Attorney review in New Jersey, explained in five minutes

If you are moving here from New York, or from almost any other state, attorney review is the part of a New Jersey deal that makes no sense at first. You agree on a price, you sign a contract, and then you are told the contract is not really binding yet. Here is what is actually happening, and how to use it.

What it is

In New Jersey, the contract you sign at the offer stage is usually a standard form prepared by the real estate agents. Because agents are not lawyers, the state gives each side a window to have an attorney look at it before it becomes binding. That window is attorney review. It starts once both buyer and seller have signed and copies have been delivered to the attorneys, and it runs for three business days. Weekends and holidays do not count.

What happens during those three days

Your attorney reads the contract and sends the other side a letter: this stays, this changes, this gets added. The other attorney answers. Typical changes are about dates, the inspection window, who pays for what, and what happens to the deposit if a lender says no. Once both attorneys agree in writing, or the three days run out without anyone objecting, review is over and you are under contract for real.

The part people miss

During attorney review, either side can cancel for any reason. A seller can take a better offer. A buyer can get cold feet. Nobody owes an explanation. This is why I tell buyers to keep looking, calmly, until review has ended, and why I tell sellers that a signed contract on a Friday afternoon means very little until Wednesday.

It is also why the deposit usually goes into the attorney's trust account only after review ends. Before that, the money is still yours.

How to use it well

• Have your attorney picked before you make an offer. The clock starts whether or not you have a lawyer; a scramble costs a day.
• Get the contract to the attorney the same day. Delivery is what starts the count.
• Decide your inspection plan now. The inspection window is negotiated in review; it is much harder to change later.
• Do not renovate in your head yet. Not until the letter comes back saying review is concluded.

Who I bring in

I work with a handful of attorneys who answer their phone and turn contracts around in a day, in English and in Romanian. The introduction costs nothing and they do not pay me for it. If you already have someone, that is fine too; I only need to know before we write the offer.