pushy broker, lawyer and all commission people involved

It's a game theory situation that's unwinnable. For a single interaction, the broker and lawyer have nothing to lose if they tell you there's another offer, regardless of whether it exists -- especially if you have no way of confirming that there's another offer. Curbed.com had an interesting discussion about phantom bids almost exactly a year ago... http://curbed.com/archives/2007/01/11/ask_curbed_am_i_bidding_against_a_phantom_offer.php

And, if you want more bad news, check out the explanation of the "Winner's Curse", another game theory concept. There is a way around it -- which is to make your initial bid below your estimation of the value.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winner's_curse

Do your due diligence. If you feel your lawyer is not representing your interests properly, then you're probably right.

As hwmd said, they're both incentivized to just get the deal done. Less work for them. If your offer has been "accepted" the seller won't withdraw unless they're a real scumbag. At any rate, don't sign til you're reviewed the financials, and lined up everything on your side. Better safe than sorry, there's more fish in the ocean, etc.

Some brokers really pile on the pressure to get deals done. I think they're just after their closing payday.

It's totally false that a closing attorney has an incentive to get the deal done. He gets paid on an hourly basis for the work that he does. If the deal falls through, you still have to pay him for services rendered. Thus, your attorney should not care whether you close or not. If you feel your attorney is pushing you to close the deal you should confront him/her about it, request an explanation, and, depending on the answer, proceed from there.

Depends on how the "closing attorney" is being compensated, Mel. Plenty of RE lawyers take on a transaction for a fixed fee -- like $2500 or $3000.

So the longer they spend on it, the less they make on it. This can result in pushiness. Also note that this RE attorney was also nominated by a broker, who is obviously incentivized to get the deal closed asap.

General tip: Find your own lawyer through personal references of civilians -- don't roll with a broker recommendation unless you really trust the broker.

Good tip masterq. The day this lawyer lets a deal fall through with the appearance of any involvement on his part contributing to the failure is the las day he ever gets a referral from that real estate agent. The agent recommended that lawyer because he stays out of the way and gets deals to close.

Novicemom: Please remember that there's ALWAYS another place. My wife and I had found what we thought was the perfect place, we lost it, then found another one and we always think back to how much better off we are now. Keep your head on straight and tune out all of the hype. It's YOUR money.

For what it is worth, we let our broker suggest a lawyer for us for our closing 2 years ago and he did not do a good job. We were so rushed because the broker pushed us (offers, offers, offers...), that we hired a guy quick and without doing any homework (we are both lawyers, which makes it even sadder). With that said, if you are not comfortable with your lawyer already, ditch him/her - it likely will only get worse. There are thousands of RE attorneys in NYC to choose from. Good luck.

I completely agree with everyone above except....if you have a really good attorney and they/you have the financials and the original offering plan you should be able to review it and come up with questions rather quickly (like 2 days). If you get a response back to those questions and you a.) haven't been answered to your satisfaction or b) creates more questions than you can go back with more. All in your due diligence - btw yourself, attorney, managing agent and brokers - shouldn't really take more than 1 weeks - 2 weeks(max). In this case you may be unhappy that your questions just are being taken seriously or there seems to be a lack of transparency, in which case you should walk anyway. It's your money; Let them take the other offer....

Never cut corners on due diligence (the consequences are potentially disastrous), but don't work with an attorney who isn't responsive to the time sensitive nature of the process. That is completely unacceptable. An attorney should review the financials and prospectus within 48 hours of receiving them and to review the building's coop board minutes within the next 24-48 hours. That is a reasonable expectation. You should also be asking questions that don't take a lawyer to get answers to. Your broker should be able to gather important info you'll need before you sign to buy: what capital projects have been done/are underway/need to be done; where does the building stand re: compliance with Local Law 11 (facade maintenance regs)(you don't want to find out the place has a $2M bill coming the day after you sign); what are the renovation policies (do they require that you pay to re-wire the electrical systems in the whole place if you just put up new kitchen cabinets?); sublet rules; other house rules...Think about what is important to you and know before you sign. From acceptance of offer to signing of contract should be about 1 week but not more than 2. BOTTOM LINE: just like buying a car, if you get pressure ignore it or walk away, but don't let it alter your course. This is likely to be the largest purchase you ever make--you owe it to yourself to be very deliberate about it and demand those assisting you respect that.

Well put Kylewest - you ALWAYS have to be prepared to walk away.

Two thoughts:

1. NEVER, under any circumstance, use a lawyer that EITHER their OR your broker suggests. The chance for a conflict of interest is too great You should have already interviewed and chosen a sharp, qualified attorney who specializes in real estate BEFORE you looked or negotiated, who will act as an unbiased third party on your behalf, and ONLY on your behalf, with no additional possible conflicts.

2. A sharp real estate attorney would be able to do the due diligence on a standard co-op/condo offer (assuming the BoD was forthcoming with BoD minutes, amendments, financials, etc.) in 48-96 hours (tops), and make the sellers attorney feel and understand that they would have a check and signed contract on their desk within 3-4 days, assuming no glitches. If the sellers are pressuring you and your attorney for a faster turn-around than that, you should walk away. And, of course, you should understand that the seller is allowed to continue showing and discussing offers until such time that your check and signed contract hits their desk, and is returned to your attorney fully signed as well.

One more thought - a good real estate attorney, working for you and you alone, is paid a flat hourly fee, not a percentage of anything. If you buy the place, you pay them. If for any reason you don't buy the place, you STILL PAY THE ATTORNEY. Fair is fair. Some attorneys are nice and if a deal falls apart, but you wind up buying another place reasonablr soon afterwards, they will 'throw you a bone' and discount their time a little bit. But they shouldn't have to - after all, they are still spending the time at your behest.

Malraux - It may be illegal for a closing attorney to take a "percentage" of the apartment's value. Not sure. Such a retainer agreement, even if legal, would likely have to be filed with a court (likely the Appellate Division). Have you heard of such arrangements? I'm very curious to know because it's really pushing the envelope.

Re: attorney fees on closings: Regardless of the cost of the apartment (I'm not talking many multimillions here--I don't have experience with that), if it is a standard deal with nothing special in terms of financing, investigations, negotiations & contract terms, then $1500-$2500 is about what an attorney's bill should be in today's NYC market. Much higher and I'd ask why/shop around more. 95% of residential real estate law is cut/paste/boilerplate-turn-the-crank-out-comes-a-deal stuff. It just shouldn't take too many hours of work.

Hi Mel:

Yes, an attorney certainly can negotiate a different situation. I had one such situation myself recently where I purchased a Village condo in a new development. The lawyer (a fabulous real estate attorney) had been the person who told me about the building in the first place, because he was writing the initial offering plan. This meant that I got first look before anybody else, and first choice of any unit if I wanted one. A deal was struck, and how we worked this out is that because I had no broker (there was only a 'sellers' broker for the new development) my lawyer negotiated a piece of the 6% that the sellers broker was getting, as payment for bringing me to the table. In exchange, he charged me absolutely $0 for the entire procedure, including the initial contract, overseeing the punchlist concerns, the closing, and any other fees.

In the end, he made much more than he would of had I just paid him a flat rate, I got first choice of a very desirable development, and I had no legal charges for the entire transaction. A complete win/win situation.

Having described this, I want to be clear that I only did this kind of deal BECAUSE I had worked with this lawyer on multple real estate transactions over multiple years and knew how professional he is and how transparant his dealings are. Otherwise, I would have been much more sceptical and careful about this kind of arrangement.

Thanks for the anecdote, malraux. I'm glad that you had a positive experience, but I believe, nay I am certain, that if what you describe is true, the agreement you entered into with your attorney is a clear conflict of interest, is "illegal," is a violation of the code of professional responsibility, and should result in your attorney being disciplined by the appropriate agency.

It is well-settled in New York that a lawyer may not act as both broker and attorney for the same client for the same transaction. That is a clear conflict and a clear violation. Add to that the fact that you claim this same attorney was also acting as attorney for the developer and you have a triple conflict. Given the circumstances, I doubt that even an express written waiver by both parties could cure the conflict.

Again, I'm glad you're happy and you believe you got a good deal. But, if what you describe is true, your attorney is neither "fabulous," "professional," nor "transparent." Rather, he gives attorneys a bad name and, if his conduct is ever reported, he should be disciplined severely.

I should add that having the author of the offering plan, who was paid by the sponsor to write the plan, review the plan on your behalf and for your benefit, is ridiculous. It's an obvious, impermissible, incurable conflict. Again, this attorney is nothing more than a sheister.

I'm interested in any feedback about this, malraux. Did anyone sign a waiver? As I said, I don't even think that would matter, but I'm curious.