Attorney or Crook?

Attorney or Crook?

I recently made a sale on one of my own listings. It was a vacant 1 acre parcel that sold for $14,000.00. The buyer was not able to get a loan from a lender so she made an offer that included owner financing. During the negotiations the buyer asked me how much the closing was going to cost and I told her less than $500.00 based on my experience of 15 years. My seller accepted the offer and we proceeded to set up the closing. Unknown to me at the time the federal government had passed a law that said owners could not do owner financing unless they were a licensed mortgage broker. The attorney I regularly used said because of the law he was not able to do the closing.

 I checked into the matter with my local state lawmaker and he said that it was an error on the part of the federal government (imagine that) and that the law had been written with a different intention. He went on to say that the state lawmakers were in the process of overturning that law because it was unconstitutional. He recommended an attorney that would do the closing.

I sent the offer to purchase over to the attorney and asked for some figures, i.e. how much, when can we close, etc. After several days I received a call from the attorney's secretary, who also happens to be his wife, and she said the closing was set for Friday. She then told me that she had emailed me a HUD 1. I immediately opened the attachment to find out the attorney was going to charge $950 to do the closing. I called the buyer and she said she could not afford $950 and reminded me that I told her less than $500.00. I told her I was as surprised as she was. I immediately called the attorney and told them that they were charging way too much and that the buyer was expecting to pay around $500.00. They told me too bad. So we cancelled the closing.

In the mean time the state had passed a new law that over ruled the federal government's law and it was now legal to sell with owner financing again. I sent the file over to the attorney I regularly use and he closed the deal for $350.00.

After several weeks the buyer called me and said she was being sued by the overpriced attorney for $950.00.

When I originally contacted the attorney I asked for closing costs and projected closing date. Instead I received a HUD and scheduled closing date.

Attorney or Crook? You decide.

Needless to say, I will NEVER, EVER recommend this attorney to anyone that I like. Now if it's someone I don't like......that's a different blog.

http://www.leethomas.net