Does this sound right to you? It is Suntrust.

1) doing a title search to make sure there are no clouds on the title and, if there are any, working with the parties to get these cleared prior to closing;
2) verifying that real estate taxes on the property are properly apportioned between seller and buyer and are paid (either prior to closing or at closing);
3) coordinating the issuance of title insurance;
4) preparing all the documents that are to be signed at closing (the mortgage, promissory notes, truth in lending disclosures, and HUD Settlement Statement)or at least making sure that all documents were correctly prepared in accordance with the agreement between buyer and seller;
5) making sure everybody signs and initials everything in all the right places;
6) coordinating distribution of the sale proceeds after the closing (eg., transfer taxes and recording fees, pre-paid interest, realtor's commissions, payoff of prior mortgages/loans, etc.); and
7) making sure the deed, mortgage and other recordable instruments are properly recorded in the county land records after the closing.

Because an attorney who doesn't know what he/she is doing can royally screw up the whole process (eg., by overlooking a signature line, or forgetting to carry the documents down to the court house after the closing and get them properly recorded!) it is understandable that the bank wants to make sure that the closing is handled by someone competent. For this reason, most banks have a list of closing attorneys that they recommend. Some are pretty adamant that you choose someone off of their list...maybe because they've been previously burned by someone incompetent attempting to handle a closing.

However, while YOU are paying for the closing attorney's services (it is one of many fees that you'll see listed on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement) an attorney who was "suggested" by the bank will, of course, know that the bank is the one actually throwing business his way. An ethical attorney - and no, that isn't a contradiction of terms - will not let that factor influence him in the slightest. You can be fairly certain that the closing attorney will not deliberately do anything illegal to aid the bank at your expense. Such malfeasance would be evident in the documents themselves and could cause the attorney to lose his license.

However, even the best attorneys are human and, in a close call situation, they may act so as to ensure that they get further work from the bank. Thus, in practice, for example if you were ask a question that the bank might find embarrassing, an unethical settlement attorney MIGHT give you a glossed over response that doesn't really quite tell you what you need to know. And, the closing attorney is under no obligation to explain the meaning of any documents to you. Thus, you should NOT rely on the closing attorney to give you legal advice!

If you have any legal questions at all about anything related to the real estate transaction, you should ask an attorney that you hire separately to represent you.

You ALWAYS have the right to have your own attorney present at the closing to represent your interests even tho he/she would not be the "closing attorney." And, you should definitely have an attorney who represents you review all of the closing documents and go over them with you in detail well ahead of the closing date.

The bank or closing attorney should provide you with "preview copies" at least several days ahead of the scheduled closing date.

If your attorney doesn't go with you to the actual closing, take your preview copies with you to the closing. Carefully compare the final documents with the preview copies. If there are any differences between the two sets of documents, call your attorney (you should have his number on speed dial and make sure ahead of time that he will be available by telephone at the time of your closing) to explain what the changes mean and whether they are problematic.

Hope this helps clear up any confusion...

We've moved a ton and sometimes it's a title company doing the closing, and in other states it's an attorney. However, in the states where it's a closing attorney, the bank made suggestions and our realtor made suggestions and ultimately we picked the closing attorney because *we're paying for it.* It was always our choice.

It is smart to pick an attorney that does closings, but there's more than one of those around. Ask your realtor who they like. They want deals to close, too, and their recommendations are more likely to be of benefit to the realtor and thus, you, rather than the lender.