Hi, my name is Adriana Sutich and I’m the newest member of the Lieb at Law, P.C. team. I’m waiting on admission to the Bar and then, I will be a closings attorney with the firm. At that time, I’m going to use my married name, Adriana Mason, Esq. Until then, I wanted to share my initial experience as an almost-attorney so that we could get to know one another.
Before I started working at Lieb at Law, P.C., I had very limited knowledge of what it was like to work in real estate law. I have a sister-in-law who works at a title company, and a family friend who used to be a real estate attorney, and when I asked them to describe what working in real estate is really like, the phrase that kept coming up was “fast-paced.” So, I knew before I started working here that real estate transactions move along quickly. This makes sense, as it is understandable that people who are buying or selling their home want to get to the closing table as quickly as possible. In my experience, this definitely proved to be true. In my first few days, I saw numerous instances where we would get a new deal, have the contract out that same day, the buyer’s attorney would have it signed and returned a day or two later, and then it was on to the next steps.
What I didn’t anticipate, though, is how many things can go wrong in anticipation of a closing, and how quickly they can fall apart, sometimes at the last minute. Some examples of last-minute events that can derail a closing include:
- A document needed for the closing not arriving in the mail in time. In my first few days, I saw a closing fall apart 45 minutes before it was supposed to start, for this exact reason.
- The property was not in the exact condition as agreed upon for closing. If there are personal belongings, boxes, or anything still on the premises that isn’t supposed to be there, the closing will be postponed.
- There are scheduling issues. It is difficult to get all the necessary parties to be available at the same time for a closing, so if someone must cancel, the closing will have to be postponed, and the scheduling will have to start all over again.
These are just a few situations that I’ve seen during my first few days on the job. I’m sure I will encounter countless other examples as time goes on.
What other unanticipated events do you think that I will see next?
I’m going to keep sharing my experiences so stay tuned to what I learn next.
