You have done your homework, set goals, saved for a down payment, visited endless open houses, researched interest rates and chosen a mortgage lender—everything a well-informed first-time home buyer is supposed to do. Now it is time to choose an attorney to represent your interests in the purchase of your new home and at the real estate closing.

But before making this important decision, you should understand the role of the attorneys at the closing and the options you have in choosing an attorney to represent you.

At the closing on your new house, you will walk into a large conference room with a big table and lots of chairs and there will be many people there besides you. One thing that confuses people is: who are all these attorneys and what are they doing here?

One attorney will be there representing the seller. That attorney will prepare the deed to you as the buyer, prepare some of the figures for the settlement statement and get payoff statements for any mortgages or liens that the sellers already have on their house. In addition there can be one or two other attorneys there. There are two roles that need to be played but they can be played by the same attorney. One attorney is representing the lender who is giving you the mortgage and the other attorney is representing you and your interests.

Several years ago, the Connecticut Supreme Court decided a case in which they stated that one attorney can represent both the buyer and the lender in the same closing. This can provide a cost savings to you and make the process a little easier, since one office is doing all the work. The Supreme Court went on to say that if a conflict arises between these two parties, the attorney must notify both parties and must remove himself or herself from the transaction.

There can be conflicts between the lender and the buyer, but typically the parties can resolve these issues without the attorney withdrawing from the transaction. Some examples of conflicts are: the lender promised the buyer a specific interest rate and then changes the rate; or, the lender promised a closing within a specific time period and long delays put the closing date at risk.

The role of representing the lender involves assembling the documents that you need to sign at the closing; collecting the figures from other parties that need to be paid at the closing and preparing the settlement statement; and, collecting additional documents, such as payoff statements, tax information, and insurance policies. The role of representing the buyer involves doing a title search; reviewing the title search; preparing a title insurance policy; making sure that the title is free of problems; discussing any issues regarding the property or title with you; and, negotiating any issues regarding the property or title with the seller’s attorney.

The lender will assign the real estate closing to an attorney to represent them. You can choose to use the lender's attorney to represent you as well or hire your own attorney. That decision is entirely up to you. If you and the lender use one attorney you can save some money--between $150 and $350 on average. Usually there are no conflicts and the closing process will be streamlined by using the same office to do everything. However, some people feel more comfortable having their own attorney represent solely their interests at the closing.

If you are still confused about whether to hire your own attorney or share legal representation with the lender, feel free to ask the professionals involved in the real estate transaction for advice. You can ask your mortgage representative and your realtor, but the best advice is to consult the attorney assigned to represent the lender—he or she will be able to give you the best information on this subject.

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Mike Reiner is an attorney and President of Reiner, Reiner and Bendett PC in Farmington, Connecticut. For more information, please contact him at 860-255-5001 or by email at MReiner@reiner.com.