Paul V. Giannetti

We worked with Paul in the purchased of a home about 2 years ago (2012). The previous homeowners were VERY difficult and several times failed to meet deadlines, provide required paperwork, or properly communicate. Throughout the process Paul clearly explained what our options were and seemed very kno...wledgeable about real estate law and all aspects of home purchase/sale. Unfortunately, that is about the only positive thing I can say. Communication: Paul was very difficult to get a hold of, especially over the phone. He generally responded to e-mails within 24 hours though in some cases it took much longer (up to 4-5 days). Since we were already pressed with deadlines from the bank it was very stressful. In the 10-15 times I tried to call his office I think I got to speak with someone twice -- the remainder of the time I left a voicemail. Calls were generally returned within 24 hours though I had a few which were never returned. After a disagreement about our final bill for his services, Paul eventually stopped returning e-mails and phone calls. Trustworthiness: I didn't feel that I could trust Paul at all when asking for his advice. He seemed to always want to take the easy way out which usually ended up with us paying more money for something. A few examples: 1. During the final walkthrough we found that the previous owners had removed a few items which were specifically listed in the P&S. Additionally there was damage to several walls where pictures and TVs had been, trash left in the garage, and the home was extremely dirty. We found nails on the floors, food in the fridge and pantry, dirt everywhere, one toilet wasn't flushed, etc.... All of this was brought up during closing and Paul suggested withholding $100 (yes, one hundred). I requested $1000 to cover repairs and cleaning and IN FRONT OF the seller Paul told me that was unreasonable. We finally settled on $300 but I had to argue AGAINST Paul to get it. A lawyer should never work against the interest of his client. On a side note: After all of the repairs and cleaning were done the final cost was about $800. 2. The sellers missed a few deadlines for providing title paperwork. Rather than extend the deadline and wait for them to provide it, Paul did the paperwork search himself. While the sounds great (and sounded nice to us at the time since it resolved a lot of issues), we ended up regretting it in the end as it showed up as an additional $300 bill for his services which should have been done by the sellers. I argued with him over this additional charge and he eventually stopped responding to my calls and e-mails saying that he had already provided more than his normal level of service for a home purchase. I could go on with more examples of Paul trying to take the easy way out but I think these two are enough to say that I would never recommend him as a real estate lawyer.