Real estate agents and real estate attorneys are integral parts of the New York home buying experience. Buyers need to know the specific roles for each for you to address your concerns to the correct party.
Real Estate AgentsReal Estate Agents
We have discussed the importance of an exclusive buyer’s agent and their fiduciary duty owed to you. The agent is your initial contact, and hiring one is a crucial decision for the buyer. They help you formulate your budget, discuss your options, and the differences between wants and needs to assist you in targeting suitable, desirable properties.
An exclusive buyer’s agent must use their knowledge to help you obtain the best price. Your agent also knows the different neighborhoods, buildings, and the current market, and they can help you formulate an offer based on this expert knowledge. It is an integral part of the process, including looking at comparable sales. But, this is not as easy as it seems, and there is also a particular art to making an offer.
There is also more to your offer than the price, which items to include or exclude. Your agent can advise whether you should have contingencies (generally, the fewer, the better, but they are best to judge individual circumstances) or waive others, such as the mortgage contingency clause.
You could receive a counteroffer following your initial offer, and your agent will advise you on the next course of action. If there is a bidding war, your agent knows how to handle this situation. Your real estate agent will also tell you when they think it is best to drop out of the process.
At this point, you and your agent start the search process. When you find a property and have your offer accepted, you then have an inspection. Your agent can recommend qualified home inspectors and even accompany you while the home inspection is, conducted. At this point, your lawyer takes a more prominent role.
AttorneysAttorneys
Your agent and attorney work together to negotiate any issues that arise from the inspection. Then, your communication will shift towards your attorney, whom you may have hired based on your agent’s recommendation.
Typically, in New York, the seller’s attorney sends over the contract’s first draft. The lawyers send the documents back and forth as the parties hammer out the terms. It includes the amount and timing of the down payment, which your lawyer will segregate in an escrow account, and the closing date.
Your lawyer conducts due diligence on your behalf. They order a title search to make sure it is “clean,” along with working with you to ensure you have the proper documents to send to your lender within the required period. They disperse the funds to the various parties, such as the amount due to the seller and the corresponding amount to the seller’s lender, the title company, and the agents’ commission, particularly at closing.
Lastly, your lawyer reviews and advises you regarding the closing documents. Once you sign these forms, they hand you the keys, and you are a proud homeowner.
