Q: Can a lawyer represent a seller and own the settlement company without disclosing it to the buyer?
A: Buyers have the right to select their own settlement company. The buyer not the seller should chosen this, though if the buyer has no preference a lender usually sets this up. Technically the settlement company works for the lender, not the buyer or seller. That is, the settlement company generally follows the lender's directions and either the buyer or seller can hire their own attorney to review the closing documents and attend closing. That being so, the same attorney representing two parties adverse to each other without any disclosure raises issues.
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