What Is Attorney Review When You Buy a Home in New York?

A purchase contract and the loan documents that go with it are binding paperwork with real consequences. The New York Department of State's Division of Consumer Protection puts the advice plainly in its guide for first-time homebuyers: have your own attorney review all contracts and loan documents before you sign.

The word "own" matters. Your attorney works for you, not for the seller and not for anyone else at the table. Ask any attorney you are considering how they handle a purchase from the accepted offer through the closing, and who in the office will be your day-to-day contact.

If you want the full sequence that follows an accepted offer, we lay it out in What Happens After You Accept an Offer in New York?

The details vary by deal, and your attorney will tell you how your own contract is handled. In general, the stretch looks like this:

1. The terms get passed along. We send your attorney the accepted price and terms, so the contract reflects what was agreed.
2. Your attorney reads the contract. They go through it line by line and explain what each part means for you.
3. Questions and changes. Your attorney may ask for changes, and the seller's attorney may respond with their own. Some points go back and forth.
4. Timing gets set. Ask your attorney how the inspection, the appraisal, and the mortgage process are written into the contract, and what each one means for your dates.
5. You sign. When you understand the document and are comfortable with it, you sign.

Ask your attorney whether your offer is binding at the moment it is accepted, and what, if anything, you can still change before the contract is signed. That is a legal question, and the answer belongs to them.

Your agent and your attorney do different jobs. The state's Real Estate License Law describes the buyer's agent as the person who negotiates the purchase of a home at a price and on terms acceptable to the buyer. That is the work of the offer.

The Department of State's Legal Memorandum LI04 is clear that brokers and salespersons must refrain from giving legal advice to their clients. So when you ask what a clause means or whether to accept a change, we send you to your attorney.

What we do during attorney review:

• Get the accepted terms to your attorney quickly and accurately.
• Keep the timeline moving between your attorney, the seller's side, and the lender.
• Help you line up the home inspection and read the report.
• Talk through the practical side of any request, such as what to ask the seller for after the inspection.

We are Team Rivera at Keller Williams Points North, Steven and Rose Rivera. Gold Coast and North Shore first, Montauk to Manhattan. We work closely with your attorney from the moment your offer is accepted. You can see how that fits into the whole purchase on our buyer page.

Line up your attorney first. Waiting until the offer is accepted leaves you choosing a lawyer in a hurry, with the clock running.

A few things worth doing ahead of time:

• Choose an attorney who handles New York home purchases and ask how they communicate during review.
• Get your pre-approval in place. Your lender handles the loan. Ask us for lender options and we will tell you how we know each one.
• Plan to have the loan documents reviewed too. The state's advice covers both contracts and loan documents.
• Write down your questions. Bring them to your attorney before you sign, not after.

If you want to talk through the order of steps for your own search, reach out to us and we will set up a consultation. We go over a written buyer agreement at the first consultation, before we tour any homes, and we answer every question before you sign it.