Real Property Law Section

Sections & Committees
Committee Listing
Real Property Law Section

The Real Property Law Section serves New York real property lawyers and the public, promotes the successful transaction of real estate business in New York State, and contributes to the sound development of real property law in New York State. Toward that end, we:

Identify and draw attention to problems, abuses, and issues affecting real property, recommending improvements in real property law, procedure, and practice as appropriate;
Publish a high quality journal to keep Section members informed of developments and the latest thinking in real property law;
Provide a Section website and give Section members a variety of forums to discuss the state of the law and possibilities for improvement;
Offer high quality continuing legal education programs to Section members sufficient to meet all their CLE requirements;
Act as a resource for legislators and government officials and comment on and, where appropriate, initiate legislation;
Establish and operate committees and task forces that seek to achieve the Section’s goals within numerous areas of real property law;
Educate the public about real estate law and the benefits of using lawyers in real property transactions, particularly residential transactions; and
Work with the real estate finance, brokerage, title insurance, surveying, and other related industries, to improve practices, communications, and working relationships.

Meet the Chair

Gerard E. Antetomaso is chair of the Real Property Law Section.

Antetomaso is a partner of Evans Fox in Rochester. He concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, business and trusts & estates law.

He is a past chair of the Real Estate Section of the Monroe County Bar Association. Mr. Antetomaso is also the past President of The Estate Planning Council of Rochester and past member of the Monroe County Bar Association’s Trust and Estates Council.

He is a graduate of St. John Fisher College and Albany Law School.

Contact the Real Property Law Section Liaison

To learn more about this Section, please contact Amy Jasiewicz
ajasiewicz@nysba.org
(518) 487-5682

Online Community

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Gold lady law statue in a library setting

N.Y. Real Property Law Journal

The N.Y. Real Property Law Journal features substantive articles relating to the practice of real property law on various topics including property transactions, leases, zoning, disclosure, and cooperatives and condominiums. Also included are a regular column entitled, “Bergman on Mortgage Foreclosures” as well as updates on Section news, programs and events. Co-edited by William P. Johnson, Esq., Prof. Robert J. Sein, and Marvin N. Bagwell, Esq., the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal is published by the Real Property Law Section and distributed to Section Members free of charge.

The Journal is published as a benefit for members of the Real Property Law Section and is copyrighted by the New York State Bar Association. The copying, reselling, duplication, transferring, reproducing, reusing, retaining or reprinting of this publication is strictly prohibited without permission.
© New York State Bar Association. All rights reserved. ISSN 1530-3918 (print) ISSN 1933-8465 (online)

The N.Y. Real Property Law Journal encourages article submissions on topics of interest to members of the Section. Writing an article for a NYSBA Section publication is a great way to get your name out in the legal community and advertise your knowledge. Our authors are respected state-wide for their legal expertise in such areas as property transactions, leases, zoning, disclosure and cooperatives and condominiums.

MCLE credit may also be earned for legal-based writing directed to an attorney audience upon application to the CLE Board. NYSBA Guidelines for Obtaining MCLE Credit for Writing as well as a Publication Credit Application are available.

If you have written an article and would like to have it considered for publication in the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal, please send it in electronic document format (pdfs are NOT acceptable), along with biographical information to any of its Co-Editors. Accepted articles fall generally in the range of 7-18 typewritten, double-spaced pages. Please use endnotes in lieu of footnotes. The Co-Editors request that all submissions for consideration to be published in this Journal use gender-neutral terms where appropriate or, alternatively, the masculine and feminine forms may both be used. Please contact the Co-Editors regarding further requirements for the submission of articles.

Marvin N. Bagwell, Esq.
MBagwell1@OldRepublicTitle.com

William P. Johnson, Esq.
wjohnson@nfdlaw.com

Matthew J. Leeds, Esq.
mleeds@ganfershore.com

Prof. Robert J. Sein
seinr@stjohns.edu

N.Y. Real Property Law Journal Archive

Reprint Permission and Disability Accommodations

Author's Guidelines

Legislation

Real Property Law Section Committee

Attorney Professionalism Award

Each year, the Real Property Law Section has honored an outstanding individual real estate practitioner with its Professionalism Award. The Section’s Award Committee is seeking nominations for the 2020 award, to be presented at the Section’s Annual Meeting luncheon on January 30, 2020.

Learn More

Scholarships

The Real Property Law Section is now accepting applications for its two law student scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each. The scholarships will be awarded in January, 2020 at the NYSBA Annual Meeting.

Learn More

A Guide to the Real Property Law Section

Real Property Law Section Blog

Local Practice Guide for Residential Real Estate Transactions

Even though we all practice law in the same state, many aspects of a residential real estate transaction differ depending on where a property is located. Particularly Upstate, closing customs and practices vary widely from one county to the next. These practices include whether a contract is drafted by a realtor or an attorney, if a realtor-drafted contract is subject to attorney approval or disapproval, the length of the required title search, who orders and pays for title searches and even the type of deed.

An attorney who works on a transaction outside of his/her own home county may be at a disadvantage because local attorneys, title agents and realtors have different expectations about how the transaction will be conducted. Conversely, a local attorney may have difficulty convincing an attorney from outside of the area that “this is how we do things here.” This Local Practice Guide is designed to help bridge this gap. The Guide is organized on a county by county basis and will serve as a reference to the various local real estate customs and practices as well as provide a guide to local mapping and tax reference resources.

This Guide is provided exclusively as a benefit of membership in the NYSBA Real Property Law Section.

If you don’t see your county listed and would like to help us add your county to the list, or if you would like to supplement the information about your county’s practices, please email John Jones.

Click on the county below for information on that county’s practices.