About Tal Rappleyea
As a municipal lawyer, Tal Rappleyea gets asked this question all the time: What is a municipality?
A municipality is actually just a technical term for a county or city. Although municipalities are mainly responsible for creating their laws, they hire municipal lawyers that are responsible for enforcing those laws. Tal Rappleyea covers the following municipal law issues to reflect the needs of area residents:
- Education policies, which governs the safety and standards of education in public schools, accommodating students with disabilities, and job security for teachers.
- Property taxes, which outlines how taxed income from residents can be used to benefit the community.
- Police power, which oversees how police officers monitor resident behavior.
- Zoning, which determines how land in the municipality is used.
Some municipal lawyers work internally for one municipality, while others practice law individually for multiple municipalities. Tal practices law individually in his own private practice and serves several counties in the Albany metro area in New York state.
Tal Rappleyea was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in January 1989. This chapter of the bar association is actually the largest voluntary state bar organization in the nation with a membership of more than 74,000 lawyers. Tal is proud to be a member, considering former presidents Grover Cleveland and Chester A. Arthur were members of the New York State chapter as well.
With nearly three decades of experience and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline State University, Tal Rappleyea has explored municipal law in several roles as an attorney, ranging from positions as Attorney for the Town and Attorney for the Village of several municipalities. Currently, Tal is a solo practitioner in his own Law Offices of Tal G. Rappleyea in Valatie, New York and lists municipal law as one of his main concentrations.
Tal is a supporter the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM), which is an organization that trains municipal officials and operates as a general support group for municipal officials in each state. He is also very active in his community, as he is a member of the Capital District Trial Lawyers Association and holds a position in the County Bar Association of New York State.
Although Tal Rappleyea maintains an active lifestyle by volunteering in his community and maintaining memberships in his field of practice, he still makes time for one of his pastimes, golf, by on the range.
- “Deal of the Year” Award from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)
- Named one of the three new inductees to the Ethics Committee of REBNY
- Named to the Executive Board of New York Residential Specialists (NYRS).
Contract Of Sale
For most people, purchasing your first home is a huge life milestone. It is a very exciting time in anyone’s life, but you also need to know what to expect when making what will probably be the biggest purchase you will ever make.
One of the first things you need to know is what kind of home are you looking for? This can vary from a private house, condo apartment, or apartment. What can one afford? What are the surroundings like? Are the schools good? Are you going to be close to loved ones if that is something you are looking for.
In some cases, the process can be quite overwhelming. Choosing the right real estate attorney will give you the proper answers and even help guide you through the tedious process ahead of you.
Once you know what kind of home you are looking for, what happens next? In most cases the purchaser makes an offer to the seller. If the offer goes through, both parties get the broker and lawyers on board.
This is where a Contract of Sale is written up. The Contract of Sale acts as the legal agreement between two parties concerning the terms of purchase of transfer of real estate property. The purpose of this contract is outline what both parties are entering into the buy/sell/transfer property. You might be asking yourself, ‘how is this different from a deed?’ A deed represents the actual transfer of a property from one party to another, or the final steps in the transaction.
When a Contract of Sale is signed, a down payment is made, and held by the sellers lawyer. Generally these down payments are ten percent of the purchase price, and is how the seller and buyer know they are serious about the transaction.
The seller must also sign the contract of sale, meaning the purchaser must find the needs to make the best efforts to obtain financing to afford the said property. This is when having your real estate lawyer onboard will come in handy. They can provide you with the right advice, and your lawyer should order a title report, which will indicate who owns the property. As long as the seller doesn’t have any outstanding violations and everything else is in order legally, the purchaser’s mortgage lender is ready to give the purchaser the money to buy the home, the closing can be arranged.
When you are purchasing a property, you won’t be expected to know everything about what are getting into. Asking your real estate attorney should be a no brainer, if you are unsure of any aspect of the transaction.