Bergen County homes are bought and sold with the help of attorneys. While I work very hard for my clients and give them the best representation I can, I am not a real estate attorney.
Real estate agents in New Jersey must use the broker form of contract for all residential transactions. Contracts are legal documents – you need an attorney’s help.
Attorneys do much more than finalize your contract. A real estate attorney reads and checks everything from home inspections to title policies and prepares the closing documents.
Hiring a great attorney is essential – without this help, you run intolerable risks in my view. I am so sure of this that I will not work with anyone who does not hire an attorney when buying or selling residential property. 
When clients ask me for names of great attorneys, they sometimes ask about attorney fees. I really don’t know the answer. But I can tell you one thing – this is no time to look for a discount. Whether you have a good or bad transaction depends very much on the attorney you choose.
What I can tell you about fees is that you don’t want to lose the opportunity to get the best advice for a few hundred dollars. Here is what I say to everyone about this:
If you needed brain surgery would you run around looking for the cheapest surgeon? You know, the firm that’s on TV at 3 am promising you everything at a discount. Is that how you would pick the doctor who is going to operate on your brain? I don’t think so……..
You are buying a home where you’ll live for a long while. Make sure you hire an excellent real estate attorney so you are fully protected. It’s simply too dangerous for you to do otherwise.
