Most real estate closings go as intended. The buyer and seller each sign a stack of documents, money and keys are exchanged and the transaction is officially complete. But problems, such has title defects, can and do sometimes arise. When they do, they can cause serious headaches for the seller that need to be addressed.
Property owners often don’t know about a problem with the title until they try to sell. Then a title search will uncover a lien, claim or other defect that complicates matters. The next step might be a quiet title action, which is sometimes called an action to remove a “cloud” on title, meaning a lien or other encumbrance on the title that prevents a sale.
A quiet title action is a form of litigation, usually filed by a property owner. The owner files the action to establish that they are the sole true title holders and that any named respondents have no valid claim to the property. Among other things, the owner could argue that a supposed lien is there by mistake
