Clearing Title for a Seller vs. The St Vitus Dance

Clearing Title for a Seller vs. The St Vitus Dance

September 12, 2023

A Seller’s Attorney receives a Title Report. Coupled with the Title Report is the “idiot list” (pardon the expression) which we, for one, prepare and disseminate to everyone, which spares a Seller’s Attorney from having to read the Title Report as to what Title Clearance is required for the Seller, and instead, spelling out for the Seller’s Attorney as to what needs to be cleared in order that the Seller is fully prepared to close. Simple, right? So instead of embarking on a path towards clearing title, what do a number of them do? Nothing for the first few months.? Then as closing nears, the Seller’s Attorney proceeds to call our Office, reading back to us the clearance items detailed on our “list” which, by the way, we created, while never providing any of the required clearance that will get them to the finish line.

Then what? Instead, they look at the Title Clearance List, and as to the items that “veer from the norm” such as a prior open Mortgage, a devolution of title issue, a prior open Judgment, a Sidewalk Violation, and the like, instead of taking steps to properly clear the Seller’s title, they haphazardly pronounce: “it’s an Ancient Mortgage”, or “that Sidewalk Violation is from a long time ago”, or my Seller asserts that the Judgment is not him, and then finally, their classic response: “I know a Title Company that will pass on it”.? Of course you do, and we know precisely who they are.? And by the way, to be clear, they know of a Title Agency that will pass on it, not a Title Company that will pass on it.

So the real question is as to why so many Seller’s Attorneys abhor taking on the task of properly clearing a Seller’s title for Real Estate Sales Transactions, and why do so many of them lack the courage to advise their Clients that the legal fee that they quoted the Seller to represent them for their Real Estate Sale, naturally, does not include having to clear title as to matters that veer from the norm, as stated above. It perplexes me. Instead, they wiggle, they twist, they turn, and attempt every machination to convince the Purchaser’s Title Agency to pass on the appropriately raised Title Exceptions, as opposed to taking the honorable approach: advise their Seller that certain Title Exceptions were appropriately raised by the Purchaser’s Title Agency that should have been previously cleared, which were not properly cleared, and the legal work now needed in order to clear these Title Exceptions is well above and beyond the scope of a standard Real Estate Closing, and for this, I am going to have to charge you additional for this additional work needed to fully and properly clear title, in order to get you to the finish line.? In our experience, many Seller’s Attorneys are almost afraid to have this discussion with their Seller, which brings them back to instead, to performing the St Vitus Dance (so to speak)!

So what’s the solution? A Seller’s Attorney should make it patently clear, right from the outset in his or her Retainer Agreement that the legal fee quoted in order to represent a Seller for the sale of his or her Real Estate includes all of the ordinary and necessary tasks attendant to effectuating the sale of the said Real Estate, but it does not include the legal fees for any additional legal work attendant to clearing “past sins” affecting the Real Estate.? If that point is made perfectly clear right up front, it will spare a Seller’s Attorney from having to wiggle, and squirm and having to perform the St Vitus Dance, which, I understand, is not an easy dance to perform. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Vitus'_dance

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