Ellicott City Boundary Dispute Lawyers and Ellicott City Title Attorneys

Find the right Title & Boundary Dispute attorney in Ellicott City, MD

Title & Boundary Dispute Law in Maryland

If you discover that you and your neighbor's use of your respective properties do not reflect the legal property lines, this can create a problem.

It's normally possible, though not always easy, for neighbors to come to a resolution of these disputes on their own. If the neighbors happen to like one another, and the difference between the actual property lines and what they believed the property lines to be is extremely small (a foot or two, for example), they might simply decide to go on as they had before. This is certainly a desirable solution in the short term, since it saves everyone a great deal of time and energy. However, in the long term, this can cause problems, particularly if one neighbor decides they want to enforce the legal property lines down the road.

Normally, when this happens, the owner of the property which is being encroached upon wants to expand their property to reflect the legal boundaries, and the owner of the land that will be shrunk by recognizing the legal property lines will want to keep the situation as it is.

While the boundary disputes discussed above occur fairly regularly, they aren't the only type of land dispute that can happen in Ellicott City, Maryland. There are also title disputes. These disagreements arise when it isn't clear who owns an entire parcel of land. There are many reasons why such confusion might arise, but a common one is failure to properly record a deed, or subsequent loss of a deed by the recording office. While normally innocent in origin, these disputes can also be the product of fraud. Sometimes, a landowner will sell his land to more than one person, with each buyer assuming that they are the only buyer. Having "sold" his land multiple times, the fraudster presumably flees the jurisdiction with his ill-gotten gains. This leaves the buyers to figure out who really owns the land that each of them thought they had just bought. Obviously, whoever loses this dispute will normally have to absorb the loss of the land's purchase price, if the fraudulent seller cannot be found.

Possible Outcomes of Boundary and Title Disputes in Ellicott City, Maryland

One frequent resolution for boundary disputes is a court re-drawing the boundaries to fit with what the assumptions that the neighbors were operating under before the error was discovered. This normally happens when both parties were, for many years, aware of the actual property boundaries, and did nothing about it. Additionally, if the neighbor who has been encroaching onto the other neighbor's land has made costly improvements thereto, this weighs in favor of that neighbor, since changing the property lines would impose significant hardship on that neighbor.

However, a court might also enforce the legal property boundaries, especially if failing to do so would place a significant burden on the owner of the encroached-upon land. If the owner of the encroaching land knew of the encroachment, and concealed it from his neighbor, this fact would also weigh heavily in favor of enforcing the legal property lines.

With title disputes (as opposed to the boundary disputes discussed above), an Ellicott City, Maryland court has to determine who owns an entire parcel of land. There are some pretty difficult legal issues involved here.

In general, the person who first recorded the deed at the appropriate government office will be the one who the court deems to own the land, if they didn't have any reason to know about the existence of the other deed, or other sale, or whatever else gave rise to the title disagreement.

What Can A Ellicott City, Maryland Attorney Do?

As you might have gathered, it's not uncommon for the legal issues governing boundary and title disputes to get very complicated. Additionally, any dispute that can affect one's use or ownership of land has very high stakes (land isn't normally cheap, after all). Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that hiring a competent Ellicott City, Maryland real estate lawyer to help in situations like this is always a good idea.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Ellicott City

Ellicott City, Maryland is an unincorporated community in Howard County. It has a population of approximately 57,000 people as of the 2000 Census Ellicott City, Maryland was founded in 1772, by a small group of Quaker missionaries. Chosen for its picturesque natural scenery and abundant natural resources (particularly lumber), the settlement quickly grew into a bustling community. Tourists are generally drawn to the area because of its beautiful natural scenery. However, Ellicott, Maryland is also home to a niche tourist industry: ghost hunting. It is considered by enthusiasts to be one of the most haunted places in the U.S. If you believe in that sort of thing, Ellicott City could be a delightful place to visit. Ellicott City is home to quite a few tourist attractions. In addition to hiking trails, it is home to The Enchanted Forest, an amusement park with a fantasy theme. It is also has a locale Shakespeare company, that regularly puts on productions of the bard's plays. Residents of Ellicott City, and the surrounding area, have access to a wide variety of competent attorneys. Ellicott City, Maryland lawyers are ready to handle just about any case that you are likely to face. Whatever legal issues you're dealing with, an Ellicott City, Maryland lawyer can help.

Clients Rate LegalMatch Attorneys
(click to read reviews)

Nicholas M.
Nicholas M.

Real Estate, Housing & Property Law

Golden, CO

Carl M.
Carl M.

Real Estate, Housing & Property Law

Seattle, WA

David A.
David A.

Real Estate, Housing & Property Law

Walnut Creek, CA