After months of endless house hunting, price haggling, mortgage rate shopping and repair reviews + redos, the day has finally arrived. You made it to the closing table and a surge of energy rushes through your body knowing the finish line is in sight. Strangers fill the small conference room followed by a mountain of binders and a formidable stack of paperwork. Admittedly, you’re a bit caught off guard, not expecting you would have to plow through that many documents.
But ah yes, that’s what the closing attorney is for! You take a deep breath and exhale, putting your faith in the closing attorney wearing the crisp suit who surely already vetted the paperwork on your behalf. Assuring yourself it’s just a formality, you sign away and go to town, racing through the pile of forms so you can grab the set of keys at the end of the table and high-tail it to your new home. An hour later, as you finish and shake hands, you’re completely oblivious to the fact your ear-to-ear grin will be replaced a few months from now by a somber frown and pounding headache because of an unforeseen issue the closing attorney never told you about – an issue that will significantly impact how you use your property moving forward.
There are highly competent and committed closing attorneys that we work with and trust. But not all closing attorneys are equal, and many homebuyers in Georgia wrongly assume that the closing attorney represents them. And while they play an important role in the process and strive to make it as easy and efficient as possible for buyers, their primary focus does not always overlap with the issues that will be most pertinent to a homeowner six months or six years from now. The harsh reality is you may be the only one that represents you at the closing table. So the only remedy is to secure your own legal representation, ensuring your long term interests are protected.
But what exactly are they protecting you from? A good illustration comes from a call I received from a new homeowner who wanted to build a pool in his backyard, but was being blocked by the city where he lived. After reviewing the closing file, the title commitment clearly stated the city had a 50-foot easement running through the back of his yard, prohibiting construction of a pool or similar installation. As you can guess, nobody told him about this on closing day as nobody was obligated to do so. The law says he read it because he signed it, and while sometimes there are creative ways to nibble around the edges and try to negotiate a compromise after the fact, more often than not buyers like this are at the mercy of the governing authority once the ink has dried.
Hiring your own real estate attorney will help you avoid a similar story. They can work with you to understand your concerns and future needs. They can review closing documents as well as identify and address potential issues before a transaction is finalized, ensuring that you avoid costly problems or unexpected limitations on the use of their property. Driveways appearing to be exclusive but are shared, fences spilling over property lines, and other hard-to-spot land use regulations can all be mitigated and resolved before you sign off on legally binding documents.
While statistics vary by region, the data shows a significant minority of homebuyers hire their own attorney for closing, and even more so in states like Georgia where the lender’s attorney serving as the only legal representative is common practice. That said, we have observed a recent uptick in out-of-state buyers from places like New York and California who are more likely to have their own attorneys review closing paperwork. There’s a greater interest and focus among homebuyers in ensuring the asset they are purchasing is the asset they will own, and we anticipate this trend to become more widespread in the years ahead.
While you may have to pay a little extra on closing day, the cost of hiring your own attorney is not exorbitant – more often than not, it’s a few billable hours reviewing documents, tracking down people and inserting minor provisions to ensure a fair and clear contract. It’s an investment that pays off in the long run by avoiding post-closing headaches and delivering peace of mind. Having qualified legal counsel on your side for one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make is crucial. Don’t go it alone.
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