Short Sale Differences – Closing Attorney Selection

In a “normal” or traditional real estate transaction, the buyer gets to select the closing attorney who will conduct the closing and title work.  With a short sale, the seller usually selects the closing attorney.  The reason for this is that the closing attorney has already performed a good bit of work for the Seller in preparing the short sale application package that goes to the Seller’s bank.  Just like you will apply for a loan to buy the property, the short sale package is essentially an application that the seller must complete to apply for a short sale.  These packages are extensive and usually require the help of a real estate attorney, so in most cases, the attorneys have already conducted a lot of the work and  even some of the negotiating involved with the short sale, so they are assigned to close the deal.  This should not be a problem for most Buyers, as long as their lenders approve the closing attorney.