Today, something happened that is rare - a settlement on a pretty condo with an attorney, the buyer, the buyer's agent, the sellers and me, the listing agent, all sitting around the settlement table at the same time.
We sat around the table, passed papers back and forth, shared cool stuff about the building and the neighborhood restaurants, And then there was the passing of the keys.
It was nice!
At one point, the title attorney noted that we don't see these "old-fashioned" settlements much anymore. The sellers are often on another continent and sent in a power of attorney. A lot of agents "don't do settlements" these days. At the most, they send an assistant - settlements are not considered to be revenue generating events, even though it's when everyone earns their brokerage fee.
And I have to say, it was fun. Buyer and sellers had the necessary disclosure forms and by the time they arrived at the attorney's office had gone over them and had any questions answered.
It was the buyer's day, as she settled on her first place. This is one of life's big milestones, and she seemed to be enjoying it a lot.
And you know what? I enjoyed it, too.
I remembered my last "old-fashioned" settlement. It was where they guy who bought my listing was the best knee surgeon - possibly on earth, and he changed my life. During a lull, his agent mentioned that we should know each other - "Pat, you have really crappy knees. Mark fixes really crappy knees!" He turned out to be the guy who teaches knees at Georgetown Medical School, and he sure fixed mine!
So yeah, I'm a fan of old-fashioned settlements. Sure, I could have spent the hour or so showing houses to new clients or trying to get a signature on another listing agreement. But I dunno. I think this was time really well spent.
But I'm old fashioned! Or at least old!
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