Why would an Attorney Refuse to Double Close???

[Anton Watt]

Hello BP,

I am under contract to purchase a home from a wholesaler and we will be doing a double closing. The wholesaler will also be double closing with the original seller so this is technically a triple closing. I am using a new attorney on this deal because that is the original sellers preference and yesterday I received an email from the attorney saying they cannot double close this property. I have done this plenty of times with other attorneys and they love it because of the multiple fees they can charge on one closing. I haven't gotten a response from the attorney after I asked why they wouldn't do it. BP do you have any experience as to why an attorney would not do it?

[Matthew Nicklin]

Short answer: Risk

Long answer: Your wholesaler is probably not bringing funds to the table which means they are going to be using your funds to allow the wholesaler to purchase the property from the original seller and then sell it to you. If the wholesaler was bringing funds this would not be an issue. Based on the way trust accounting is supposed to work you can not use someone elses funds to close a deal then use those same funds on another closing. Some attorneys will do it but others wont because it may effect their insurance or throw off their trust accounting. 

You have 2 options.

1. See if the wholesaler has an attorney that is comfortable with this transaction.

2. See if the wholesaler is comfortable with using assignment as any attorney will be ok with assignment. The downside to using assignment is you as the final buyer will see how much the wholesaler is making so some wholesalers do not like that option.