A Maryland title search traces the chain of ownership on a property — going back decades — and looks for anything legally attached to it that could complicate your purchase. That includes unpaid mortgages, tax liens, judgment liens, contractor bills, HOA dues, easements, and deed errors. It's run by the settlement company after your contract is ratified, typically takes 3–7 business days, and if something shows up, the seller is usually required to resolve it before or at closing.
Quick Answer
A Maryland title search traces the chain of ownership on a property — going back decades — and looks for anything legally attached to it that could complicate your purchase. That includes unpaid mortgages, tax liens, judgment liens, contractor bills, HOA dues, easements, and deed errors. It's run by the settlement company after your contract is ratified, typically takes 3–7 business days, and if something shows up, the seller is usually required to resolve it before or at closing.
When you make an offer on a home in Bethesda, Potomac, or Chevy Chase and it gets accepted, the next 30–45 days are full of activity: inspections, appraisals, loan processing. Somewhere in that process — usually within the first week after ratification — the title company quietly gets to work on something most buyers never think about: the Maryland title search.
You won't see this happening. The settlement attorney or title company orders it, a title searcher pulls records from state and county databases, and a few days later you have a title report. Most of the time, it comes back clean and you move on. But when it doesn't, the issues it surfaces can range from easy to fix to genuinely deal-threatening.
Here's what the title search actually finds — and what happens when something shows up.
What a Maryland Title Search Can Uncover
The search traces the property's legal history: who owned it, what they owed on it, and what claims others might have against it. In Montgomery County, that means pulling records from mdlandrec.net (Maryland's public land records database) and jportal.mdcourts.gov (the Circuit Court judgment portal), among other sources.
Here's what a searcher is looking for:
Unpaid mortgages and deeds of trust. If the seller has an existing mortgage, it shows up in the land records and has to be paid off — either from the sale proceeds at closing or beforehand. The title company coordinates the payoff with the seller's lender. Where it gets complicated: second mortgages, home equity lines, or loans the seller may have forgotten about.
Tax liens. Unpaid property taxes in Montgomery County become a lien on the property automatically. So do Maryland state income tax liens. These travel with the property — if the seller doesn't pay their MoCo property tax bill, that obligation follows the home to the next owner unless it's cleared at or before closing.
Judgment liens. This one catches buyers off guard. In Maryland, a judgment entered by the Circuit Court automatically becomes a lien against all real property the defendant owns in that county — without any additional filing. A seller who lost a lawsuit two years ago could have a lien on their home they're not actively thinking about. The searcher pulls judgment records from Montgomery County Circuit Court (located at 50 Maryland Avenue in Rockville), and any active judgment against the seller gets flagged.
Mechanic's and contractor liens. If a contractor worked on the property and wasn't paid, they can file a mechanic's lien under Maryland law. These are particularly relevant in Bethesda and Potomac, where renovation projects are common on older housing stock.
HOA and condo association liens. Unpaid homeowners association dues can become a lien against the property in Maryland. In communities throughout North Bethesda and Chevy Chase with active HOAs, the title search covers whether past dues went unpaid.
WSSC water and sewer charges. In the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) service area — which covers most of Montgomery County — unpaid water and sewer charges can result in liens filed against the property. These are separate from front foot benefit charges and show up through the WSSC search the title company runs alongside the land records pull.
Federal tax liens. The IRS can file a federal tax lien against all property a taxpayer owns. These are filed in the county where the property is located and get picked up during the Maryland title search. Federal liens must be resolved before closing.
Easements and rights-of-way. An easement gives someone else a legal right to use a portion of the property for a specific purpose — a utility company running power lines, a neighbor with a shared driveway agreement, a government right-of-way. Most are non-threatening, but they affect what you can build and how you can use parts of your land.
Deed and recording errors. Misspelled names, incorrect legal descriptions, deeds that were never properly recorded — these are more common than you'd think on properties that have changed hands multiple times.
Estate and probate issues. If a previous owner died and the property wasn't properly transferred through the estate, there may be heirs with a potential claim. The title search surfaces what's in the public record; it doesn't catch every undisclosed heir — which is exactly why title insurance matters.
What Happens When the Maryland Title Search Finds a Problem
The settlement company flags the issue, notifies both parties, and the race to resolve it begins before your closing date.
Most issues get resolved without drama. If the seller has an unpaid contractor bill or a small tax lien, the title company contacts the lienholder, confirms the payoff amount, and coordinates payment from the seller's proceeds at closing. The lien is released, recorded in the county land records, and the transaction closes clean.
More complex situations take more time:
- A judgment lien with a disputed amount requires negotiation between the seller and the judgment creditor.
- A deed error might require a corrective deed or, in some cases, a court proceeding.
- An estate issue with multiple potential heirs can take months if the original probate was handled improperly.
- A federal tax lien requires direct engagement with the IRS, which moves slowly.
As a buyer, you have three options when the title search reveals a material issue:
- Require the seller to resolve it before or at closing. Most Maryland purchase contracts require the seller to convey marketable title. If a lien or defect surfaces, the seller is obligated to cure it.
- Negotiate a price reduction or credit. If resolution will cost money and time, some buyers negotiate a credit at closing instead.
- Walk away. If the title issue is serious enough — or the seller won't cooperate — you generally have the right to terminate the contract and recover your earnest money deposit.
Understanding how buyer closing costs work in Montgomery County helps you contextualize where a credit or price adjustment fits into your overall numbers. If you're navigating a title issue mid-transaction, it's also worth reviewing what the full closing process looks like so nothing catches you off guard at the table.
Title Search vs. Title Insurance: Why You Need Both
A title search finds problems that are in the public record. Maryland title insurance protects you against problems the search didn't find.
That distinction matters because not every title defect shows up in a records search. A forged deed from 1985 might look legitimate in the land records. An heir who didn't appear in probate filings could have a valid claim. A recording error that skipped a county might create a chain-of-title gap that wasn't visible.
The owner's title insurance policy covers you against these scenarios for as long as you own the home. Your lender requires a lender's policy at closing, which protects only the lender's interest. The owner's policy protects you personally — and in the Bethesda and Potomac market, where pre-1970s properties with complex ownership histories are common, skipping the owner's policy to save $800–$1,500 at closing is rarely worth the risk.
A Maryland title search and an owner's policy work together: the search clears what's known; the insurance covers what surfaces later.
If you want to walk through what your title costs will look like on a specific Bethesda or Potomac purchase, I'm happy to pull that together. Reach out anytime.
About Pey Behin
Pey Behin is a residential real estate agent serving the Washington, DC metro area, with a focus on Bethesda, Montgomery County, and Northern Virginia. He works with buyers and sellers who want clear strategy, data-driven pricing, and direct guidance throughout the transaction process.