attorney recommendations

Hugh Finnegan of Sullivan & Worcester. hfinnegan@sandw.com
Have worked with him in more commercial deals, not certain if he does standard apt purchases but shoot him an email and ask. Great lawyer, great guy.

Richard Cohen at Friedberg Cohen Coleman Pinkas, LLP, phone 212-829-9090. My wife and I ahve worked with Richard Cohen on four residential Manhattan real estate deals in the past four years, and he really is the consumate professional. And a super nice guy, too. I've got another closing with him in about sixty days for a new place we bought.

Okay, but both #2 and #3 sound like they are in a way different income bracket than I am. Therefore, one could assume the lawyer's fees might lean in that direction as well.

Any recomendations for good, yet relatively inexspensive, firms or lawyers? Does the city provide anything for lower middle-class, first-time buyers?

Poster #3 here:

Look, a lawyer is going to cost between $1K and $3K, depending on the complexity and dollar value of your transaction. If you ARE buying a place for $300K, or $400K, or whatever it is, you can afford (and should pay for) a TOP real estate attorney. They can save you thousands more down the line.

If you have the money to buy a place, you're an absolute fool if you try to cut corners at the end of your transaction on your real estate attorney to save a thousand bucks (give or take).

Whether you contact the guy I suggested above or not, get a great attorney!!

#4 here. Thanks for the advice. So, back to the main question, does anyone know a good lawyer that specializes in first-time purchases or someone who is patient to work with a first-time, extremely nervous, asking too many questions, type?

Look - how much do YOU think YOU'RE prepared to spend on an attorney?

I think the lawyer is the LAST place you'd want to cut corners especially in NYC. If you can't afford up to 3K, you may want to rethink if you can really afford the place

Jon B. Felice & Associates only charge $750, and they have completed a few deals for my friends, all with smooth closings. the market price is about 1250-1500. $3000 is way overpriced. this is only a real estate transaction, not a class action suit!

Poster #3/#5 here again:

As I said above "...a lawyer is going to cost between $1K and $3K, depending on the complexity and dollar value of your transaction..."

When I closed on a $5MM property, it was MUCH more in attorney fees compared to closing on a $300K property....

First Time Buyer here but what major roles do the Lawyers play or protect for buyer in the buying process? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks! () :-)

Poster #3/#5/#10 again:

Very simply, a good real estate attorney protects you from getting screwed over by the seller, by the sellers broker, by the sellers attorney, by your broker, and makes sure everything is in order from a legal pov so the city, state, and government can't try to screw you over, either.

Your attorney is THE ONLY PERSON in the entire transaction whos ONLY JOB it is to protect ONLY YOUR interests, and your interests ALONE. Your attorney has no conflict of interest with anybody else in your transaction, (s)he'll get paid for his/her time even if the deal falls apart as his/her earnings aren't contingent on the deal happening, and (s)he will certainly be the only one in the room protecting your interests with the city, state, and governmental regulations.

John Vincenti of Vincenti & Vincenti. 212-509-4600; www.vincenti.com. Everything with our closing was handled perfectly, and he's a really nice person. A true pleasure to work with.

how do we kown any recommendation is from a real client, not from any of the firms?