CondoMo
New Member
I need an objective opinion re: the lawyer that I used to review my offer to purchase. When I initially contacted the lawyer I was quoted a price for him to review the contract and make possible amendments. He went over the contract with me and stated that the amendments that he would have suggested were already imbedded in my offer to purchase. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but after re-reading the contracting and scanning the forum I decided that there were other amendments that I wanted to make. First, I told him that I felt uneasy because it had been over a week and my amendments were not signed by the builder.
Additionally, I asked him if it was possible/necessary to make the following amendments:
His response to me was that there was no way to put the walk away clause (understandable) and that the builder gets insurance for any amount over $20k that it withdraws so I am protected. I was fine with his response, but again inquired if he was able to draft the amendment for the change to the deposit structure. He responded “we can’t unfortunately. Only builders do amendments to builder’s contractsâ€. I was annoyed and confused as he previously told me that his fee included amendments. Anyways, I contacted the sales office and negotiated the change to the deposit structure.
Today, the last day of my rescission period, I noticed that there was no square footage outlined in the contract. Something I find strange and leaves me vulnerable in the that event that the builder decides to slight me a couple hundred sq ft -- it could happen. I asked the lawyer about this and his response was “Best thing to do in such a case is to ask the builder for the square footage. Ask for it in writing.†I was confused as I was still under the impression that the this was an amendment that he could prepare, so I asked him to prepare the amendment. He again responded that “builder amendments must always be prepared by the builder.†My realtor ended up contacting the sales office to get that amendment into the offer to purchase.
I contacted the lawyer once again and told him that this was the last day of my rescission period and all the amendments were not yet approved by the builder. I then asked him to let the builder know that my offer to purchase was pending approval of all of the amendments (something that the legal administrator at his office previously told me was within their domain). He told me that I should try again with them and if I didn’t get anywhere he’d do it tomorrow. I ended up contacting him again and firmly reiterating that my rescission period ends today and I need the builder to be aware of this provision to my offer to purchase. He then told me that he’d do it and later sent me an email confirming that the letter was sent.
I’m confused as to why this lawyer did not catch the missing sq ft and was unwilling to prepare the amendments like I was previously told his fee included. This baffles me, I’m beyond pissed. Is this the norm? Were my requests out of the realm of what a real estate lawyer should do? I’m a first time home buyer and could totally be in the wrong and if that’s the case, pls let me know.
Additionally, I asked him if it was possible/necessary to make the following amendments:
- change the last deposit on occupancy from 5% to 10% ($26,100). *Actually, if there is a way that we’d be able to change the deposit structure completely to 10% within 180 days and 15% on occupancy I would prefer this.
- is there any way to put a clause into the contract that I can walk away if the occupancy date is delayed past 6 months of the intended occupancy date
- is my deposit above $20k covered by the Condo Act? *If so, does this need to be stated in the contract?
His response to me was that there was no way to put the walk away clause (understandable) and that the builder gets insurance for any amount over $20k that it withdraws so I am protected. I was fine with his response, but again inquired if he was able to draft the amendment for the change to the deposit structure. He responded “we can’t unfortunately. Only builders do amendments to builder’s contractsâ€. I was annoyed and confused as he previously told me that his fee included amendments. Anyways, I contacted the sales office and negotiated the change to the deposit structure.
Today, the last day of my rescission period, I noticed that there was no square footage outlined in the contract. Something I find strange and leaves me vulnerable in the that event that the builder decides to slight me a couple hundred sq ft -- it could happen. I asked the lawyer about this and his response was “Best thing to do in such a case is to ask the builder for the square footage. Ask for it in writing.†I was confused as I was still under the impression that the this was an amendment that he could prepare, so I asked him to prepare the amendment. He again responded that “builder amendments must always be prepared by the builder.†My realtor ended up contacting the sales office to get that amendment into the offer to purchase.
I contacted the lawyer once again and told him that this was the last day of my rescission period and all the amendments were not yet approved by the builder. I then asked him to let the builder know that my offer to purchase was pending approval of all of the amendments (something that the legal administrator at his office previously told me was within their domain). He told me that I should try again with them and if I didn’t get anywhere he’d do it tomorrow. I ended up contacting him again and firmly reiterating that my rescission period ends today and I need the builder to be aware of this provision to my offer to purchase. He then told me that he’d do it and later sent me an email confirming that the letter was sent.
I’m confused as to why this lawyer did not catch the missing sq ft and was unwilling to prepare the amendments like I was previously told his fee included. This baffles me, I’m beyond pissed. Is this the norm? Were my requests out of the realm of what a real estate lawyer should do? I’m a first time home buyer and could totally be in the wrong and if that’s the case, pls let me know.