CLASSIC SETTLEMENTS

Buyer and seller arrived on time, and we were all ushered into a conference room. There we waited for an additional 30 minutes while the attorney handling our settlement "put out a fire". When the process began, we learned that he had failed to inform buyer and seller of additional documents/papers that were required. In the case of the buyer, their mortgage company required two forms of identification. Having not been informed of this by Classic Settlements, the buyer only had a drivers license. About half way through the document signing process, a remarkable act of unprofessional conduct occurred: Another attorney with the company knocked on the door, apologized for interrupting, and asked our attorney to step outside for a moment. A few minutes later, both attorneys returned and the one handling our settlement announced that he again "had to put out a fire" and would be turning over the rest of the process to the other attorney. The last half of the process was predictably inefficient and was saved from major errors only by the knowledgeable input of both buyer and seller. This was not my first settlement in Maryland (Montgomery County) this year, but it was the worst.