A Rockville, MD Real Estate Title Lawyers Near You

If you’re thinking about entering the real estate market to buy, sell, or invest, have you considered retaining a Rockville, MD real estate title lawyer to help you? Although the process of purchasing a new home or investing in a property is exciting, there are many issues you might run into some of which only a qualified Rockville, MD real estate title law firm can help you with.  Being sure that you will get clear title to the property;  that is to say that you will actually own the property you purchase.

The Benefits of Hiring a Rockville, MD Title Attorney

When you purchase a home or invest in commercial or residential real estate, there are many different things you are going to want to do to ensure your investment is protected. One of the most effective ways of safeguarding your investment is to hire an experienced Rockville, MD real estate title attorney who can oversee the in-depth review of the title to your property.

You should be sure that your settlement is handled by settlement agent who is meticulous about details, and about being sure that you get what you are paying for.  Too often, details that seem in significant at first glance can be overlooked or dismissed by the settlement agent.  They might come back later and cause you delay and expense when you try to sell or refinance.  Worse, you might become responsible to pay a debt that should have been paid by your seller at settlement.

The title to your property is the history of its ownership and of any liens, mortgages, judgements or other items that my affect the ownership of the property.   Only by doing a thorough search of all of the public records relating to your property can you be sure that all of the problems or issues involving prior owners have been cleared from your property and will not bother you.  When the boundaries of the property present issues, a survey of the property might be required to determine where easements or rights of way that affect your use of the property are located.

Common Title Issues

As we mentioned above, a thorough title search will identify any issues that currently exist that could harm your purchase or cost you more money down the road. Therefore, it is better to learn what these issues are ahead of time before closing on a property so that you can assess whether purchasing or investing is a good idea.   Sometimes issues are so serious that good title candot be conveyed, but most can be cleared up when you have a reputable Rockville, MD real estate title law firm like the Law Offices of Michael E. Gross assisting you.

In addition to a proper title search and closing, title insurance can be purchased to provide protection against issues that can NOT be found on the public records, no matter how well they are searched. Some examples of such issues are:

  1. Clerical or filing mistakes. If the Court Clerk misspells the name of a prior owner on a document, that document won’t be found; for example, a judgment against “Fred Jones” is recorded as being against “Fred James.”
  1. Illegal Acts.  Unfortunately, not all people are honest.  An apparently proper deed may have been signed under a power of attorney, where it is later determined that the power was executed as a result of a relative taking advantage of an elderly person.   The deed might be declared to be invalid, thus endangering your ownership.
  1. Missing heirs. When a person passes away, their property is passed down to their heirs. Sometimes, these individuals are missing or unknown at the time of death. If the missing heir suddenly appears years later, they may have a claim on the property.
  1. Forgeries. It does happen that notaries are not careful about obtaining identification, or identification is false.  Apparently proper documents can be recorded and only later is it discovered that the documents is a forgery, and therefore invalid.
  1. Undiscovered burdens. Just because a person claims they are the title owner doesn’t always mean they are the only ones who have some sort of ownership rights. Like in the case of missing heirs, sometimes, it is discovered that a third party holds a claim to all or part of the property.

Find a Rockville, MD Title Lawyer Near Me

It is never too late to protect your purchase and to hire Rockville real estate title attorney Michael E. Gross. Not only does our firm make the process of buying and selling property much easier on you, but we can also help you identify and address any title issues or intervene if a dispute has arisen. To learn more about the benefits of hiring a title lawyer in your area, contact our office to schedule an initial consultation.