Rafael E. Santos
Partner
Rafael leads the real estate group and has closed well over a thousand Queens transactions — co-ops, condos, two- and three-family houses, and small commercial buildings. He grew up six blocks from the office.
Practice Area
Real Estate Law in Woodside, NY
Queens real estate has its own rules — board packages, two-family certificates of occupancy, estate sales, and buildings older than the paperwork that describes them. We close them every week.
A New York closing is not a formality. Between contract and closing sit the title report, the survey, the board, the lender, the payoff letters and whatever the seller's attorney did not mention. Someone has to hold all of it at once, and in New York that someone is a lawyer.
Our real estate group handles residential and commercial transactions throughout Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Nassau. Residential closings are quoted flat-fee, so you know what the legal line on your closing statement will say before you sign the contract.
Free initial consultation.
Thirty minutes with the attorney who would handle the matter — not an intake screener. Call 000-000-000 or send us the details through the contact form.
How we help
Real Estate services
Home purchases & sales
Single-family, two- and three-family houses, condominiums and cooperative apartments, from contract through closing.
Co-op & condo board packages
Assembled, reviewed and submitted — the single most common cause of a delayed Queens closing.
Refinancing & home equity
Lender document review and closing representation for refinances and HELOCs.
Commercial property
Purchases, sales, 1031 exchanges, ground leases and mixed-use buildings.
Title & survey resolution
Clearing liens, old mortgages, encroachments, estate gaps and open permits before they hold up a closing.
Deed transfers & estate sales
Life-estate deeds, transfers between family members, and sales by an executor or administrator.
When to call us
Situations we handle every week
- You have an accepted offer on a house or apartment.
- You are selling a property you inherited.
- Your title report came back with an exception nobody can explain.
- You are buying a two-family and want the certificate of occupancy checked properly.
- You are refinancing and the lender's papers arrived without an explanation.
If you are not sure whether your situation belongs on that list, call anyway. Telling you that you do not need a lawyer is free, and we would rather do that than take a matter that should not exist.
Attorneys in this practice
Jonathan T. Pak
Senior Counsel
Jonathan has drafted wills and trusts for three generations of Queens families. He guides executors through Queens County Surrogate's Court and structures plans that keep a family home in the family.
Sofia L. Almeida
Associate
Sofia handles residential purchases, sales and refinancings, and shepherds first-time buyers through contract, board package and closing without letting a deadline slip.
Questions
Real Estate — frequently asked
Do I need an attorney to buy a house in New York?
In practice, yes. New York is an attorney-state: the purchase contract is drafted and negotiated by lawyers rather than agents, and the closing is conducted by lawyers. Buying without one means signing a contract nobody on your side has read.
What is a flat-fee residential closing?
One quoted price covering contract review and negotiation, the title and survey review, coordination with your lender and the board, and attendance at closing. Third-party costs — title insurance, recording fees, transfer taxes — are separate and paid to those parties, not to us.
How long does a Queens co-op closing take?
Six to twelve weeks is typical, and the board package is usually what decides where in that range you land. We prepare it early and chase it, because a package that sits half-finished is the most common reason a closing slips a month.
Speak with a real estate attorney
Tell us what is going on. The first consultation is free, it is with the attorney who would handle your matter, and there is no obligation afterwards.