Una transacción de bienes raíces residenciales en Maryland

 

Una transacción de bienes raíces residenciales en Maryland generalmente sigue los siguientes pasos:

 

              1.           Acuerdo de Compra: El proceso comienza cuando el comprador y el vendedor acuerdan los términos de la venta. Esto se formaliza en un contrato de compra que incluye detalles como el precio de venta, contingencias (como la inspección de la casa o la financiación), y el calendario para el cierre.

              2.           Depósito de Garantía: El comprador generalmente debe proporcionar un depósito de garantía (conocido como “earnest money”) para demostrar su compromiso. Este dinero es depositado en una cuenta de depósito en custodia y se aplicará al precio de compra durante el cierre.

              3.           Inspección de la Propiedad: El comprador normalmente realiza una inspección de la propiedad para asegurarse de que no haya problemas significativos. En Maryland, las contingencias de inspección son comunes y permiten que el comprador negocie reparaciones o incluso se retire del acuerdo si se descubren problemas importantes.

              4.           Obtención de Financiamiento: Si el comprador está utilizando una hipoteca, este paso implica obtener la aprobación del préstamo. Maryland tiene leyes específicas para proteger tanto al comprador como al prestamista en este proceso.

              5.           Búsqueda de Título y Seguro de Título: Una compañía de títulos realiza una búsqueda para asegurarse de que la propiedad esté libre de gravámenes u otros problemas legales. El seguro de título protege tanto al comprador como al prestamista en caso de problemas futuros.

              6.           Cierre o Escritura: El día del cierre, todas las partes se reúnen para firmar la documentación final. En Maryland, un abogado o una compañía de títulos suele supervisar el cierre. Durante este proceso, el comprador transfiere los fondos finales y el vendedor entrega la propiedad mediante la firma de la escritura.

              7.           Registro del Título: Después del cierre, la nueva escritura es registrada oficialmente en la oficina de registros del condado, lo que legalmente transfiere la propiedad al comprador.

 

Este proceso está regulado por las leyes del estado de Maryland, que requieren que se sigan ciertos procedimientos para proteger tanto al comprador como al vendedor  .

The real attraction of magnetic North.

 You know that magnetic north shifts, over time, right? This is where the science of survey, or "boundary retracement", can confuse we ordinary folk. In our practice of real estate litigation and problem solving, this is a recurring topic of investigation.

The concept of "meridian" is generally reference to the North-South axis that forms the basis of a boundary retracement. Think of any map you have ever examined, and recall the compass rose in one of the corners of the document, telling you where to locate North in relation to the drawing. The line along that axis is your meridian, for purposes of that drawing.

But, did you know that the location of magnetic north changes, over time? Because it is based on the earthly location of magnetic north, it shifts. This can create what surveyors call an "error of closure." In short, the ending point of your legal description may not meet the beginning point. How can this happen? 

Imagine a non-professional who attempts to prepare a deed description of real property. And imagine further that this person researches all the surrounding deeds, and then borrows the written description of common boundaries (those shared by the property being described, and the neighboring parcels). If the borrowed line descriptions come from different decades, then it is almost certain that the description will not close. It will have a large error of closure that must be fixed.

In this image, the red line depicts the gap between a beginning point, and the ending point of a deed description that was prepared by a non-surveyor, using data borrowed from a range of deeds, from the 1800s to the 1970s. This created a divisive dispute among several neighbors about rights to use a shared driveway, shown running through the middle of the red line. This is a very common dispute in our legal practice of real estate and property law.

Now that you know that magnetic north can shift over time, you already understand why a non-professional can easily mess up an attempt to create a deed description:  Boundaries are all relative to the meridian of the time. The deed author must understand the meridian of the time, and make necessary adjustments to conform old descriptions with newer descriptions. 

For example, if magnetic north has shifted 5 degrees over a certain time, the angles and calls of the new deed must account for this. This adjustment is needed if the mismatched lines are to close. It's the geometry calculations you hated to do as a student.

Why is any of this important to you? Well, many of the lawsuits and neighbor disputes that arrive in our law office are based on this common misunderstanding about surveys and boundary retracement. Fights about easements, access, and building locations spin out of control where the parties simply do not understand that their deed descriptions, in whole or in part, may simply be poorly drafted.

With the help of our experts, we might help resolve your neighbor conflict, with or without litigation. It all begins with an understanding of true north.

Silence is your true friend, it will never betray you, especially in a deposition.

You will be deposed. Whether you are plaintiff, defendant, or witness, another participant in the lawsuit will demand that you be questioned, under oath, before a court reporter. Your answers will be typed and presented as a transcript.

A transcript presents as a bound volume of pages, each consisting of 21 double-spaced lines of text. And here is the most important thing-- the spaces between lines of text are uniform. More specifically, the spaces between each line of text do not expand or contract depending on how quickly the deponent responds, or how long the deponent pauses to consider a response.