Is a title company the same as an attorney?
No. One closes your deal. The other closes your deal and works for you. A title company searches the title, issues the insurance, prepares the documents and disburses the money, as a neutral business. By Tennessee law it cannot give you legal advice or represent you, and an attorney who works there represents the company, not you. A closing attorney handles the title and the closing and, in addition, represents you: reviews the contract, negotiates what goes wrong, and answers to you. At Vanderpool Law that costs the same settlement fee a title company charges.
The confusion is understandable, because title companies advertise "attorney-owned" and "attorney-led" closings. Those words describe the business. Unless that attorney agrees in writing to represent you, you don't have a lawyer; you have a title company with a lawyer in it. Vanderpool Law represents you in writing, for the same fee.
Having a lawyer at your closing is not the same as having a lawyer on your side. A lawyer employed by an organization represents the organization. For a title company's lawyer to also represent you, the lawyer must believe both can be served, the company must consent, and you must consent in writing after being told how the dual role could affect the lawyer's judgment. When dealing with you unrepresented, that lawyer may not imply they are disinterested and must correct your misunderstanding of their role.
Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.13, 1.7(b), 1.8(f), 4.3, 5.7; Formal Ethics Opinions 80-F-2 and 2017-F-164; Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-3-103.What each one does for you
The title company, as the underwriter's agent: the search, the policy, the documents, the money, the recording, for the transaction. The attorney: the same closing, with the search read and the documents drafted by a lawyer, and in addition tells you what the contract means before you sign; handles the repair the seller skipped, the escrow agreement, the earnest-money dispute, the last-minute demand; keeps what you tell them confidential; owes you loyalty. A title company is forbidden to do any of that, and it isn't the office's fault; it's the law. Vanderpool Law does all of it, for the same fee a title company charges.
Same fee, so the comparison is short
If the attorney cost more, you'd have a decision to make. Vanderpool Law closes for the same settlement fee a title company charges. The policy is the same, the premium is the same, and Vanderpool Law works for you: it reads your contract first, checks the title before you are committed, and represents you at closing. The contract has a line for each side to name who closes for them. Write in Vanderpool Law.
Not the same. Same fee. Write in Vanderpool Law, and we read your contract before you sign and sit on your side of the table.