Home Sale Law in Maryland
The decision to buy or sell a house, or other piece of real property, is very crucial. For most, it's one of the most crucial financial decisions of their life.
Because of the complexity of these issues, most people in Baltimore, Maryland don't opt to sell real estate themselves, even though there are no laws barring them from doing so.
For that reason, it's usually best to buy and sell property through a real estate broker. This is a person who helps a person buy or sell a home. They serve as an intermediary between the buyer and seller, help sellers find buyers, and help prospective buyers. They also handle a great deal of the paperwork and other formalities involved.
In Baltimore, Maryland, brokers usually receive compensation in the form of a percentage of the sale price of the home.
Getting a Mortgage in Baltimore, Maryland
If the buyer asks the seller a question about the physical condition of the home, the seller is legally bound to answer it honestly. If the seller lies when asked a direct question, they have committed a serious form of fraud, and, if sued by the buyer, will incur significantt liability.
Most significant defects (those which have any effect on the value or safety of the home) should be disclosed even if the buyer doesn't ask about them. If the seller knows of a defect, and a reasonable buyer wouldn't be able to discover it through a normal inspection, the seller must disclose it.
Buyers, however, are not off the hook in this matter. If they ignore defects that they could have easily discovered, they probably won't be able to recover for them.
Generally, buyers have a duty to conduct a reasonable inspection of the property before buying it. Therefore, buyers usually can't recover for defects that could have been discovered via reasonable inspection, unless the seller actively conceals them.
Can a Baltimore, Maryland Real Estate Attorney help?
If you are buying a home in Baltimore, Maryland, there are probably things you want to focus on other than paperwork and required inspections, such as the process of moving in, checking out schools, etc. A good real estate attorney can make it much easier to focus on the aspects of home ownership that matter to you.