I received a call today from a local consultant, who is doing some business consulting for one of the local North Carolina real estate attorneys that I use on a regular basis.

(Here in NC, we don't close with title companies or escrow houses, we still close with attorneys-one of the main reasons our closing costs here are some of the lowest in the country.  And unlike some of our lovely states up north, one attorney handles the closing for buyer/seller/lender.)

It's fairly simple, in my opinion.

First and foremost, I use attorneys who are on top of their game.  They know the ins and outs of North Carolina real estate law.  They know our local customs.  They know surveyors, appraisers, lenders, folks at the courthouse, etc.  They're familiar with changes in our state contract paperwork. 

Another part of this factor is their accessibility.  Do they return phone calls in a timely manner?  Are they willing to be contacted after 'normal' business hours (not in an abusive way of course-but there are times when Realtors need someone who can help by answering a question after 5pm)?

In a very close second place is the quality of their staff-specifically, the paralegals.  This is where my assistant has a lot of sway in where we schedule our closings.  If the paralegals are rude to her, don't return phone calls in a timely manner, or lose what's already been faxed to them, then we avoid those law offices.  It's critical in any business that your front-line people be courteous and detail-oriented.  Especially in something as big as real estate.  I'm constantly amazed at the paralegals who are snotty when we call to schedule a closing, who get angry when we call them for information, who lose information sheets, who get irritated when we want a HUD-1 prior to closing (gasp!).  And then these attorneys wonder why we don't schedule there on a regular basis...

The attorney who had retained this consultant is a good business associate of mine-it's always a pleasure to have a closing in his office.  And I let him know when something goes awry with his staff.  Because if I don't tell him what's going on, he won't know, and can't correct the issue.

I'm not going to ramble on about how this applies to real estate teams, lenders, etc-we all know how critical customer service is in today's real estate environment.  But if you take something away here, that's great. 

And of course, if you're curious about how the real estate transaction process goes in Charlotte NC, you know who to call!  Leigh Brown, of course. =)