Coop Closing

Yes, actually. Surprises crop up all the time and when you least expect them at a closing.

Typically, though, your attorney (I'm one!) should have these documents in advance, and should spend time reviewing them so as to avoid any mishaps. Usually, if there are any issues, the closing can be postponed with the consent of the parties. As to any additional charges.... well, a closing is meant to be something of a show: everything is planned out in advance and it doesn't go on unless everyone's prepared. That said, there are plenty of inexperienced professionals out there who just get the deal done to get the deal done - they work on volume and aren't as concerned with a clean transaction as they are with a *closed* transaction. Good luck!

Very common, never had any issues

MSantori - thank you for your comments. I went to closing today and noticed 1) I did not get a copy of the 'duly' signed statements, only the versions without the signatures. Is my attorney supposed to send them to me later? Also, on the stock certificate, there is a ' - ' in between my names when there should not be one... is that going to be an issue legally speaking?

As to signatures, your attorney should at least send you copies of every document he keeps. At your direction, he should send you any originals you request. We make a point of keeping originals safe and sound at our firm - as should any attorney. That said, there's no reason to think they'd be any safer in your possession, unless you are a safe-deposit-box type of guy/gal.

As to the "legality" of the stock certificate: I doubt you'd have too big a problem proving (in court or anywhere else) that you are the owner of the shares even in spite of the hyphen. Still, I can't speak to the crazy requirements of any banks, probate courts, insurers or any other entity that may require a copy of your stock certificate. I'd spend the time now to correct it if it was me, if only for convenience's sake.

Marco Santori is a lawyer in New York City, but he isn't *your* lawyer, and you should not rely on this post for legal advice. If you have any other questions, feel free to email at MSANTORI@NMLLPLAW.COM

I'm not a lawyer, so this isn't legal advice either, but ...didn't you fill out a form that basically stated what the forms of your names were? i.e. "John Doe a/k/a Johnathan Doe a/k/a John M. Doe" ...something like that. Seems like the easy work-around would have been to add "John-Doe" to that list.

I'm sure you can get the hyphen fixed post-closing, but it would have been easier (and probably cheaper) to do while the corporation's rep was sitting at the table.

As far as the other documents, if you took a mortgage the proprietary lease and the share certificate are going to be held by your lender until your mortgage is paid off, so you don't get them anyway. The document that you need a copy of is the HUD-1; make sure your atty sends it to you because you'll need some of the numbers on it come tax time.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

I think correcting the stock certificate is a good idea. That really should have been caught at the closing. It may be nothing in the future, but I'd say better to avoid the possibility. In real estate I prefer than everything be as perfect as possible--it is a very technical, picky area of the law.