By

318photo
We have noticed that mortgage foreclosures have become more prevalent in recent months.  Such actions can eventually result in the property being sold by the foreclosing lender after the foreclosure auction to an independent third party.  Our attorneys are often consulted by such potential purchasers.  This post will address the legal and practical matters that arise in such post-foreclosure purchases.

Parties to such transactions should be prepared for a one-sided “pressured process” from contract signing through closing.  The foreclosing lender often treats the buyer as harshly as if the buyer was delinquent on the mortgage that was foreclosed.  Purchasers should expect a contract to be delivered that is not particularly negotiable and that needs to be signed and returned quickly.  An experienced attorney should advise the buyer, his lender and the title company of all applicable deadlines and needs to monitor compliance so that the buyer does not incur financial penalties permitted by the contract or potentially subject their downpayment to being forfeited due to missing a deadline.  Closing dates are usually stated as “time is of the essence” , making for less cooperation with the seller as to scheduling the closing and potential significant financial penalties for not closing in a timely fashion.

In this type of transaction, the contract will typically contain provisions that differ from an ordinary transaction between individual buyers and sellers.  For instance, the property will be sold “as is”, not be subject to a buyer’s repair requests and is not subject to the New York State property disclosure law.  Seller standard costs such as document preparation and transfer taxes are assigned to the buyer in these deals.  Purchasers may not have the opportunity to conduct customary due diligence prior to signing the contract.  Further, a purchaser of post-foreclosure property may not have access to enter and view the premises being purchased to confirm property condition and that there is no tenant or occupant in the premises.  Should a person occupy the property, the purchaser would need a qualified attorney  to start an eviction action after the purchase has closed.

Continue reading

By

laundry-300x163We are compelled to inform our readers when there is a substantial change to regulations affecting real estate transactions.  As of March 1, 2026, sweeping changes  to financial reporting are in effect.  By way of background, “FinCEN”, otherwise known as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has pertained to financial reporting of particular transactions, defined by amount and location.  Now, FinCEN, has been more broadly applied in all fifty states, regardless of the size of transaction (even zero consideration) and is a Federal compliance requirement to satisfy.

FinCEN has always been intended to quash potential money laundering in real estate transactions.  It is meant to deter those who would funnel potentially illegally obtained funds by buying and selling real estate using an entity (such as a corporation or limited liability company) without identifying the individual parties behind the entity.  All cash transactions involving entities or trusts have been identified as “high risk” for money laundering due to the potential for anonymity of the parties.  All real estate transactions as of this month are subject to evaluation as to whether reporting is required.  Further, an updated New York State transfer tax return is to be used.  The new FinCEN regulations are to be applied to residential real estate transactions with an entity buyer that is purchasing without an institutional lender.  Private lending and hard money transactions are subject to reporting because such lenders typically do not evaluate the individuals behind a purchasing entity as carefully as would an institutional lender.

Exemptions include transfers to trusts where the transferor and transferee are essentially one and the same party.  For instance, a person wishes to transfer his house to a trust in which he is the trustee.  In addition, transfers pursuant to administering an estate  or life events such as divorce are also exempt from reporting.

Continue reading

By

cancelSeveral news outlets have reported that homebuyers are canceling real estate contracts at an elevated rate.  We have previously posted about real estate transactions that do not proceed to closing.  Certainly, in this bitterly cold winter that New Yorkers are enduring, some parties are getting cold feet.

Our attorneys have observed a higher rate of cancellations by contractor purchasers.  Such entities do not intend to reside in the house and are objective and impersonal about the property.  They look at the property from a mere financial perspective.  Contractors want to purchase the property at a low cost, renovate it and then sell it to a person who will appreciate the improvements and eventually live in the house.  Perhaps these contractor buyers are looking at the numbers more carefully once they have signed a contract.  They visit the property multiple times and price the materials and tradesman costs necessary to complete the renovation.  Tariffs imposed by the current Presidential administration have made some of the building materials substantially more costly and may make a contractor’s renovation plans financially impractical.

In general, purchasers in New York cannot readily cancel a contract in the same fashion as may be possible in other states.  For instance, inspections typically take place before a contract is signed in New York.  In other states, inspections occur after the contract is signed and allow for a buyer to cancel if conditions are unacceptable.  As we have previously indicated, some of the reasons buyers cancel contracts in New York involve title issues that cannot be cleared, declination for a mortgage, or rejection by a cooperative board.  A purchaser’s refusal to waive the mortgage contingency , contrary to a previous trend, may also cause the rate of contract cancellations to elevate should a purchaser be declined for a mortgage.

Continue reading

By

gymNews outlets have reported that former gymnast Livvy Dunne’s application to purchase a NYC apartment once owned by Yankees legend Babe Ruth was rejected by the cooperative board.  Although the news was disappointing to the young social media influencer, such a decision was mostly likely a prudent one and not entirely unexpected.  This post will provide a legal analysis of cooperative board declinations.

We have previously written about the cooperative board approval process.  So long as the purchaser was not rejected due to illegal discriminatory reasons, a rejection is considered to be legally tenable.  Further, the reasons for the declination need not be disclosed.    Applicants are legally protected from discrimination if the reason that they are rejected is due to characteristics such as their race, religion, sexual orientation and the like.

Dunne’s proposed purchase was purportedly an all cash purchase, with no bank loan.  Her board application would have included proof of funds and other financial details.  Ironically enough, some boards prefer to approve a purchaser who is using a bank loan for the purchase, since the lender has professionally evaluated the creditworthiness of the proposed purchaser.  Dunne’s livelihood as a social media influencer may have been seen as without substance and fleeting by the board.  Should she “go out of style”, her income may become depleted and her ability to maintain financial obligations to the building may not be met in the future.

Continue reading
Contact Information
1 Barker Ave,
Second Floor
White Plains, NY 10601
Phone: (914) 328-6100
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2015 – 2026, Law Offices of Weiss & Weiss
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design