No Attorney? In my Area, I Don't Think So!

So I have been a real estate agent for the past fifteen years.  I started on Long Island in Great Neck and then moved to Westchester County.  Each of these areas while both close to New York City practice real estate in different ways.  Two different real estate boards, different rules, same ethics.

So, having done this for a while I know that there is always something to learn.  Each sale is a new experience.  This is my newist.  In my area of the country everyone uses an Attorney, both buyer's and seller's.  This is not the case throughout New York State as their are areas upstate New York that do not use Attorney's.  So, I recently had a buyer and I did all of my usual pre-approvals, showed the client her price and we found a property that she liked.  She is from California.  After getting an acceptance on the price, closing, terms I spoke to her and said that I would need the name of her attorney to proceed.  I had explained at the beginning that we do use attorney's.

So began a back and forth about why in the world would she need an attorney.  She will review the contract herself, how complicated could it be, she tells me the title is a bank issue, and she has the right to represent herself.  For me, this was new.  I had never had a client who wanted to represent themselves and it raised all kinds of interesting questions.

First of all, is it really a problem? The answer to that in my mind is absolutely.  She has to do the title search, deal with the title company if there is an issue, has to coordinate the closing getting all of the parties in one place, dealing with the banks, the RESPA, and insuring that clear title and all New York State laws are followed.

So, if she represents herself who is she hurting except herself?  The first thing that comes to mind is if something goes awry she will say she wasn't represented and use that as an out.  Should the seller's attorney or is the seller's attorney obligated to work with a client who is representing herself.  Who is going to explain the process, what happens, first, second and third.

Live and learn.