Lawyer Gave Away Money at Closing

[Michael Delmont]

I just closed on the sale of a property in IL, which has to be done through a lawyer. The lawyer provides the title company with all of the numbers as to who needs to be paid and what the amounts are. The property is a condo and last year there was a special assessment levied ($600 a year for 2020,21,22,23). When I purchased the property in Nov. I paid the 2020 special assessment of $600. At or just prior to the closing, my lawyer finds that the buyer's lender hasn't figured this special assessment into the loan. Instead of contacting me and telling me of the problem, he decided to give the seller a concession of $2,250 to cover all of the special assessment through 2023. He didn't even tell me after the fact and the only way I found out was through auditing the Closing Disclosure. So, basically, the lawyer gave away $2,250 without asking or even having the courtesy to tell me about. 

How would you handle this? What recourse might I have?

[Bob Floss II]

@Michael Delmont I would definitely confront your attorney. I don't make any changes to the settlement statement without reviewing and getting authorization from the client. Not sure the recourse but they acted improper. I'm sure the defense will be they wanted to get the deal done for you and made a decision to get the closing completed because that was the only solution anyway. You had a right to know.