This is the most actionable guide to finding the best real estate closing attorneys.

The best part?

You will learn:

Where to find them.

How to vet them.

What to expect.

In short, if you want to work with the best real estate attorneys, you’ll love this guide.

Let’s dig into this!

Where to Find the Best Real Estate Closing Attorneys

Let’s take a moment to just note the sheer amount of real estate law firms in Atlanta.

(All of those little dots.)

It’s pretty obvious that you have too many options.

Finding the right real estate lawyer that’s going to treat you like a person doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

But… It can be quite easy (you’re already on our site.)

Whether you’re looking for an investor friendly real estate lawyer or one to send all of your clients to for your real estate firm…

Here are 3 ways to find a real estate lawyer near you.

Google Real Estate Closing Attorneys

The obvious first place is a Google search or Bing search.

These search engines have registries of local businesses.

Google My Business Listings

These local law firms have verified their companies with Google and Bing.

(All that means is that they have sent in a request to be on the search engine and have a local office.)

When you make these searched, you will see results like these populate.

The list of local law firms is organized by Google’s algorithm.

The better the brand, generally, the higher the ranking on this list.

These real estate law firms build their brands, in Google’s eyes, by several factors.

• Years in business (age of website and Google Business listing)
• Ratings (number, quality, and what people say)
• Relevancy (how well aligned is their Google Business listing to your search)

However, note that some of the top slots on the list are ads.

If you search “Real Estate Lawyers Near Me,” you will find a different set of results.

These results are based on your current location within Google.

(I happened to be in China at the time of this writing.)

No matter how you search for these law firms, searching within Google has its perks.

Later on, I’ll show you how to vet businesses based on their Google Reviews.

Google Search Results

For now, let’s look at other ways to find some good lawyers.

You’ve seen the Google Ads and Business Listings, but there’s another option…

Organically ranking websites.

These are the sites that show up after the business listings.

To reach this spot within the Google searches, it takes years.

They have to:

• be featured on various sites
• have been in business for years (maybe decades)
• have lots of positive reviews
• have a recognized brand in the industry

They have earned their spot at the top of the Google searches.

Generally, they are quality companies to work with.

This is especially true when it’s local businesses that are ranking #1 within Google.

Real Estate Lawyer Listing Directories

These sites pop up any time that you search for anything related to attorneys.

Sites like Avvo, Super Lawyer, Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Justia are just a few.

They can either be very helpful or just a clutter that doesn’t help.

Some features are really awesome for someone searching for an attorney.

Take Avvo’s search for Atlanta Real Estate Attorneys, for instance.

You are able to filter real estate attorneys based on their:

• Years they have been licensed
• Free consultations
• Misconducts
• Languages that are spoken at the law firm
• Avvo Ratings

This is a super helpful filter to find the best attorney that fits your criteria.

Avvo even has its own rating criteria that pull information from credible sources like the American Bar Association.

Source: Avvo.com

 

Super Lawyers doesn’t allow you to filter the selection of lawyers that pop up in the results.

Whatever city you search for an attorney in, the results are just what you get.

That doesn’t mean that their results aren’t good.

Their nominated ‘Super Lawyers’ go through a tight selection process.

Pick An Attorney From Referrals

This doesn’t seem that actionable on the surface.

However, if you are selling your house and looking for a closing attorney, chances are that you have a Realtor already.

Realtors can be a great source of information.

They have tried numerous real estate closing lawyers and have their favorite ones.

Generally, the attorneys that your Realtor likes working with are easy to get along with, helpful, and work fast.

Sometimes, your Realtor gets a referral fee for closing at the attorney’s office.

This can make their recommendation a little biased.

To make sure that you are getting the best representation, find out if your Realtor is getting paid a referral fee or not.

This doesn’t mean that the attorney is bad.

The attorney could be the best in the city.

This is just a marketing channel for the attorney.

But you want to make sure that you are getting an unbiased referral to the best closing attorney.

Stop wasting your time. The Hive Law can make your closing smooth, fast, and simple so you can focus on helping more clients (Realtors) or eliminating some stresses of moving (homeowners).

Just fill out the form below to submit your property.

Submit Your Property

The Hive Law makes closing as smooth as possible. You deal with one less stress of selling your house and moving. To feel a sense of relief, fill out the form to get started.

• Address*Street Address
• Email*
• Phone*

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Vetting Local Real Estate Law Firms

Google Reviews

Notice Google Reviews.

These Google Reviews are submitted by real people.

The bad reviews cannot be deleted.

The good reviews cannot be manipulated.

This system shows unbiased feedback on how law firms treat their customers.

If they have a 4-5 star average reviews, it’s an indication that they are good to work with.

If they have a 1-2 star average reviews, beware of them.

The caveat to these reviews is to take the bad ones with a grain of salt.

Sometimes, people are just having a bad day and normal business practices trigger them.

Make sure that the review is a real reflection on the law firm treating people poorly.

What to Expect From Your Real Estate Closing Attorney

So you’ve searched, vetted, and picked a real estate attorney to do your closing.

But what do they do?

A real estate attorney’s main functions are:

• Perform title search
• Organize documentation
• Open escrow and distribute funds

Seems simple, right?

This section digs into what each function means.

Performing a Title Search

If you’ve been wondering why you need a real estate closing attorney…

This is arguably one of the more important functions of the real estate closing attorney.

When they perform these searches, they can find liens on the property.

Property liens are typically placed on a property when there are unpaid debts.

These can be unpaid property taxes, unpaid contractor bills, etc.

If you have liens on your property as a Seller, you could be unable to sell if there are too many liens.

Your attorney will work with you to validate if the liens are valid.

If they are valid, you will have to pay off those debts in full.

Your attorney will obtain a lien release form from the county recorder’s office.

They will meet with the debt collector in front of a Notary and sign the lien release form.

(Sometimes they can negotiate the lien amounts down for you.)

They will submit this lien release to the county recorder’s office.

Organizing Documentation

Organizing documents?

You might be thinking, “Big deal.”

The closing attorney is going to be the coordinator of the closing on the property.

They will get all of the loan documents from the Buyer’s mortgage company.

They will get the Seller’s payoff information from their mortgage company.

They will compile results from the title search.

They will transfer the property deed by submitting the paperwork to the court systems.

At closing, the attorney will walk the Buyer and Seller through the closing documents.

This ensures that each party knows what they are signing up for.

A very organized law firm with their closing processes dialed in is important.

Losing documents or not obtaining them can set the closing back by weeks.

A good law firm will be proactive and on top of things.

Distribution of Funds

Here’s the fun part – payday.

Your closing attorney will open escrow for the property.

It will receive the money from the bank or individual buying the house.

Once the check has cleared, the funds will get distributed appropriately.

If the seller has a loan on the property, the attorney will pay that loan off.

The Listing Agent and Buyer’s Agent will each get their 3% commission.

The attorney will pull out their 1-2% closing costs.

Then the seller will receive the remaining money from the sale of the property.

Related: Understanding The Costs of Selling Real Estate

It’s Over to You

If you’re interested in having The Hive Law handling your closing, just fill out the form below.

We will reach out to you within a few hours and get things rolling for you.