ROLE OF THE REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY
The attorney for the Purchaser is a pivotal and important person in this transaction. Her expertise may mean the difference between a smooth or stressful experience.
The attorney must review the Seller's Contract of Sale and should generally modify certain clauses and/or add her own rider to make sure Purchaser's interests are protected.
The attorney should review the Offering Plan, any Amendments, current By-Laws and last two (2) year’s financial statements, consult with Purchaser about the property and the particular problems raised by the documents reviewed.
The attorney will order a title report for a condo and lien search for a coop. This report is critical to the
transaction in that it provides information to the Purchaser regarding the state of the title, liens against the property, the Certificate of Occupancy which discusses the permitted use of the property, any covenants,
restrictions or agreements affecting the property, taxes, violations, patriot and bankruptcy information.
The attorney must be well versed and have the required expertise to understand the information and to analyze it and act accordingly if there are problems. The Purchaser's attorney should not rely on the Lender's attorney to make the decisions as to the state of the title. This reliance may cause the Purchaser problems in terms of money and time when Purchaser decides to sell the property.

A word of caution: There are a substantial amount of attorneys who do a real estate transaction, but who are not real estate attorneys. In other words, they may primarily be well versed in other areas of law, but feel they can “do” a real estate deal. There are many different areas of law and each require a certain amount of knowledge and expertise.

 

REMEMBER:  Definitions
A condominium unit is a residential unit whereby the owner has title to the property by a Deed.  It is similar to residential homes except it must comply with all the Rules, Regulations and Restrictions set forth in the By-Laws, Offering Plan and Amendments and House Rules.
A cooperative unit is a residential unit that passes ownership of shares of Stock in the Cooperative Corporation that owns the building and is given occupancy by a Proprietary Lease for a specific term.  The Internal Revenue Tax Code must be complied with in order for owners to be able to deduct percentage of maintenance charges.

NOTE:   This is in no way a complete treatise of the many, many variables and issues that may arise during a real estate transaction, but is for purposes of overview.

 

 

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August 1, 2015

Purchase and Sale Condo and Coop Article 2015