When you’re in the process of buying or selling real estate in NYC, the question is what to look for in an attorney. My name is John Moss, an attorney and partner at Moss & Moss LLP (https://www.mossandmoss.com), a law firm started by my family in 1997. A large portion of our work is residential real estate transactions, and let’s dig in.
The first thing you need to look for is someone knowledgeable, but that’s the easy part. There are a ton of real estate attorneys in New York and probably the vast majority know what they’re doing.
The next thing you need to find is someone trustworthy. Again, that’s probably not too difficult a criteria to satisfy. You’re going to get offered referrals to attorneys from your real estate broker, from your mortgage broker, from your friends, and who know what other sources. And each and everyone one of them will be knowledgeable and probably trustworthy.
The thing that will set some attorneys apart from the rest is the attention and time that they give to you as a client.
Since this is a money-making prospect, you should be aware of the economic side of things…nevermind the amount of the fees for the moment, but the actual structure. The vast majority of real estate attorneys charge on a flat rate basis. The reality is that the amount of time that a real estate transaction requires means that if an attorney charged by the hour and did all of the work, the fees would likely be much higher than the going rate.
Since that’s the case, a lot of attorneys have their support staff do a lot of the work. That’s not uncommon and quite frankly, a lot of those paralegals have more experience than many of the attorneys. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re interviewing an attorney and they’re not going to be the person you’re mostly talking to, then you might not be interviewing the right person.
But what that gets to is how much attention you and your matter are actually going to get from the attorney.
And that’s where your lawyer comes in. Your lawyer shouldn’t just be someone who reads the contract and makes sure you’re not getting screwed. Your lawyer SHOULD explain to you what’s going on, answer your questions, tell you where you are at in the process, give you context when something feels like it’s not going right, and give you some comfort to know when things really are going off the rails. This is the time and attention that’s required when you’re paying several hundred thousand dollars if not one or two million for a property.
For my part, I try to give each of my clients an understanding of the whole course of the transaction up front. Not so that the client needs to memorize the whole thing, but just so you have a sense of context. So that when you hear words you don’t recognize, like title insurance, you remember that you actually heard them once and you can call me up and ask me what it is again and why you have to pay for it. The other thing that I like to try to walk through is the closing costs.
I also try to make sure that clients have a chance to have their questions answered in a reasonable timeframe. These transactions become very emotional…for obvious reason, since it’s probably the single largest financial transaction you’re been involved with by a long shot. That being the case, you will want to have some connection with your attorney and to know that you can call them and get an answer. The personal attention is genuinely critical and we strive to provide that for our clients.
Now let’s talk about money. Some lawyers are going to charge less than others. I know for a fact that our fees are higher than some but lower than others. Most lawyers will negotiate a little, but the fees that sound too good to be true usually are. When the fees are bargain basement, chances are you’re not getting too much personal attention from your attorney.
So that’s really it. When you talk to an attorney for the first time, ask them questions and make sure they’re someone you can talk to. Make sure they’re someone who can be pretty much the most important person in your life for a few weeks. Make sure that you feel comfortable with them. And if that’s the case, you’ve probably found a good fit.
I hope this was helpful and informative. And of course, if you are in need of legal services, please contact us at https://www.mossandmoss.com, the spelling is below. We look forward to being of assistance. Again, my name is John Moss and thank you for watching.
