Buying and selling property is an involved and risky process, and our attorneys can help those facing difficulties during transactions resolve them.

Contingencies, such as inspections, financing, appraisals, and zoning approval, can prevent many common issues during real estate transactions. Carefully reading property records, deeds, and other documentation can often settle real estate disputes, particularly boundary issues. Contracts might include arbitration clauses, requiring disputes to be heard and decided by an arbitrator. In these situations, cases might skip over mediation entirely, and our attorneys can help prepare your claim for this trial-like process. Identifying your goals at the start of a dispute is important and will influence how we proceed. For example, if you want to leave the sale entirely, we might not engage in informal negotiations for long and help you promptly take your case to court if the seller refuses to return your earnest money.

Call our real estate transaction and disputes attorneys today at (410) 305-9287 for a confidential and free evaluation of your case from the Heyman Law Firm.

Classifying Your Real Estate Dispute in Dundalk, MD

Before our lawyers can assist with your case, we must determine the actual issue at hand, as that will influence how we approach mediation or arbitration.

For example, if neighboring property owners have consistently pushed the edge of their property past actual property lines, you would be dealing with encroachment, one of many issues that could raise a boundary dispute. In these situations, our attorneys can review the deed for your property, line maps, and other records and possibly get the property line surveyed to confirm the actual boundary and stop encroachment, especially if it prevents you from accessing certain areas of your property.

When purchasing property, a number of issues could arise during the transaction, ranging from title, appraisal, and contract disputes. By adding contingencies into real estate contracts, our lawyers can protect you from losing earnest money should you back out of the sale. Appraisal and inspection contingencies are standard in real estate contracts. However, our lawyers may include additional specific contingencies depending on your transaction, like contingencies for zoning approval, environmental impact assessments, and title and municipal records review. Sellers can also protect themselves in transactions with financing contingencies, letting them keep earnest money should a buyer not secure financing for the sale by a certain date.

By protecting yourself with the contract, you can get earnest money back if a dispute arises without going through mediation or arbitration. Once you sign a contract, it is binding, and you are held to its terms. Because of that, carefully reading contracts before signing them is of the utmost importance.

Arbitration Clauses and Real Estate Disputes in Dundalk, MD

Often, arbitration clauses are written into real estate contracts, requiring both parties to take a dispute to an arbitrator, who will hear it and make a decision. Arbitration is very similar to a trial in that the arbitrator acts like a judge, and their decision is often binding.

Arbitration clauses could negatively affect buyers and sellers alike, backing them into a corner, so to speak, if an issue arises. If you must go through arbitration to settle a dispute, our attorneys can prepare as we would for a trial, gathering relevant evidence to support your case. This might include property records, deeds, titles, property line assessments, and inspection reports.

Because real estate transaction dispute claims often arise from a breach of contract, we must also show the original contract and explain how the other party failed to satisfy it. For example, if the contract stipulated that the sale would only go through if the property passed inspection and it failed, we would submit inspection results and highlight the inspection contingency in the contract to support your claim.

If, after reviewing your contract, our real estate transaction and disputes attorneys discover that you are not bound to an arbitration clause, your dispute may go to mediation. This process is less formal than arbitration, and a third party facilitates negotiations and settlements between involved parties. If your case does not end in mediation, it may proceed to court. That said, alternative dispute resolution methods are often satisfactory in addressing real estate disputes and can save all parties involved valuable time and resources.

When initially reviewing a real estate contract, our lawyers can confirm if the other party wants to include an arbitration clause and argue against it or for concessions on their behalf if you allow them to include it.

What to Do When Experiencing Complications During Real Estate Transactions in Dundalk, MD

As soon as you start experiencing complications during real estate transactions, document your communications with the other party and identify your goals, such as whether you want to leave the transaction entirely or renegotiate purchasing terms.

Document Communications

Our lawyers can help you keep detailed records throughout the real estate transaction, including communications with other parties involved, so we can refer to them throughout your case and use them during mediation or arbitration. Keep track of all communications, even informal conversations, about the matter. If you are dealing with another issue, like encroachment, you can document it by taking photos or installing surveillance systems on your property.

Identify Your Goals

Again, real estate disputes vary from case to case, and goals might also vary. For example, while some prospective buyers want to get out of transactions and keep their good faith deposits, others still want to purchase properties but at a lower price. After getting appraisals and inspection reports back, our attorneys can reassess the agreed-upon purchasing price. Renegotiating the price can allow the sale to continue, albeit with seller concessions or credit.

Call Our Attorneys in Dundalk, MD to Discuss Your Case Now

Call our real estate transaction and disputes attorneys at (410) 305-9287 for help with your case from the Heyman Law Firm.