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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
 
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I"m in the "contracts mean nothing" camp. A contract is toilet paper without good will on both sides to do the deal. We've been asked to counteroffer a new buyer after review was over. We're in month 8 of buying a short. All a contract on a short means is you've spent a whole lot of time asking the bank to come up with a counteroffer. Short sales are different - banks have the right to counter your offer...and that takes a long time.
Posted on: 2012/4/21 15:13
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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the "AS IS" clause in the home inspection review clause in a standard nj real estate contract is trumpeted by any clauses your attorney or the buyer's attorney adds during attorney review. So if physical defects were added during attorney review, the buyer has every right to argue with you. The definition of physical defect is solely his opinion. You could have asked your attorney to say, "physical defects except for physical defects found on the walls, tiles, etc"
And no, a contract is not toilet paper. A signed contract by both parties is a legal binding document. The attorney is probably the most important person besides yourself in the purchase of a new home. Buyers are literally getting couple hundred thousand dollar mortgages and putting tens of thousands of dollars down on a purchase - real estate law should favor them. The only downside for a seller is that they don't sell their home.... Just think about it.
Posted on: 2012/4/21 15:10
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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2007/9/1 14:14 Last Login : 2021/3/15 20:01 From Downtown - H.P. area
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I agree with Brewster. Buyer and seller have to see eye-to-eye on the terms of the deal. The contract just documents what you've agreed to. Until you have the signed HUD form you have nothing but words.
Posted on: 2012/4/20 18:33
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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I"m in the "contracts mean nothing" camp. A contract is toilet paper without good will on both sides to do the deal. We've been asked to counteroffer a new buyer after review was over. We're in month 8 of buying a short. All a contract on a short means is you've spent a whole lot of time asking the bank to come up with a counteroffer.
Posted on: 2012/4/20 17:11
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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2007/6/27 22:27 Last Login : 2012/4/20 14:33 From Hamilton Park
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If we didn't return the deposit, they were going to sue for the return. Since the house hadn't been sold, we'd suffered no "damages", and therefore would in most likelihood lose the suit for return of the deposit. See the Catch-22 that are NJ real estate contracts for sellers?
Posted on: 2012/4/20 14:36
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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Why did you return the deposit? If they agreed to the home being sold "as is" (and that language is in the contract) then cosmetic changes do not apply and you should have kept the deposit and let an arbitrator decide.
With that being said, it is not a sellers market and any language you add that will limit the freedoms of a buyer will make you an unattractive seller.
Posted on: 2012/4/19 5:25
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
Joined:
2007/6/27 22:27 Last Login : 2012/4/20 14:33 From Hamilton Park
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They walked after attorney review, no violations on our part. They used the inspection clause in the contract as the excuse to walk. We disagreed with their findings of "physical defects" since the contract said the house was being sold "AS IS". But that's not the point. The point is that they could have walked at any time for any reason, even on the closing day, and our recourse is strictly suing for damages, and as I explained before that is an unlikely route to be taken. I'd love to know how the contract can be modified to have some actual teeth, such as being able to keep the deposit in those cases.
Posted on: 2012/4/18 22:52
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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Stani - they can walk after signing the contract without any legal ramifications during
1) the 7 day attorney review period for any reason 2) after attorney review is over and the seller refuses to oblige by the buyer's demands for fixes detailed in the home inspection or major flaws are discovered during the home inspection 3) the seller violates provisions in the contract If any of the above situation applies to you, the buyer did nothing wrong
Posted on: 2012/4/18 18:03
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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I thought you could keep the depost if the buyer walks away with no "good/legit" reason (examples of "good/legit" reason: major issues discovered during inspection, buyer couldn't get a mortgage, etc)??? Isn't that standard wording in the contract?
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Posted on: 2012/4/18 18:00
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
Joined:
2007/6/27 22:27 Last Login : 2012/4/20 14:33 From Hamilton Park
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That's very interesting. I just had the experience where the sale of my house fell through. The buyer walked even though we had a signed contract. We were using an attorney, who told us that the only remedy was to sue for damages, which in turn can only be demonstrated when the property sells for less than the contract price and in any event, legal fees can't be included in the calculation of damages. Our conclusion was that real estate purchase and sale contracts are essentially unenforceable (unless the seller is a real estate attorney, I suppose). May I ask what language you included in the contract that saved you "many times his fee"?
Posted on: 2012/4/18 17:52
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Just can't stay away
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Just want to thank all of you for your respective responses. We really appreciate your help!!
Posted on: 2012/4/17 3:10
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Newbie
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To actually answer the question posed here, my inspection cost me about $475. The real estate lawyer's fee was about $1,400. Both can be had for less, but I used John Moss for the inspection and Irwin Rosen for the legal work, and both were top notch.
As to the other poster who claims a lawyer is unnecessary, well, strictly speaking you could perform your own property inspection too, and your own appendectomy. My lawyer inserted language in my contract that literally saved me many times his fee. As the saying goes, the man who provides his own legal representation has a fool for a client... :)
Posted on: 2012/4/16 14:20
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
Joined:
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If you find an oil tanker under your property you really have problems
 Robin.
Posted on: 2012/4/14 6:52
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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I would HIGHLY discourage you from not using an attorney. The attorney serves an extremely useful purpose in securing necessary documents during the attorney review process. If you are buying a condo, these include the condo association bylaws, financial budgets, minutes, etc. These documents can be hundreds of pages long and you will have questions. if you are buying a house, the attorney is useful in making sure the title is clean and if you do run into any problems such as you find there is an oil tanker or something underneath the purchase property, you will not be able to handle that in the right legal language.
Adding in provisions to the contract also require a knowledge of the legal language to make sure there are no loopholes. whatever you do, DO NOT forgo an attorney. It's just not worth the risk..
Posted on: 2012/4/13 22:27
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Just can't stay away
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If you are getting a mortgage loan I would forgo the closing attorney.
The mortgagor will do all necessary due diligence they need before they loan any money on a property, I just don't see any added value to an attorney. We have bought our last two properties in this manner. Real Estate agents as a general rule don't like it, and will do all they can to discourage you. FWIW the last property we bought, our agent said "This means you aren't serious, I am not comfortable presenting the offer. I replied "Ok, if you are not comfortable, that is ok by me, I will make the offer direct to the sellers agent. That agent did not make such noise again, he took our offer to the selling agent, the deal closed on time and with no problems.
Posted on: 2012/4/13 20:34
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Just can't stay away
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I used john moss as well. I dont have anyone to compare him to but i was very happy with his services. His report was very thorough.
Posted on: 2012/4/12 19:04
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Newbie
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I concur. John Moss is unbelievably thorough and takes you through step by step. His company is call Inspex, www.inspexbuildinginspections.com and the phone number is (201)433-8777. My parents just closed on a unit in the Rosina on Wayne and I had them use John; just as thorough as ever.
And as for attorneys, I used Sheldon F. Margolis, located in the Capital One building in Journal Square (the old NJ Trust & Co. building). He was very effective at helping the process move along. I found him to be more than fair with his fee and when you have to go back into your copies of the mortgage and paperwork the documents were all labeled and categorized; a breeze if you have to reference anything from your mortgage proceedings. (201)795-5000.
Posted on: 2012/4/12 18:57
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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I also had a friend who used John Moss based on a recommendation, and was very happy with John.
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Posted on: 2012/4/12 18:44
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Re: Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Home away from home
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There is no better inspector in Jersey City than John Moss. I highly recommend him. He sees thinks that other inspectors do not see and he explains how to take care of you home to you during the inspection.
Posted on: 2012/4/12 18:16
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Cost of Home Inspection and RE Attorney
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Just can't stay away
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Sure this has been covered already, but I just want get a sense of what people are currently paying for a home inspection and RE closing attorney.
We are looking to buy a single family row house. The only wrinkle is that it has 2 kitchens (mother/daughter set up) so I'm not sure if a home inspection will cost more. Thanks in advance.
Posted on: 2012/4/12 17:57
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