Real Estate

Title Insurance At Slaby Deda LLP, we have our own in-house title insurance company to assist you when you are purchasing or refinancing real estate. Title insurance policies insure against unknown claims made regarding ownership of real estate, the legal description, etc. Part of a title insurance company’s job occurs before the sale is completed, as they research the background and status of the title in an effort to ensure that it is a clear title. A “clear title” refers to its being free of any liens. This job is done by tracing the chain of title, and verifying that each sale and purchase was done according to the proper laws and by the proper parties. Because we are a title insurance agency, we can be your one-stop shop for real estate closings. Closing Services We also handle closings concerning real estate purchases. At closing, the title of the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. This transfer is achieved through the signing of multiple documents that together achieve the change in title. These documents can include the property deed, bill of sale, transfer tax return, closing statement, and whatever else is necessary. The closing statement indicates the various fees associated with closing payable by the buyer and the seller. The law firm acts as the “middle man” to ensure that the money is paid before the deed is recorded and that we have the deed in our possession before the money is paid. We have an attorney who will act as the closing agent, will prepare the relevant documents for the closing, walk both the buyer and seller through the process, and record the deed following the closing. Money is often wired from one financial institution to another in a real estate closing. Given the opportunity, cyber criminals will attempt to tamper with wiring instructions to intercept these funds. If you are wiring funds for a real estate closing, always call our office to independently confirm that the wiring instructions you have are correct. A short informational video explaining how to avoid these scams is available here. Complex Real Estate Matters At Slaby Deda LLP, we also are prepared to litigate complex real estate issues that may arise. Our attorneys have years of experience in dealing with a plethora of complicated real estate issues such as claims of adverse possession, prescriptive easements, or easements of necessity, among others. Adverse Possession Claims of adverse possession typically arise from boundary disputes between neighbors. To illustrate a typical adverse possession claim, imagine two neighbors, Neighbor A and Neighbor B. Soon after moving into his house, Neighbor A put up a fence in order to keep his dog in his yard. He relied on what his Realtor had told him regarding the boundaries of his yard when doing so. Neighbor B later moves into the neighborhood, and does not question Neighbor A’s placement of the fence. Years later, a survey is done, and it reveals the fence to have been placed on Neighbor B’s land. The survey may show that Neighbor B owns land that Neighbor A had treated as, and everyone recognized as, his own, but through adverse possession, Neighbor B’s “true” ownership may be challenged. If Neighbor A treated the land as his own for the requisite amount of time and fulfilled certain statutory requirements, such as open and notorious possession, among others, ownership may be transferred to him. Adverse possession claims can be a means of maintaining the status quo to those who have believed they owned a particular piece of land for a long time.