Overall I prefer the CA system. Here in NJ, each real estate agency has their own contract, which is the starting point of the negotiations. The contract provides that it can be cancelled by either party for any reason during the period of attorney review. The real estate attorneys that I have had experience with here aren’t great – the first letter we received on the current transaction referred to a “common basement,” which was puzzling since it’s a single family home. It also referred to a heating oil storage tank – and we don’t have one. Plus, lots of typos. So it’s just some letter that they always pull up and no one reads (hence the typos). The attorneys are recommended by the agents, so I think the ones that bring up deal breakers (such as a cap on the rate of mortgage interest a buyer is willing to accept as part of the mortgage contingency) don’t get a lot of business. On the other hand, most things are pretty corrupt here in the “Soprano State” (that is actually the name of a great book by a couple of AP writers about the corruption that pervades this place) so I have a hard time knowing what to expect. I’ll be happy to get out of here . . .
