Closing Attorney
HI!
We just bought our first house in June. We have fixed it up and are ready to sell. We may sign a contract on it tomorrow.
The purchase went great. We agreed on a price, agreed on an attorney, went in with a check and signed the papers and everyone was happy. It was much easier than I expected.
Now, we are ready to sell and the buyer is not from this area. He took our standard real estate contract to an attorney (that was smart since he was not familiar with it) but he would not use the attorney we are familiar with.
The attorney he chose did not look at it for days when he finally picked it up and took it to another attorney that we dont know Wednesday this past week. He promised to look it over so we could sign the contract by Friday. He still hasn't done it yet. Hopefully tomorrow it will be done.
I never thought signing the contract would be so difficult when we agree on everything.
So now , my question is... Should I hire a separate attorney or use the same one he is using? Who chooses the attorney or are there usually two involved in a transaction? Is it more important to be picky about which attorney is being used when you are the buyer or the seller?
I do not mind getting the attorney that we used before, but hesitate to do so unnecessarily and just run the fees up. But I also want someone to look out for my interests and not just the interests of the buyer.
Thank you for your responses,
Deborah
On the selling side things are pretty easy. You sign a deed and other state specific forms. You make sure the purchase agreement represents your transaction and that the settlement statement is in line with your purchase agreement.
It is wise (if not required in some states possibly) to have an attorney prepare the deed. Beyond there you can certainly involve your attorney if you want but it isn't necessary. I wouldn't get legal advise from the settlement attorney though.
contracts in my area have an acceptance date of the contract. usually it's just one or two days out.
as to the attorney, hire your own. the buyer uses their attorney to do the title work and handle the closing. your attorney prepares your deed and basically 'looks pretty'. but, if problems arise (as it seems they might since you've got a buyer & his attorney that appear to not know what's going on), you've already got your own lawyer.
in most instances, if you use the same attorney and a problem arises, the attorney must step aside and you both must retain your own counsel, due to conflict of interest.
I've recently purchased 2 properties. the first one the realtor wanted my lawyer to prepare the deed and I told him I didn't want him to. so, the sellers got their attorney to do it. the second property I purchased I knew the seller and I told him who my lawyer was. he said that was also his lawyer so we did use the same attorney although it was a quick easy little deal that we both 'knew' would present no problems.