Real Estate Law

Rathbun & Goldberg has many years of experience in handling real estate law matters. Our real estate litigation practice spans a wide array of real estate issues, ranging from title and boundary disputes to construction litigation to purchase and sale agreements. We see ourselves as consummate problem solvers. No case is too small or too large. Complex cases are always welcomed, and our team of attorneys enjoys the challenge. Working creatively, intelligently, and collaboratively enables us to solve our clients real estate matters in the most effective manner possible.

Rathbun and Goldberg provides a wide array of real estate legal services:

Title and Boundary Disputes

Rathbun & Goldberg has extensive experience in representing lenders, servicers, and trustees in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. We represent lenders on issues involving unreleased deeds of trust, the reformation or correction of defective deeds of trust, unrecorded deeds of trust, forgeries, fraud, tax sales, as well as complex boundary disputes. Additionally, we have successfully defended lawsuits brought by borrowers, under both state and federal law, relating to such areas as foreclosure claims, claims alleging breach of modification and forbearance agreements — often disposing of such claims before trial.

At Rathbun & Goldberg, we have leveraged our many years of experience by developing our own proprietary systems to efficiently and effectively handle all kinds of real estate and title litigation. One example of this is our streamlined, systematic approach to prosecuting “missing interest” cases that enables us to efficiently obtain final orders establishing or reforming deeds of trust.

Forgery and Fraud Cases

Rathbun & Goldberg is experienced in litigating complex and unique cases that involve forgery, fraud, and foreclosure scams. We have handled a wide variety of cases, including many that are noteworthy and well-publicized. For example, we represented numerous lenders in the infamous District of Columbia “Metropolitan Money Store” foreclosure scam cases, in both litigation and mediation. Working with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, we developed solutions to successfully defend claims and protect our clients’ collateral. We have also represented numerous lenders in similar foreclosure scam cases in Maryland, including one such case in Prince George’s County, when we successfully defended 20 lenders.

Construction Law and Mechanic’s Lien Cases

Rathbun & Goldberg handles a wide variety of construction law and mechanic’s lien cases, of every size and complexity. One of our larger mechanic’s lien cases involved representing 200 owners and lenders in complex litigation in Federal Court.

Landlord and Tenant

Rathbun & Goldberg represents both landlords and tenants, providing high-quality counsel, advice, and litigation services. Our Landlord and Tenant practice covers a wide variety of areas including the representation of owners of multi-family residential dwellings and other commercial properties. Some of the kinds of cases we handle include failure to pay rent cases, complex breach of lease actions, holdover suits, and housing code violation complaints, to name a few.

Disputes Involving Contracts to Purchase or Sell Real Estate

Drawing on our extensive real estate law experience, we have handled numerous real estate cases, including disputes involving contracts to purchase and sell real estate. We always seek flexible, creative, and innovative legal solutions that help us to achieve the best outcomes for our clients.