I conduct real estate closings and settlements throughout North Carolina and Virginia.
With over 35 years of experience, and having conducted over 10,000 closings, I have the tools to make your closing efficient and easy.
Get in touch with me using the form in the "Contact" link above, or call me directly at (919)274-2654 or email to jhalaw@ix.netcom.com to schedule an appointment.
I offer flexibility in all aspects of scheduling - whether you want to meet at your home, your work, or elsewhere.
WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE A LAWYER DO YOUR CLOSING? INCLUDING YOUR REFINANCE?
Your lender, homebuilder, real estate agent may steer you towards using their provider, such as a “title company,” and you may not ever be aware that you have no lawyer representing you, though the title company or settlement company may nominally have a lawyer involved in name only, to meet legal requirements for them. This means you may be sitting down for closing with just a notary public, an employee of the lender, etc. This person is not a lawyer, and even more, not your lawyer. All they can do at closing is show you where to sign. They legally cannot explain the documents you are signing, and cannot give you any legal advice, about one of the most important transactions of your life.
However, if you have a lawyer, such as myself, conducting your closing, for no additional total fee amount, you can get answers to your legal questions and, in short, have your own lawyer.
The stress of getting ready for your closing is like the stress of getting ready for a trip to Europe or other major trip: packing, deadlines, etc., but at the end, you just get to the gate on time, relax and let the pilot fly the airplane. You would not relax, however, if there were no pilot or the pilot didn’t know how to fly that airplane. Let me be the pilot for your closing!
I have encountered many problems where land titles have been botched up at a prior closing, where the owners or the lenders did not have proper legal counsel, and therefore a clouded title or no title. Here are a few:
One builder/developer had deeds to their buyers signed by unauthorized persons, the effect of which was that these buyers HAD NO TITLE to the houses they had closed on.
Lenders have required borrowers to “add co-borrowers to title,” such as a spouse. The title company used the wrong deed type, resulting in a husband and wife not having the protections that a married couple normally have under law when they own real property, subjecting the property to possible judgment liens.
Title companies have used invalid powers of attorney for closings. Once I went to Kansas City to get a replacement power of attorney signed.
One person, due to the fine print in his deed, owned only a 1/3 interest in his house, and his lender therefore had a mortgage on only the 1/3 interest. (In fairness, the conveyance of only a 1/3 interest may have been intentional, not a mistake).
An owner attempting to fix a legal description issue, recorded documents that inadvertently subjected his property to 50 judgment liens.
Bottom line, whether you are a homeowner, homebuyer, property buyer or if you are a lender/mortgage company, for your peace of mind that you will not have problems down the road, let me, Jeff H. Adams, Attorney at Law, handle your closing or closings, or at least be your legal counsel for your closing.
CLOSING FEES - VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA
residential PURCHASES AND REFINANCES
Purchase price or loan amount less than $150,000: $695
$150,000 - $350,000: $795
$350,000 - $550,000: $895
$550,000 - $750,000: $995
$750,000 and above: $1,095
Above fees do not include fees paid to other parties, such as title insurance, recording fees and transfer taxes, wire fees and necessary courier charges. Every effort is made to reduce said fees where possible, such as getting reissue rates on title insurance. On purchase closings, seller closing fees, if any, are paid by the seller and are not included in the above listed fees.
Fees may be lower or higher for cash purchases, farms and other large tracts of land, property without an existing title insurance policy, property recently acquired through foreclosure, or other unusual situations.