American Legal Abstract

I have used American Legal Abstract twice now with two mortgages and each time Rachel Basin was awesome !! Very Courteous and will go above and beyond to make everything work with a busy schedule ! Can’t say enough good things about her ud83dude0e

I purchased a Philadelphia property on 9/26 with the seller requiring that we use this specific title company. My real estate broker informed me that there are and should be no risks given that it raised my eyebrows a bit as to why a seller would insist that I use a title company of their choice.nnAnyways, during the process on the settlement date, I was met by Jen Palmer - nice lady. However, whenever I had a question to ask her, she insisted that I do not ask her any questions and to reserve my questions for my agent. After all, I'm only putting out about 50 signatures on documents to who knows what.nnThe main issue is the water bill balance. There was a $584 (all amounts rounded to nearest dollar) past due balance prior to settlement date of 9/26. I confirmed this by going to the Municipal Services building on 14th and JFK and received the previous owner’s water bill along with a transaction history report of the water account. On 8/18, based on the water department’s records, there was a running balance of $291. Accordingly, the title company remitted payment for that amount. However, what pushed the balance up even further was that the property was billed for $290 on 9/18. That means, if she looked up the water bill balance on 9/26, then she should’ve seen a difference in the water balance from 9/6 (when it was $291) to 9/26 (when it was now $584). Jen provided me with documentation showing that she looked up the water bill balance on 9/6. She mentioned that she checked again on the settlement date of 9/26 and that there was no change in the water bill balance. So I asked her to prove that by providing me with similar documentation showing the water bill balance with a time stamp of 9/26. She told me that because the water bill balance did not change on 9/26 when she checked again, she therefore did not produce and keep documentation showing what the water bill balance was on 9/26. What a convenient excuse to not keep records when it really mattered huh? She quickly played the “blame” card saying that the City/water department is “incompetent” and “slow” for not updating their system on a timely basis. And I get it - they are like that to an extent. However, there is just no accountability and ownership whatsoever and just a complete lack of care for the clients they serve. She even mentioned that I signed a “hold harmless” form which frees the title company of any outstanding bills after 9/26. Did I forget to mention how she shut me down from asking any questions during the settlement process? So if a title company rep tells you to not ask questions during the settlement process and insists that you just keep signing away at documents that they hand you, then steer away from them. Based on this experience, I learned to ask questions should I have any regardless if a title company rep tells you not to ask questions. I know I would’ve questioned the “hold harmless” form when it was provided to me for sure. DO NOT ever use American Legal Abstract if you do not want to get screwed over during the home buying process.