New York & Long Island Realtors NOT in Control

July 11th, 2007 category: Real Estate News, Real Estate Philosophy

This is a request to the New York real estate community to assist me in understanding one thing:

Why is the New York real estate community run by lawyers, and not the real estate community?

I WAS STUNNED TO READ A 10 YEAR OLD NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE THAT YOU CAN LOCATEHERE.

What prompts this question is the following short group of scenarios:

1. Having received a binder on a house a week and a half ago, it’s not under contract.

The contract hasn’t even been started by the lawyer. It could have been written by the broker, and submitted for attorney review a week and a half ago, which assists both the buyer and seller. That’s OUR JOB, as the real estate agents involved in the transaction.

2. I just finished up working with a national builder, and executed over 40 contracts myself on Long Island- no attorney present. All docs were faxed to the attorneys involved, with the information that NO CHANGES CAN BE MADE. Two attorneys resisted; the end result for their clients was that they lost the properties. While one returned later and purchased a second choice home without the changes requested by their attorney, the other did not return.

New York real estate community, not only should you be preparing the paperwork, but it should be acceptable WITHOUT an attorney review (which, per the current leash laws, is not permissible). All contracts need a time of essence clause, which will permit the sellers to anticipate a day to close, without scheduling issues that have nothing to do with the buyer or seller.

Am I to understand, as an individual that has been in real estate for 20 years in a state that didn’t utilize the legal contingent, that in New York, the legal contingent has decided to “protect” the consumer by offering a “fill in the blanks” contract for the real estate community of brokers, with the attorney having the final say on the terms, including the ability to change (without notice to the broker) terms that the attorney dislikes? This seems rather like putting the consumer through one hurdle, only to anticipate another- by an individual that was not present during the negotiations.

Please. Why on earth are New York Realtors running scared of the attorney contingent? And why, with so many New Yorkers that purchase out of state (or even upstate) without an attorney, does the consumer put up with delays that provide the buyers additional time to look around out of frustration, and walk away from a binder?

I understand that in New York, having a piece of the real estate pie is important to the legal contingent. Here’s the thing: have your pie. Leave the rest alone. Make suggestions; review the contract and offer input; but be part of the team. Your job is to review paperwork - we all know that the title companies provide just about every guarantee needed to close a house. Review it expeditiously, be thorough, and be grateful that your spot in the New York real estate market exists, because it is LARGELY ABSENT EVERYWHERE ELSE, and houses are closing every day.

Just like the real estate contingent, your presence is largely determined by the consumer. It is not YOUR time frame that the consumer is concerned about, and it shouldn’t be. Having you involved is a good thing, if you choose to make the effort to be professional and courteous. Accept agent generated contracts with a professional attitude (not annoyance), review them, make your suggestions, and let’s get the house sold for them. That’s what we’re here for - we sell it, you review it. Three days, max.

If an offer is lost due to not performing expeditiously in providing a sought after contract, you are not protecting your client. Isn’t that what we are here for, to accommodate the consumer?

Offering opinions is what Options Realty is all about. Now, I need a GREAT New York attorney in order to get some houses sold. Any takers, New York?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 11:40 pm and is filed under Real Estate News, Real Estate Philosophy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “New York & Long Island Realtors NOT in Control”

1. Louisville Real Estate Says:
   July 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm

   Fascinating article, great job getting all the information together.

2. Keith Jeppson Says:
   July 25th, 2007 at 11:31 pm

   Wow, how can you get anything done have to work through attorneys? Sounds like there’s some industry protection going on.

3. laurie mindnich Says:
   August 1st, 2007 at 10:50 am

   To be honest, Keith, I’m not sure what’s going on, but there needs to be better (MUCH better) communication between all parties!

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