Attorney Review in New Jersey: What Home Buyers and Sellers Should Know

Buying or selling a home in New Jersey comes with a protection that surprises many people moving here from other states: the attorney review period. Understanding how it works can help you make the most of it and avoid costly misunderstandings.

What Attorney Review Is

In New Jersey, residential sales contracts are commonly prepared by real estate agents using standard forms. Because those agents are not lawyers, the law requires that such contracts include an attorney review clause. Once the contract has been signed by both buyer and seller and delivered to them, each party has three business days to have an attorney review it. Weekends and legal holidays are not counted.

During that period, either party’s attorney may disapprove the contract by giving written notice in the manner the contract requires. If the contract is disapproved, it does not become binding. If the three days pass without a disapproval, the contract becomes final and enforceable as written.

How Attorney Review Is Used in Practice

Although an attorney can simply cancel the contract, attorney review is most often used to negotiate. The attorney may send a letter disapproving the contract unless certain changes are accepted, and the parties then work toward an agreed set of revisions. Common subjects include inspection timelines and procedures, mortgage contingency deadlines, the closing date, what personal property stays with the house, responsibility for municipal certificates of occupancy, and how issues discovered during inspection will be handled.

For buyers, this is an opportunity to make sure the contract gives you enough time to secure financing and conduct inspections, and a clear path out if something goes wrong. For sellers, it is an opportunity to limit open-ended obligations and set realistic deadlines that keep the deal moving.

Why Timing Matters

Because the review period is short and the deadline is firm, it is important to have an attorney lined up before you sign. Waiting until the contract is signed to begin looking for a lawyer can eat into the very time the law provides. It is also important to pay attention to how notices are delivered, because a disapproval that is not properly delivered within the period may not be effective.

Once attorney review concludes, your attorney’s role typically continues through the rest of the transaction, including monitoring contingency deadlines, reviewing the title search and survey, coordinating with the lender and the other side, addressing issues that arise from inspections, and representing you at closing.

A Few Practical Tips

Read the contract before you sign it, even though attorney review follows. Tell your attorney about anything important to you that may not be obvious, such as a need to close by a certain date or a plan to renovate. And respond promptly to questions during the review period, since every day counts.

Gugig Law represents buyers and sellers in residential real estate transactions throughout New Jersey. If you are preparing to buy or sell a home, contact us before you sign so we are ready when the attorney review clock starts.