Even in areas where I was told no one uses a lawyer for real estate matters, I would never sign any contract for the purchase or sale of real estate unless it contained the sentence "this contract is subject to the approval of my attorney."

Ideally, you'd want to show any contract to your lawyer before you signed it, but things aren't that simple. You may have found your dream house on Saturday afternoon when it's just come on the market at a bargain price and you can't afford to wait for your lawyer to come in off the golf course. Or you may be a seller who needs to accept in a hurry before the offer expires.

But by making the offer subject to attorney's approval (you can simply write that above your signature) you've used a magic phrase, and the contract won't become binding until your lawyer okays it.

The other party won't want to wait around too long for that to happen, so you'd specify a time limit of only a few days. In a few states, the law specifies a time limit; in New Jersey, for example, every real estate sales contract is subject to attorney's review within five days of acceptance.

Most lawyers will not express an opinion on the price at which you plan to buy or sell. They feel that matter is beyond their field of expertise -- unless someone is taking unconscionable advantage of an ignorant and helpless older person, or something along that line.

Otherwise, the lawyer's role is to make sure the wording protects you, and that you understand what you're committing yourself to.

Once the contract is firm, you are probably safe in following local custom about the further course of the transaction. In some states your own lawyer follows the whole course of the transaction and represents you at the closing; in other areas those duties are handled by escrow agents, title companies and lending institutions.

Published: February 22, 1999

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