When buying/selling commercial buildings are there any pros/cons to using a lawyer to draft a purchase contract vs using the standard state association of Realtors contract?
Not a LOI but actual purchase contract
[{"id": "d7ygo09", "text": "Pros: get that shit done right\nCons: pay money", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7yltof", "text": "Where I am from, no realtor touches a contract. I wouldn't consider a purchase if a realtor did it especially on a commercial transaction.\n\n", "replies": [{"id": "d7yqfk8", "text": "Agreed. Commercial contracts are, generally but not always, more complex and put different types of risk on both buyer and seller. \n\nThis is just me personally, but I have a lawyer draft a good template for one type of deal, and then I edit as needed. Then I send to my attorney for comment. This saves on legal fees over having them draft a new contract for every offer.", "replies": [{"id": "d7yrg2n", "text": "I'm an attorney who does mineral purchasing. I suggest this to clients as an appropriate course of action.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7yrq6s", "text": "&gt; This is just me personally, but I have a lawyer draft a good template for one type of deal, and then I edit as needed. \n\nThis isn't done or requested where I am from. The client will look over the contract, see if they have any comments. But the attorney for the most part drafts and negotiates.\n", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7yryz0", "text": "Maybe it saves money, maybe it doesn't. Im a real estate atty, and I feel I can crank out a psa pretty quick if it's on a form I know well. Think it takes longer to review something someone else drafts or fills in.", "replies": [{"id": "d7znjvq", "text": "Occasionally I have clients say to send them a template and they will edit it then send to an attorney for review.  I always say what you just said.  In my experience it actually costs more to have an attorney review a complicated contract that they have never seen than to just edit their form one they know like the back of their hand.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7ytesh", "text": "It's what your lawyer would do anyway...\n\n", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7z0mvh", "text": "Thanks for the comments. This definitely saves me money, because we make lots of offers. Plus, we are pretty good at writing these ourselves. The review is often only 15-30 minutes billed for each contract.\n\nIf you are making a single offer then this obviously isn't applicable.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7znhra", "text": "why don't you just send an LOI and request a PSA from your attorney on accepted terms?  That seems to be the standard in most of what I do", "replies": [{"id": "d801ixn", "text": "We use  LOIs for some types of deals. Not typically a straight purchase, and not for a marketed property. We might use them for leases, joint ventures, acquiring an existing equity stake, and so on.\n\nFor a commercial property or land purchase, if I know the owner and have a good relationship, or if I am making an unsolicited offer, I might offer a term sheet before bothering with a contract. But since parts of an LOI can be legally binding, I'd rather have all the terms spelled out in a contract.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "d85o9zu", "text": "in NC it's considered practicing law unless you're using the basic forms allowed per general statute. ", "replies": [{"id": "d85wzh2", "text": "Interesting.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7z4h4s", "text": "A lot of times it boils down to the sophistication of the parties.  I just sold out an industrial park that I put a condo map on to a variety of owner-users. We used the AirForms with some slight modifications specific to the park.  Those buyers were fine with that, and it worked for me.  \n\nI like to use those whenever possible as they are simple and short, but some people want what they want.  Usually, the buyer is making the offer and therefore uses the format that is most comfortable for them.  One of the big advantages to the AirForms is that the language is standard and alterations are in a different font and therefore it makes them easy to find.  I've done 80+ page PSAs and in those situations, you HAVE to have an attorney review it because the level of complexity is so high and the verbiage in those docs can be incomprehensible to anyone but a lawyer.  That said, if the buyer is legit and you need to sell, you pay the lawyer and make the best of it.  ", "replies": [{"id": "d7zngan", "text": "this is a good example to my comment.  Selling a condo in a newly built industrial park?  BOR commercial contract is probably fine.  Buying an industrial park?  HAHA yeah ship that shit to an attorney.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7znegf", "text": "What are you buying?  \n\nThe answer to this really depends.  By realtors contracts I assume you mean there commercial contract?  If not definitely do not use a residential one.\n\nThis really depends on purchase amount and property type.  I'd have no issue using the standard board contract on a straight purchase for a small owner occupied property for example.  At least the one in my area, isn't bad.  \n\nThat said anything you do that isn't \"we have x days to do due diligence, x days to get financing, then x days to close\" breaks it and you need to go the custom route.  \n\nThis is a kind of hard question to answer without knowing more.  Have you read the commercial board contract or have any idea on what you are buying?  I'm not a lawyer, but I've seen several attorney contracts that at least in my opinion were worse than the board one.  \n\n&gt; 75% of my deals though we just do an LOI then ship it right to the attorney and let them handle it.  Like I said, if you do anything that isn't exactly abc  standard you better get a custom contract, and well we are in commercial, the stars rarely line up like that", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7zo2zk", "text": "Thanks for the wealth of information. For anyone that asked. It is a 12 unit apt building. It seem that the standard practice is to have the buyer ship over the contract they have drafted per the terms of our signed LOI and then have our attorney review. Please correct me if I am wrong.", "replies": [{"id": "d8nfysp", "text": "Have an attorney draft a PSA. You want to be sure you are getting all the leases, environmental, etc. Any easements, zoning issues, management contracts, Income/Expenses, Reps and Warranties. There's a lot you should be doing to protect yourself. For a deal of that size a customized PSA is the cost of doing business.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7zu4za", "text": "Lawyer!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d8nfu24", "text": "Unless it is a SUPER simple transaction, you don't want to use a standard contract. It just doesn't cover the 1000 things that can come up in a commercial sale. How is the building being delivered? Is there a credit for unfinished work? Is there seller financing? Is the earnest money deposited in phases? Is there a zoning contingency? Reps and warranties? Environmental? Etc.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]