In A Post RESPA World, What Do You Do When The Buyer/Borrower Wants To Use His Own Closing Attorney? - 03/30/10 03:10 PM
Some of my fellow real estate attorney friends here in Massachusetts are complaining about being "squeezed out" by certain lenders who are insisting that borrowers must use their hand picked closing attorney.  (We are on most lender's lists so we aren't running into this issue). But I'm curious how loan officers are handling this issue in a post-RESPA Reform world.
My reading of the new RESPA rules is that HUD is encouraging lenders to allow borrowers to shop around for title and closing services providers, such as closing attorneys.  Lenders are encouraged to give the borrower a written list of providers, … (0 comments)

What Does The Closing Attorney Do Exactly? - 03/10/10 07:56 AM
A lot more than you might think.
Many buyers and sellers often wonder what a real estate closing attorney does other than conduct the closing. The closing attorney acts as the “quarterback” of the closing process, performing many time consuming tasks preparing a transaction from intake to closing. (Important note: many borrowers don’t realize that they may select their own personal attorney to act as the closing attorney instead of the attorney selected by the bank or lender. The new RESPA rules explicitly allow for borrowers to make this choice. This will most often save you several hundred dollars because most … (2 comments)