Stuck & In Need Of Help! New Jersey Contracts!

[Shana Patrick]

Hi BP Community!

I currently have two houses I'm working on in NJ. I have an investor who is looking for flips and rentals. My problem is that online most BP members are saying that they provided the Purchase and Sale contract. In NJ, the agent is providing us the contract. (Is this normal?) We were able to get over that. The real issue is that we must sign the contract before we get to modify it. (Assignment clause, deposit reimbursement, etc.) One house that I just received the contract on states that if the deal falls through, the agent gets our deposit (He originally asked us for 10% deposit - which i thought was quite excessive and worked him down to 3%)

Is it a must that we have to sign the contract before we get to modify it to our needs? When we told the agent that we wanted out lawyer to review it, they both stated that the lawyer can discuss negotiations during Attorney Review. However, we don't feel comfortable signing a document that we don't agree with. 

Is there someone out there that has dealt with this type of situation in NJ or anywhere else?