Counsel — Real Estate Law
Every Property
Has a History.
We Read All of It.
Deeds scrutinized line by line. Title clouds cleared before they become storms. Closings that happen without a single comma out of place.
A Disputed Easement
Forty Years Old,
Never Recorded.
A young couple in Oak Park, Illinois found their dream home — a 1923 brick two-flat with a coach house. The seller's disclosure said nothing about the neighbor's claim to a twelve-foot strip along the south fence line. The claim was verbal. The history was not.
Title search flagged a 1981 quit-claim with ambiguous boundary language
Neighbor presented a handwritten agreement signed by a prior owner
Survey revealed fence placement inconsistent with recorded plat
Closing was scheduled in eleven days
Resolution
Chain of title reconstructed.
Easement extinguished by abandonment.
We pulled deed records back to 1947. The handwritten agreement lacked consideration and was never acknowledged before a notary — unenforceable under Illinois law. We filed a quiet title action, obtained a consent judgment from the neighbor in seven days, and the closing proceeded on schedule.
Outcome Documents
"I'd been told by three people to just walk away. Michael read the chain of title himself and called me back in two hours with a path forward. We closed on a Tuesday."
— Rachel Kowalski, First-Time Buyer
A 1031 Exchange
Derailed by a
Subordinate Lien.
A commercial investor in suburban Chicago was mid-exchange — relinquished property already sold, replacement property under contract. Forty-eight hours before identification deadline, the title search on the replacement property returned a subordinate mechanic's lien from a 2019 contractor dispute the seller had never disclosed.
$2.3M exchange at risk of IRS recognition as a taxable event
Lien holder was a dissolved LLC — no registered agent on file
Identification window: 45 days, 31 already elapsed
Seller denied knowledge; purchase agreement had no lien covenant
Resolution
Lien negotiated to release.
Exchange completed. Tax deferred.
We located the dissolved LLC's sole member through Illinois Secretary of State records and an adjacent county suit. Negotiated a full release for $14,200 — a fraction of the outstanding amount — and obtained the release document in five days. The identification was amended under safe harbor. The exchange closed.
Resolution Timeline
"My accountant said the exchange was dead. Counsel found the LLC member, negotiated the release, and filed the amended ID with two days to spare. The tax bill would have been north of $400,000."
— Thomas Bergmann, Commercial Real Estate Investor
A Title Defect.
Forty-Eight Hours
Before Closing.
A developer assembling a seven-parcel mixed-use site in Evanston had six parcels clean. The seventh — a 0.4-acre corner lot — came back from the title company with a gap in the chain of title spanning 1962 to 1971. The lender's compliance team refused to fund until the defect was cured. Soft costs were $22,000 per day of delay.
9-year chain-of-title gap — no recorded instrument during the period
Lender's $18.4M construction loan commitment at risk
Seven-parcel assemblage — all other parcels under executed contracts
$22,000/day in carrying costs and consultant fees
Resolution
Adverse possession established.
Title insured. Loan funded.
We located the 1962 estate proceeding in Cook County Probate Court — the lot had passed outside of recorded deed through an intestate succession that was never documented. We prepared a curative affidavit supported by tax records, utility easements, and neighbor declarations establishing continuous possession. The title company accepted the curative package in thirty-one hours. The lender funded.
Lender's Compliance Requirement — Satisfied
Title opinion letter issued with no exceptions for the curative period. Underwriter confirmed coverage. Construction loan closed at 10:00 AM, Day 3 of engagement.