infested waters wearing a coat made out of tuna fish.

Real Estate Lawyers Resolve Disputes

In New York, the chances that both a buyer and seller decide against hiring a real estate lawyer to represent them is almost unheard of. Therefore, if a seller decides to negotiate the transaction without a real estate lawyer, he or she will be facing the buyer’s attorney in the event of any disputes that may arise.

As a seller, the challenge with that scenario is not having the experience or knowledge to know how to respond. Lawyers are notorious for making requests for information to which they’re not entitled so, if the buyer’s attorney issues a letter stating that the seller has waived their right to cancel the Contract due to neglecting to request a mortgage commitment letter in writing, how will a seller know if that’s true?

Instead, retaining a real estate lawyer means knowing that, as a seller, there is a professional on your side who has the experience to identify when the opposing attorney is simply making noise or when genuine legal action needs to be taken.

Real Estate Lawyers Help Sellers Manage the Mortgage Payoff Process

Most sellers are surprised to learn that their most recent mortgage statement is insufficient when it comes to identifying a final loan amount to be paid off at closing.

Further, many sellers don’t know that the mortgage must be paid at closing, i.e., the buyer and title company will not trust that the seller will pay off the balance of the loan post-closing.

And most sellers will not add several days of interest to the final payoff amount because, unlike an experienced real estate lawyer, they don’t realize that the lender will continue to charge daily interest until the payoff check is received several days after closing.

Like many other aspects of the real estate selling process, paying off the mortgage requires more than the average seller realizes.

Real Estate Lawyers Prepare All Of The Documents For Sellers For The Closing 

In Somers and the rest of Westchester, it is customary for the seller’s lawyer to prepare the deed and other forms that New York State requires to transfer property.

It’s also common for some title companies to make their standard forms available for download online, which is usually a big help to all involved.

Yet while a lot of the standard language in a deed is pre-printed, there are small changes that real estate lawyers make that can have major impacts on how title is transferred between buyer and seller.

For example, when a married couple buys real property, the deed does not have to read, “John and Jane, husband and wife,” because there is a presumption that they are taking title as tenants by the entirety unless the deed reads, “joint tenants with right of survivorship.”

However, including the magic “husband and wife” language in the deed will likely save them time and money when they want to sell the property later.

Why? Because their real estate lawyer won’t have to provide any additional documentation to the title company to support the presumption that John and Jane are married.

Clearly, there is a lot more that real estate lawyers do for sellers in Somers and beyond. The above list touches on some of the more overarching benefits real estate lawyers provide when clients are selling real estate.

Give us a ring or email us and let’s talk about how we can help you buy or sell your next home.