Purchasing a commercial property, for whatever reason, can be one of the most exciting purchases you will ever make in your life. You might be venturing into the restaurant industry or you are opening a retail store. Maybe you are opening a warehouse. It doesn’t matter what it is you are doing, the purchase is a big one and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. So, what are some of the common commercial real estate title problems you could encounter?
Human errors are all too common when it comes to documenting things. There’s a chance that there could be misinformation on the title because of an error made by the person who recorded it with the local government the last time the property was sold.
It’s also possible that information was forged on the title, and it wasn’t noticed when the filing took place. Your right to the property could very well be in jeopardy if fraudulent information is discovered on the title from a prior owner.
Survey disputes are very common throughout Florida. These occur when two property owners argue over the property lines of two or more adjacent properties. A survey can be conducted to resolve this issue, but there might already be one on file that has different property lines.
There might also be unknown liens on the commercial property. Even though these liens were placed due to the actions of the previous owner, you will still be hurt by them since you are the current owner.
Once you decide that it’s time to move into the commercial real estate space, you must know what to expect when performing a title search. The problems listed in this post are not exhaustive, so be sure you have an attorney you can discuss this topic with in Florida.