Steven J. Cooper

Was recommended to Steven J. Cooper through our real estate attorney and hired him to represent us in buying our home. He did great work, and worked weekends to help us with our closing. Was easily accessible, and either him or Debbie were quick to respond and help us through the more confusing parts... of the process. However, one conversation ruined our entire experience. Our target closing date was set for August 31, 2020. Our mortgage rate expired at the end of the day on August 31st, which Steven was aware of. At that point, our rate lock would have been in effect for 60 days and there would be a fee to extend our mortgage rate beyond August 31st. We got our Closing Disclosure Package (approval to close) from our mortgage lender on August 24, and Steven responded saying that the closing would likely be after Labor Day due to scheduling issues. Over the phone, I asked Steven for more details regarding the scheduling issues, and he told me that he had 20-21 closings scheduled in the next two weeks and that he would not be able to fit us in (amongst his other clients). We let Steven know that there would be a cost associated from our mortgage lender to extend our rate lock (over $1k) and asked him to cover it since we were being charged additional money due to his lack of availability. He let us know via email that the charge would be our responsibility. When we called him to discuss this, the conversation escalated. He asked us if we had voted for Obama as a segue to get us to understand a law that kept the approval to close and the actual signing a couple days apart. I let him know the question was inappropriate. He then specifically used the term "cute" towards me in a sexist manner, saying that no matter how cutely I phrased things he wasn't going to cover the extension fee. When I told him it was not ok to speak to me using that language, he said that he didn't realize that the word was sexist and then asked for a list of words that he wasn't allowed to use during the conversation. When we pushed the matter further about how his lack of availability was causing us to have to pay over an additional $1k, he threatened to not represent us at our closing (which was theoretically only a week away). At the end of the day, it all worked out - we got our closing date without having to pay the fee since Steven figured out a time that worked for him on his end. If Steven had just taken a minute to figure out his schedule (because there was a solution available since we ended up closing on time without incurring a fee from our mortgage company), there would have been a lot of stress saved on everyone's end. Outside of the above conversation, Steven and his assistant Debbie were pleasant to work with.

Steve is the best real estate attorney anyone could ask for. He is prompt, diligent and always available through email and phone to answer any questions I had. He found issues in the title that all the attorneys for the previous owners had failed to identify and demanded the seller fix them before cl...osing. Overall a very pleasant experience working with Steve.

Steven was our attorney for the recent purchase of our apartment. He was on the ball all the time, very friendly and courteous whilst dealing with almost 3 months of closing delays. He helped us with every step providing advise at every decision point. Steven was always available unless he was at a c...losing even working in the weekends to get us the necessary information. If you are looking for a real estate attorney here in New York, look no further. We will be sure to use Steven’s services at the next real estate transaction.

Steve helped my wife and I buy our first apartment: a 3-Bed Co-op in Westchester Co. Steve is very knowledgeable about real estate transactions. He walked us through many key documents, including the all important contract, and also let us know what, if any, risks there were at every step of the proc...ess. He is a friendly, positive, family guy... never pushy, impatient, or condescending. If you are fortunate enough to have him at your closing (or other legal meeting), you will definitely note and appreciate how amazingly organized his documents will be. He takes time to pre-fill forms and even write his client’s names where signatures will go. I think he does this because he knows how quickly these forms are signed and he doesn’t want there to be any mistakes made. Anyhow, just an example of his thoroughness.