Location, location, location.
Closing Attorneys are all the same. Closing Attorneys do not offer any value-added service. Agents are forced to use lawyers in the closing process because the legal community has decreed it so. A neat trick and a pretty clear example of how the deck isn’t all that fair. While they may have bullied their way into the closing niche, they have done absolutely nothing to enhance or improve the experience. They all have become as generic as Kleenex or Dumpster. So how do you choose?
GPS and Yelp. Why we need to go into a law office and sit at a ridiculously large table is a blog for another day. But, since we are forced to do so, make sure this burden is as easy on your clients as humanly possible. As the saying goes, “you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a lawyer”. Find out where your clients are coming from and see if you can find a closing that is “on their way”.
Once you know the area, proceed to Yelp. Read agent reviews. Look for terms like, “quick”, “easy in and out”, “not Weissman”, “no hassle” and “agent-orientated”. Functionally all closing attorneys are the same. But the law firms that employ Closing Attorneys are not all the same. Some are distinctly Broker focused. It’s all part of the “old boys” network of yesteryear. Very franchisee.
Old and yesteryear perfectly describe why lawyers are in our closing process. Boomers love lawyers! It’s their thing. Their position in the closing process is etched in stone. No realtor or agent association will ever change that. If change is to ever come it will come from within the legal community itself.
So where is the new generation of lawyers? Where are the disruptors? Yes, the job isn’t all that exciting, but it could certainly use a refresh. I predicted changes in this area during the Covid era. Sadly, it didn’t happen, but it’s still too early to discount remote closings. Today, remote closings are too large of a leap. But you can’t discount them in the future.
What I can say with certainty is the agent community is very open and receptive to change. And again, Atlanta just might be ground zero. Lawyers, Atlanta is a NAR-free zone. That means real estate is transacted just a little bit different here than anywhere else in the United States. Lawyers, if you are the disruptor type of individual, know this, you are sitting in a petri dish of change. On this you can trust me, I have experience.
The big law firms dominate franchise transactions. But the franchise market is a dwindling market. Especially here in Atlanta. Atlanta has more “little r” sales agents than it has “big boy r” Realtor types. Considering franchises probably aren’t going to be making any comeback, it leaves the Independent sale agent community on a fast track for growth and change. I just don’t see this large, rapidly growing community blindly following in the tired footsteps of their parent’s generation. Why would they?
Wanted: Agent-oriented real estate lawyer/law firm to handle the closing needs of growing realty company. (ex-Weissman lawyers, need not apply)
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