duties of real estate attorney

wow. this is traditionally an atty job. I am happy to go over your co-op financials with you on a consulting basis -- but review of the board minutes, I've never done. I assume that if you have the seller call the managing agent and say that you're coming, you can review them, but honestly, I've never heard of an atty not doing it.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

it's time for you to get a new atty--

good brokers know the gen'l culture of coops they sell, including financial info, and what's come up in prior reviews of minutes

any honest NY RE lawyer with a triple-digit IQ would insist on doing proper due diligence, including contract negotiation and review of financials and minutes

you are about to engage a big, risky investment---not a joke---get a good atty

I've never understood why people want their attorney to look at the minutes/financials. They have law degrees - they are not financial analysts or CPAs. Personally when I bought I wanted to look over the numbers myself, and review the numbers myself - its not rocket science. The contract, of course I wanted an attorney to review because a word here or there can have significant impact beyond what a layperson's reading would infer. I mean, you are about to make a huge huge purchase - spending a couple of hours reading through minutes seems quite reasonable.

Attorneys have more experience than average laypeople in reviewing Coop records, and are better
able to understand the context and implications of what those documents reveal.

If your attorney wont do that for you and you want it done, get an attorney who will. Your attorney
might not be qualified to perform those tasks and is doing you a favor by refusing to.

Due diligence is the responsibility of your attorney, not your real estate broker. I would expect that a competent NYC RE attorney would be very familiar with reviewing both coop financials and board minutes. You could contact the NYC Bar Association for a referral or better yet, ask friends or co-workers for a recommedation.

As to why the attorney receives co-ops records.... If the minutes/financials reveal a complication, the attorney is in a better position to address it in the contract. E.g., our diligence review turned up a pesky, contentious leak issue (not visible from plain sight) and also a previously undisclosed special assessment due to hit right around our closing date, to be used to pay for work done after closing. Our attorney wrote addenda into the contract that made the sale contingent upon resolving the leak issue to the complainant's satisfaction and specified that the special assessment was the seller's full responsibility.