Welcome to the Club! I am also a licensed Maryland Broker, and our Law Firm owns a separate brokerage.

You may use the word "Realty" in your entity name. Review the ethics rules of your local, State and National associations for how you may portray yourself. For instance, you mut... View More

I've had a couple of those cases, and it really depends on what the covenant says and, sometimes, how the caselaw interprets events like the abandonment of a civic association, There is no way to avoid a legal review other than to make whatever assumptions you like best and then pay more if... View More

While it might be useful to have a lawyer read the actual clause and review the entire HOA governing documents before concluding as to what they say, as a general matter, neither the HOA nor anyone else, can declare themselves immune from the law or been g challenged in their understanding or... View More

The individual owners should have deeded their interest to the LLC before the sale, if they wanted the proceeds all deemed income to the LLC. While the individual owners may be able to direct payment to the LLC, or deposit their checks into the LLC bank account, I believe at this point that will... View More

This would be done by a no consideration deed. To do this "quickly" you'd likely want to find a law firm who can record electronically which speeds up the process considerably. Charles County does require a lien sheet before any deed can be recorded.

I agree that a real... View More

While the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides protections for financial and legal transactions while in the military, I don't believe the Act confers greater rights than a person can have in a situation like the one you describe. If a person is renting your property, you have the right to... View More

There is a legal right in federal law that allows active military personnel to terminate a lease early when they have been given orders to relocate or deploy for duty outside of the area where the premises are located. That obligates the landlord to release the military tenant from the lease and... View More

Yes, property deeds showing ownership are filed "registered" with the Land Records in the Circuit Court of each county. Clerks generally do not do any research to verify ownership. A title search would verify who owns a particular property. (Property owned by an entity may be more... View More

I know of no lawyers and, indeed, no title agents, who would check title themselves. Sure, most lawyers were taught how to do it in law school, and it's somewhat misleadingly available on the Internet for most states, but the correct answer remains to order a title search from a title... View More

First off, let me quote my late, old professor of Business Law back at Penn. "Of course, they can sue. Any idiot can sue. All it takes is a pen, paper, and the filing fee … and on occasion a crayon is substituted for the pen. The question you are trying to ask is whether you can win."... View More

Maryland inheritance tax is based on the relationship of the giver to the recipient, and is not tied to other death taxes, so on a $20M estate this could be $2M, $0 or nearly anything in between. (And if the tax is paid "outside" of the gift, Maryland will "tax the tax" and... View More

Taxes are imposed on the gross estate. There are exemptions, credits and deductions that are/may be applicable. You absolutely need to pay a CPA to do these taxes for this size of an estate, as well as have estate counsel for the estate administration (or trust distribution). There are too many... View More

Unclear what legal options you have since you say you are beyond the warranty period, but so long as you made the warranty claim within the waranty period, the ongoing failures to remedy the issue will act to extend that claim. Warranty clims are tricky and must comply with the notice requirements... View More

The way to know your responsibilities as well as your neighbors' and the HOA's is to review the deed, survey, and the HOA Declarations and other documents. Any shortcut of that is unreliable. Generally, however, your deed rises to the FAA overflight limitation and down to the core of the... View More

If we are talking about a commercial lease, generally the lease controls. Get a lawyer to review the lease and negotiate a resolution with the neighboring property owner harboring the vermin infestation. If this is a residential lease, the answer depends a bit on the locality, but, as a general... View More

It is unclear, but your question suggests you are the landlord. If this is a residential property, it is your responsibility to eradicate the rats. A residential tenant can start a rent escrow action in District Court to compel the landlord to deal with the issue, or terminate the lease if the... View More

Generally speaking the rights of an occupant ("roommate") who is not an owner are based on the lease. If there is no lease, then one must move out after given proper notice to vacate. Legally speaking it doesn't make much difference if someone has lived in property for 6 months, 2... View More

The records retention law applies to licensed real estate professionals in Maryland only, not to non-licensed professionals. A real estate licensee has to keep all records for a minimum of five years after closing for a property that has been sold; or, if the listing expires or the property is not... View More

There is no inherent confidentiality in contracts. An NDA is a negotiated agreement between two parties. You do not state your connection to the landscape contract; however, if a contract offer was made and it was accompanied by a condition that the offer not be disclosed to others or the offer... View More

Request --in writing, and dated-- the detailed utility invoices for the property and how the amounts billed to you were calculated. Cite the code section. State that their request for payment does not meet the Code requirements for supporting documentation and billing details, and that upon... View More