Champion Title & Settlements, Inc.

I am writing in response to your recent correspondence regarding the above referenced complaint. This letter will detail the circumstances surrounding the transaction which gave rise to [redacted]'s complaint.The sale of [redacted] Landover, Maryland [redacted] (“Property”), between [redacted]...

[redacted] (“Seller”) and [redacted] (“Buyer") had a settlement date of June 23, 2017. Seiler pre-signed on June 20, 2017.Buyer had to take out two loans to purchase the Property (“Lender One' and “Lender Two). He was scheduled to close at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 23, 2017 at the office of Champion Title & Settlements, Inc. (“Settlement Agent”). Both Lender One and Lender Two required Buyer to bring money to closing (collectively “Funds to Close”). Signing of settlement documents completed around 5:30 p.m. Because signing finished after business hours, followed by the weekend, the documents were not received by Settlement Agent's Post-Closing Department until the morning of June 26, 2017.Both Lenders required review of final signed documents and Funds to Close prior to allowing Settlement Agent to disburse money. On Monday, June 26, 2017, while preparing the signed settlement documents to scan to the Lender One and Lender Two, it came to Settlement Agent's attention that the Funds to Close were short. Inadvertently, Settlement Agent did not collect the Funds to Close required from Lender Two, and neither the Buyer nor his agent mentioned the shortage of funds at the settlement table.Lender Two's instructions to Settlement Agent were as follows: “YOU MUST RECEIVE A FUNDING NUMBER BEFORE DISBURSING FUNDS. PRIOR TO CLOSER GIVING AUTHORIZATION TO DISBURSE, THE ENTIRE CLOSING PACKAGE MUST BE REVIEWED FOR ACCURACY BY OUR TEAM. PLEASE INCLUDE A COPY OF CERTIFIED FUNDS TO CLOSE.” (Lender Two's instructions attached hereto as Exhibit A. On June 26", Settlement Agent immediately contacted Buyer's agent and informed him of the urgency of the matter. Settlement Agent was informed that Buyer could not bring a check until Friday, June 30th,That same day, Settlement Agent called Seller's Agent, [redacted] was informed that due to the shortage, Settlement Agent was unable to disburse any money until Buyer provided the remaining Funds to Close on Friday, June 30". Settlement Agent promised to keep the line of communication open if anything changed, and to contact [redacted] with any updates.On the morning of June 27, 2017, Settlement Agent spoke with the Seller's daughter, who was listed as the point of contact. Settlement Agent relayed the same information to Seller's daughter, again, promising to keep the line of communication open if anything changed.On June 28, 2017, Settlement Agent spoke with [redacted] around noon. The situation was re explained and he was told that there was unfortunately no update. Later that afternoon, Settlement Agent's management team was informed that [redacted] told Buyer's agent that he was being ignored. As a result, as a second phone call was made to [redacted] that afternoon. (See email attached between Settlement Agent's management team evidencing proof of calls as Exhibit B).It should also be noted that throughout the week, in an effort to prevent further delay of funding, Settlement Agent offered a few resolutions to Lender Two (settlement credits, etc). Lender Two escalated the situation to their compliance manager, and stood by the position that they would not provide Settlement Agent with a funding number or authorize disbursement until remaining Funds to Close were provided by Buyer (See e-mail from Lender Two attached as Exhibit C).On the morning of June 30, 2017, around 10:15 a.m., Buyer bought the remaining Funds to Close to Settlement Agents office. Settlement Agent sent a copy of the check to Lender Two within minutes of receipt. Funding authorization was provided by Lender Two at 11:35 a.m. (See attached Email as Exhibit D). Settlement Agent disbursed funds immediately thereafter.[redacted]'s allegations that Settlement Agent was unresponsive are simply untrue. Sara K**, attorney for Settlement Agent, was the constant point of contact for [redacted]. Not only was Settlement Agent in daily communication with all parties (some days, multiple times a day), but the situation was given great attention by several members of Settlement Agent's staff and management team (please see [redacted], one of Settlement Agent’s owners, copied on the email attached as Exhibit B).Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions regarding the matter.Sincerely,Delia *. K[redacted], Esquire