Choose Your Own Delaware Real Estate Lawyer
If you own a house in Delaware and you're about to refinance your mortgage, you have to have a Delaware attorney represent you. But, you have the absolute right to choose your own Delaware attorney regardless of any recommendation you might receive from your loan officer.
This article is part of a series of articles I've written about refinancing in Delaware.
This right to choose your own attorney is so fundamental that if you are referred to an attorney by someone who works for your lender, that attorney is required to inform you, in writing, that you have the absolute right (regardless of any preference that the lender may have and regardless of who is to pay attorney's fees) to retain a lawyer of your own choice to represent you throughout the transaction, including the examination and certification of title, the preparation of documents, and the holding of settlement.
The attorney who you are referred to must also inform you of the identity of any other party having an interest in the transaction whom the lawyer may represent, including a statement that such other representation may be possibly conflicting and may adversely affect the exercise of the lawyer's professional judgment on your behalf in case of a dispute between the parties. In this connection, a lawyer is deemed to have a "possibly conflicting" representation if he represents the lender or has represented the lender on a continuing basis in the past.
So if you’ve used an attorney in the past, or if a friend or relative recommends an attorney, and you’d like that attorney to handle your next real estate transaction, don’t feel pressured into using a different attorney just because your lender suggests that you somebody else.
