He backed out as seller (the grandparent post's concern - "knocking on your door", post-closing), or buyer?
I can see it as buyer (you want a house, not a title insurance claim). But as seller...even having your own atty. involved seems pretty odd. It's the job of the Realtors, title company, and bank(s) to judge the buyer's money, and call it good or bad.
(Or did someone offer to buy your acquaintance's house, with no intermediaries, for a briefcase full of cash? That raises enough red flags that you could host a birthday party for Karl Marx.)
Apparently it’s normal to have an attorney when buying or selling real estate in New York. I found this pretty surprising, because in California the contract is a generic form where you literally just check the applicable boxes and write in numbers.
Another tidbit: in NYC, most people use an agent when they rent an apartment. They charge one month’s rent.
I’ve always had an attorney represent me for RE transactions, not in NY, though. It’s usually a couple hundred bucks and each time easily saved us money.
I can see it as buyer (you want a house, not a title insurance claim). But as seller...even having your own atty. involved seems pretty odd. It's the job of the Realtors, title company, and bank(s) to judge the buyer's money, and call it good or bad.
(Or did someone offer to buy your acquaintance's house, with no intermediaries, for a briefcase full of cash? That raises enough red flags that you could host a birthday party for Karl Marx.)