Real Estate Law

Maryland Real Estate Lawyer

General Intake Form

At the Law Offices of Blondell & Caruso, P.C., attorneys Harry Blondell and Maria Caruso represent buyers and sellers in all types of real estate transactions throughout the Baltimore, Maryland area, including residential, commercial and agricultural properties. We can help you with purchase agreements, contract negotiations, negotiations with lenders, title examinations, zoning changes, and closings. We also provide experienced legal advice about title issues, title insurance, zoning, and environmental issues.

Senior partner Harry Blondell is a managing member of Advance Title, LLC, a full service title company based in Baltimore. We invite you to contact us to discuss all of your residential and commercial property transactions or 1031 exchange real estate investment needs.

Our real estate lawyers focus in legal areas such as:

Real Estate Litigation

Our real estate attorneys have represented homeowners, builders, sellers, purchasers, and others in real estate litigation involving such issues as title claims, property line disputes, and real estate contracts. In one exemplary case, we represented a homeowner’s rights, in which the homeowner had purchased a property for $150,000. After living in the house for ten years, she noticed a foreclosure notice posted on her front door. The developer had changed the plat (the drawing of the lot in the courthouse) to show that he owned the property on which the house stood when in fact he didn’t. Despite the property value of more than $450,000, the actual owner foreclosed on the property and the title insurance company sent the homeowner a check for the insurance face value of only $150,000.

By law, if the face value of a homeowner’s title insurance is a dollar amount, the title insurance company ends their obligation once they pay that dollar amount. We forced the title insurance company to defend the homeowner in an action against the developer. As a result of our aggressive representation, the property owner received a new deed to her property and the landowner received cash from the developer. This case also stands as an example of why it is important for homeowners to purchase title insurance in which the insurance coverage increased along with the property value.

Family Farms

We have also helped a number of family farmers receive fair value for their property when they sell their land to developers. What many landowners don’t realize is that it can take three to five years to complete a property sale to a developer and receive payment. The sale will only be finalized after the property is rezoned and the necessary permits are issued for construction and development. The landowner waits until all zoning and environmental issues are resolved before they receive payment. We work on behalf of farmers to negotiate the sales contract so the farmer or land owner can continue to receive income from their farm land and receive payments in advance of settlement.

Commercial Real Estate

Every county in Maryland has different zoning requirements for establishing a new commercial property. Our attorneys have experience in dealing with issues such as parking, traffic flow, and architectural/historical issues. We handle every aspect of the sale including loan, title, engineering, zoning, land use, and lender issues that may affect the commercial real estate transaction. We have also represented lenders providing attorney title and transfer opinion letters.

Contact our offices in Baltimore County and Bel Air, Maryland, to discuss your residential or commercial real estate transaction needs. We offer excellent service and outstanding results.