Nathan Horowitz, Esq

 

REAL ESTATE SERVICES:

Sales of Houses, Condominiums and Co-operative apartments
Leases
Refinances

My experience includes representing all parties to a real estate transaction, sellers, purchasers, and lenders.

In the sale of a home, condo or cooperative apartment, once the Purchaser’s attorney confirms that the buyers have done whatever inspections they wish to do, I will prepare the contract.    You  will provide me with certain information for the contract, such as what personal property is staying with the house; and copies of your Deed and survey, if available.   The contract process usually takes about a week to 10 days, for the buyers to make any agreed upon changes, sign and send to me and you will come into the office to review and sign.

Once the buyer obtains a mortgage commitment and the title search, we will schedule the closing.   I prepare all of the documents necessary to transfer title to the house and to compute the New York State Transfer tax.   I will also compute any additional monies owed to you, or credits to the buyer, to adjust items such taxes, common charges or maintenance as of the closing date.

In the purchase of a house or a condominium, the first thing to be done, after agreeing on a price, is to have an engineer’s inspection.  This would include the physical condition of the property and any structures, and the systems in place, such as heating and air conditioning.    Many engineers will, as part of their inspection, conduct a radon test.    This is done before signing the contract.   You may also do a carbon monoxide test, an oil tank pressure test and a termite inspection.  Some engineers will do the termite inspection; otherwise, an independent company will do the termite inspection after the contract is signed.   

Once the engineer has satisfied you as to the condition of the house, the Seller’s attorney will prepare and send to me the contract of sale.   I will review it and discuss the Seller’s attorney any changes or additions.    I will modify the contract pursuant to these discussions.   We will review the contract together, the contract will be signed and I will return the signed contract, together with your down payment check to the Seller’s attorney.    If you are obtaining a mortgage loan, I will be in touch with you regarding the progress of your application and the obtaining of the commitment.    I will review the commitment with you to be sure you understand the terms and that you sign it and return to the bank in a timely manner.   I will also keep the Seller’s attorney aware of your progress.   

There are certain deadline dates in the contract, that if certain things do or do not happen, or certain conditions are found, you would have the right to cancel the contract.   These paragraphs provide that if you do not exercise your right to cancel by a certain date, you lose the right to cancel, or to complain about that condition or event.   The usual deadlines relate to the termite inspection and getting your mortgage commitment.   I will keep track of these dates and be sure we meet them, or obtain an extension from the Seller.

I will order and obtain a title search of the property and take the steps necessary to see that any objections to title are addressed by the Seller, and that your interests are protected.   I will also seek a copy of any existing survey from the Seller.    Finally, I will coordinate the scheduling of the closing, prepare the necessary documents for closing and attend the closing with you.

In purchasing a cooperative apartment, an engineer’s inspection is usually not necessary; and neither are the various tests and inspections.   Instead, we review the engineer report in the cooperative prospectus and review 1 to 2 years of annual budgets to see what major repairs have been done.     An extra step in purchasing a co-op is obtaining approval of the Cooperative Corporation.   If not approved, this is another condition in the contract allowing you to cancel and get a full refund of the contract deposit. 

Recommendation:
The contract to buy a home provides that the Seller represents that the property is sold subject to all zoning or other local or state regulations, so long as these laws are not violated by the existing structures and their use.   The title company will search the local building department and report if there are any violations on file; and will report on the existence or status of a certificate of occupancy and building permits.     HOWEVER, none of this means that the house definitely complies with all zoning laws.   And the title insurance you get does not insure that the property complies with the zoning laws.   

I recommend that you visit the building department and determine what the property is zoned for and if such zone requires anything in particular, or prohibits anything.    I also recommend that you visit the tax assessor’s office and obtain a copy of the Tax Assessor’s card on the property.   Sometimes additional detail about the property is revealed that is not found in the building department and may even indicate a violation or other problem not on file at the building department.   Since you know what you intend to use the property for, and you have visited the property, you should be able to determine whether there is any potential problem – that is, something on the property not allowed, or something missing which is required.   Of course, once you do this legwork you can ask me any questions about what you have found.   If a problem does arise that requires my assistance, I can do so.  Depending on what is involved, there may be an additional fee.

Refinances: 
The attorney’s main responsibility in a refinance is to order an updated title report for the property and attend the closing.  Sometimes, we will also try to have the current bank assign its mortgage to the new bank (even if it is the same bank).  This will save part of the expense of mortgage tax.