Whether you are buying or selling residential or commercial real estate in New York, having an experienced real estate attorney can make the entire real estate transaction process smooth and most importantly, protect you, your investment, and your property in the case that issues arise in the future.
A New York real estate attorney can help advise and give you important legal counsel, ensuring the entire purchase or sale of a property is done according to New York law.
One of the most important parts of a real estate transaction is closing. The closing is the final step that you, as a buyer or seller, take in executing a real estate transaction.
The closing on or about date is set during the initial negotiation phase and is usually several weeks after the parties enter into contract. On the closing date, once all the paperwork is signed and verified, the ownership of the property is officially and legally transferred to its new owner.
The language and terms of the contractual agreement executed prior to the closing are therefore extremely important. While most closings in New York will be done in an attorney’s office, we advise that each side of a real estate transaction have a real estate attorney to review the real estate contractual agreement before and after all the signing is complete, this will ensure your interests as a seller or buyer are fully protected.
Once signed, the contract governs the terms of the entire transaction.
At Piccinnini law, we not only help you oversee the entire real estate negotiation and transactional process, but we also help draft a contract that is clear and easily understandable by all parties, taking your interests into consideration and protecting them.
To help you ensure your real estate transaction is as smooth as possible, here are nine points that you should ensure are covered in a New York residential or commercial real estate sales agreement:
- The final purchasing price
- A post possession agreement to ensure the seller has enough time to vacate the property after closing and to put the buyer on notice that they may not receive possession at closing.
- Existing property records, to ensure the title can be fully transferred at closing.
- All details of what existing fixtures and personal property in or outside the property will be transferred to the new owners.
- A timeline for the entire real estate transaction, giving enough time for financing, title due diligence, and post possession.
- Agreements about who will pay the closing costs, taxes, and any other costs associated with the sale of the property.
- Clauses that protect your interests as a buyer or seller. For example, as a buyer, you would want a clause that allows you to void the contract should serious issues arise during the title due diligence.
- Details about the initial deposit that needs to be made by the buyer, as well as an agreement as to under what circumstances the buyer would keep or lose the deposit.
- A clear statement and agreement on the on or about closing date and when the owner will be legally transferred over to the new buyer.
While these are not all the points that should be covered by the real estate sales agreement, these are some of the key points to look out for and to ensure are clear to both buyer and seller. The more clearly the contract is laid out the smoother the real estate transaction will be.
We hope that this information is helpful and look forward to helping you with your real estate transaction in New York.
Annie Justice
Senior Editor
Piccinnini Law
(516) 500-2110
