When you think that you’re ready to buy or sell your New York condo or co-op apartment, make sure you have an experienced residential real estate lawyer ready to handle the transaction. Hiring a lawyer is a bit like buying insurance: he or she can help you reduce the risk of making expensive mistakes. Whether your’re spending $200,000 or $2 Million to buy your apartment, or expecting to profit from your sale, it is wise to hire a knowledgeable New York City real estate attorney to help you negotiate a contract, negotiate the mortgage process, and protect your legal rights before and after the closing.

An experienced lawyer should do more than just show up at the closing to help you push paper. They should review and revise your contract of sale and mortgage application, and check for mistakes that could cost you a bundle. Your attorney should know a lot about New York City condominium law. How many closings has your lawyer personally handled? Have these been primarily residential or commercial closings? Does the lawyer’s firm have support staff experienced with handling essential time-consuming tasks related to the closing, like communicating with your mortgage company, the title company, and the condo’s managing agent?

Many sellers think nothing of signing a contract giving a real estate broker a 6% commission on a $500,000 or $1 million sale of their apartment. Strangely, it’s usually the broker who recommends a lawyer to clients, and that lawyer usually ends up charging a flat fee of $750 - $2,000. If you consider that you often get what you pay for, it may seem strange to pay your lawyer such a low fee for handling such an important transaction in your life.

Lawyers who charge such incredibly low fees for your condo closing may just show up at your closing to handle the paper work and advise you when to sign different documents. Here are some things to think about, however: did that fee include any time your lawyer spent on due dilligence to review the condo offering plan, the managing agent’s files on the property, and minutes kept by the Board of Managers? Did that fee include any time spent by your lawyer on looking into whether there has been any litigation by or between the condo association and resident owners?

Remember, get an experienced lawyer to help you with buying or selling your condo, and consider the time, energy, and risk that you’re willing to tolerate that things can go wrong. Your lawyer can help guide you through these issues carefully.