Asked over 1 year ago - Vashon, WA
FlagI've sold my property of 16 years and the closing date is on or before March 1, 2012. The new title has been issued by the same title company who insured it at the time of my purchase in 1996. But apparently the lot is not "legal", i.e. it was deeded to a buyer in 1975, three years after the county required these transactions to be recorded officially. This detail surfaced when I contested the boundary back in 1996 and my neighbor agreed to let me move his fence. Now the buyer is concerned that it isn't "legal" because she'll want to build and remodel. Do I need a real estate attorney?
You should get a real estate lawyer. The problem is exactly what your buyer is concerned about. While the title and title insurance may be good, the County may not recognize that as a legal lot and they may not issue a building permit for any construction thereon. The fact that the chain of title is good is not relevant to the issue of whether the lot was created within the laws of the County. Prior to 1972, you could "create" a lot by just giving someone a deed with a legal description. After 1972, each lot had to be created by short or long plat with prior approval by the County.
This does seem to be a bit of a mystery. Not all title policies insure that a parcel constitutes a legal lot. It might be that the title insurance you obtained way back when is of a different type or on a different form than what you are obligated to buy for the new owner under the terms of the purchase and sale agreement. I would say it is definitely worth consulting with a knowledgable real estate attorney. Sometimes these problems take time to resolve, so don't wait. You don't want to get to the eve of closing with the buyer's belongings all packed into a moving van and then not be able to convey title that meets the requirements of your contract. Start trying to get this resolved immediately.
You should talk to your title company and look at the preliminary commitment for title insurance. If your title company will insure your buyer's title, the buyer should be satisfied. If the title company identifies a problem that should be addressed, then you may want to talk to a lawyer to see how best to resolve it.
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