horrible closing experience, unethical attorney?
yesterday i closed, finally and 24 hours later i have nothing but absolute bitterness about how it went down. long story short….the coop attorney, (the attoney representing the coop i was buying into) pretty much extorted an extra 250.00 out of me, threatening me that unless i paid the money (because the closing went on…
yesterday i closed, finally and 24 hours later i have nothing but absolute bitterness about how it went down. long story short….the coop attorney, (the attoney representing the coop i was buying into) pretty much extorted an extra 250.00 out of me, threatening me that unless i paid the money (because the closing went on too long, it took 3 hours) they would not finalize the sale. this is after , AFTER i paid their fee.
my attorney was incredulous and the bank attorney looked at them like they were crazy.
in the end i wrote the check because wtf was i to do? i already paid so many fees and application fees to get to this point and in the last minute all of sudden their is an extra 250.00, it really is not about the money, but the principle.
i cannot believe this, i totally understand that in closing there will be so many charges and fees, but this was blatant extortion. if they told me going in that there was a time limit thats one thing, but this really made me upset and even though i have possesion, i’m still pretty heated about this.
just wanted to get some ideas what to do, i’m going to contact the NY Bar and will stop the check (hopefully) in any case. I will definitely share the name of this law practice soon.
OP is rude using expressions as “wtf” “f-ing” “extortion” “mugged by people in suits” etc
Calmer heads should prevail… I still think there’s a missing element to the story… so all the “how the fucks…” etc. just don’t cut it.
Sometimes, even though folks are given a set time for closing, a written list of documents/checks that they need to bring to closing etc., they show up late, no documentation, no I.D. and act suprised when the principals involved are completely aggravated and want to be compensated for the extra time involved due to the purchaser coming totally unprepared for closing and late to boot.
In any event, good luck to the OP in his/her new home.
People are so rude on this board today (from both ends). It’s a nice day out. Go take a walk. All of you.
“There seems to be a missing element to this story OP…. were you late for the closing.”
How the fuck do you know if there is a “missing element” to the story? And even *if* there is an extra fee for a longer process that should have been made clear right at the start, along with any other fees contingent on certain events.
Basically the attorney concerned was involved in nothing short of a heist: gimme more money or you lose the co-op.
I’m not the OP, but if the OP described the story correctly then his conclusion, that he should stop the check and lodge a complaint, is quite valid.
There seems to be a missing element to this story OP…. were you late for the closing… so many times folks don’t realize it’s important to show up with all your required documents and ID and in a timely manner.
Absurd to pay for your own lawyer (if you are the Cooperative Corporation)? To make sure the lawyer represents your interests. To avoid conflicts of interest. Much as paying the gas bill or the real estate taxes are co-op business, so too is the safeguarding of co-op interests at sales. Charge a flip tax, or raise maintenance. But to have the counsel to one party turn to another represented party during a transaction and say “pay me” or I walk is unseemly. The fact that it is custom around here doesn’t make it any less weird.
PS how is OP rude? Esasily exciteable, perhaps…
op you are a rude and easily excited person as evidenced by your posts. I think there is another side to this story.
Welcome to co-op living! That’s why I sold mine and moved out to the boonies of Brooklyn and got a house. Oh, if I could tell you all the evil ways my co-op extorted money from me over the years…
But what kind of absurdity is that about having the co-op pay their attorney for the closing? Why should they dish out the $ every time one of the shareholders wants to sell their shares? Maintenance costs would go through the roof, particularly if it’s a building with high turnover.
John is right, bring it up with the board and try to change things from within. Hopefully it’s not a giant building and you’ll be able to have some sway.
I have always thought there was an inherent conflict in the buyer being asked to pay for the co-op’s attorney. Seems to me this should be paid for by the co-op. As it is, the buyer and the attorney here have a potentially adversarially relationship (as illustrated here). And was it really in the co-op’s interest to have the sale not go through if the fee wasn’t paid? Unfortunately for many of these firms the focus is on volume rather than quiality and customer service. Penalties for long closings should be disclosed up front or the fee should be set to anticipate that. That said you will find contractors who change their prices midjob, either honestly or in bait and switch. It does want to make your head explode. Deep breathing helps!