Attorney Marc Rovner on Avoiding Common Real Estate Mistakes

Property transactions fail for predictable reasons. Hidden title defects, poor location choices, and communication breakdowns account for most deals that collapse or leave buyers with lasting regret. Attorney Marc Rovner has observed these patterns repeatedly throughout his career in real estate and title insurance, identifying where buyers and professionals most frequently go wrong.

Skipping Title Insurance to Save Money

The temptation to cut closing costs leads some buyers to decline title insurance coverage. The savings feel meaningful in the moment. The consequences can prove catastrophic.

Title insurance protects against ownership claims stemming from events that occurred before purchase. Undiscovered liens attached by previous owners, forged documents hidden in a property’s chain of ownership, boundary disputes with adjacent parcels, and errors in public records all threaten buyers who lack coverage.

Attorney Marc Rovner has witnessed homeowners face legal battles costing far more than the premium they avoided. A single payment at closing maintains protection for the entire ownership period. Heirs inherit that coverage too. The math favors purchasing protection rather than gambling that nothing problematic lurks in a property’s history.

Chasing Bargains in Weak Locations

Rock-bottom prices often signal problems that buyers fail to recognize until returns never materialize. Attractive numbers on paper can mask fundamental location weaknesses that limit appreciation and rental potential indefinitely.

Understanding why a property sits unsold for extended periods requires local knowledge that surface research cannot provide. Neighborhood development trajectories, planned infrastructure projects, school district trends, and commercial activity patterns all influence long-term value. Attorney Marc Rovner has watched investors purchase apparent deals only to struggle with vacancies, difficult tenants, and stagnant appreciation for years afterward.

Spending moderately more in stronger locations frequently produces dramatically better outcomes. Retail spaces benefit from consistent foot traffic. Office properties need transportation accessibility. Residential purchases in areas with improving amenities attract reliable buyers when selling time arrives.

Assuming Standard Inspections Catch Everything

Basic property inspections satisfy minimum requirements. They rarely uncover the full range of potential problems a thorough evaluation would reveal.

Comprehensive risk assessment examines flood zone histories, soil stability records, and environmental conditions that standard checklists ignore. Legal evaluation extends to easement complications, zoning compliance documentation, and homeowner association governance stability. Historical property usage can predict future restrictions that current inspections miss entirely.

Different property types demand different evaluation approaches. Retail spaces, residential homes, vacant land, and commercial buildings each carry unique risk factors. Generic inspection protocols applied uniformly across categories leave gaps that surface after closing when remedies become expensive.

Letting Communication Gaps Derail Transactions

Complicated legal issues kill fewer deals than simple misunderstandings about timelines, responsibilities, and agreed terms. Assumptions made without verification create disputes that escalate quickly.

Attorney Marc Rovner recommends establishing clear communication expectations at the outset of any transaction. Specifying response windows, preferred contact methods, and documentation schedules prevents confusion. Written summaries following important conversations eliminate disagreements about what was decided. Verification checkpoints throughout the process ensure all parties share the same understanding before advancing to subsequent stages.

Mistakes in real estate carry significant financial consequences. Recognizing where transactions commonly fail allows buyers and professionals to implement safeguards before problems develop.