Real Estate Litigation & Transaction Attorneys in Northern Virginia

Protect Your Property, Your Value, and Your Investment

From closing a purchase to defending a boundary, your largest asset deserves careful hands. We draft and close real estate deals and fight the disputes that put property, value, and investment at risk across Northern Virginia.

Closings to Courtrooms
Record-Driven
Trial Ready
More Is at Stake Than You Think

Your Property Is Probably Your Biggest Asset

15 Years
Virginia period for a neighbor to claim your land by adverse possession
5 Years
Limit to sue on a written purchase or lease agreement that fell apart
#1
Real estate is the largest asset most families and businesses own

Sources: Code of Virginia § 8.01-236 (adverse possession) and § 8.01-246 (written contracts).

Property matters rarely fix themselves. A boundary left unchallenged, a lease left unenforced, a deal left unwound, or a contract signed without review can quietly cost you ownership, value, or both. The sooner you act, the more options you keep.

When a Property Problem Becomes a Legal One

Real estate touches the things people care about most: their home, their building, their investment. Deals and disputes both turn on the same paperwork, a contract, a deed, a survey, a statute, so getting the documents right decides the outcome whether you are signing or fighting.

We read the documents that actually control the result: the deed, the plat, the lease, the purchase agreement, the title history. On a deal, we make sure they protect you before you sign. In a dispute, we build the case for your ownership, your rights, and the value you are owed.

Whether you are closing a sale, defending your boundary, enforcing a lease, or unwinding a deal that went wrong, we give you a clear read on your position and a plan to protect it.

Schedule a Consultation

Where We Come In

  • A neighbor is encroaching on your land or disputing the boundary
  • An easement or right of way is being blocked or misused
  • A commercial or residential lease is being broken
  • A property sale fell apart or the seller hid a defect
  • A title defect or deed problem is clouding your ownership
  • A zoning or land-use decision threatens your plans
  • You are buying or selling and want the deal handled right
  • You need a commercial lease drafted, reviewed, or negotiated
  • You need clean title work before you close or build
What We Handle

Real Estate Matters We Handle

From a single boundary line to a full commercial closing, we protect what you own and the value behind every property decision.

Real Estate Litigation

Boundary & Encroachment Disputes

A fence, structure, or use crosses your line. We use the survey, plat, and deed to defend your property’s true edges.

Adverse Possession & Prescriptive Easements

When someone claims your land or a right across it through long use, we fight the claim or protect yours. In Virginia the clock runs fifteen years.

Easement & Right-of-Way Disputes

Fights over shared driveways, access roads, and utility easements that block, burden, or overreach on your land.

Quiet Title Actions

A court action to clear competing claims and confirm who owns the property, so you can sell, build, or borrow with certainty.

Title & Deed Defects

Clouds on title, conflicting deeds, scrivener errors, and ownership questions that have to be resolved before a property can move.

Partition Actions

When co-owners cannot agree, we bring or defend a partition suit to divide the property or force a fair sale of it.

Lease Disputes

Commercial and residential lease fights over rent, repairs, defaults, and enforcement, on either side of the lease.

Landlord-Tenant & Unlawful Detainer

Possession actions, evictions, and defenses. We move quickly to protect a landlord’s property or a tenant’s rights.

HOA & Condominium Disputes

Assessment fights, covenant enforcement, and board disputes under Virginia’s property owners’ association and condominium laws.

Restrictive Covenant Enforcement

Enforcing or challenging deed restrictions and covenants that limit how a property can be used or built on.

Failed & Breached Property Deals

A sale that collapsed, earnest money in dispute, or a party that walked away from a signed contract.

Specific Performance Actions

When money is not enough, we ask the court to force the other side to complete the property deal it agreed to.

Real Estate Fraud & Seller Nondisclosure

Claims against a seller who hid a known defect or misrepresented the property, and defense when you are the one accused.

Mechanic’s Lien Disputes

A lien clouding your title from unpaid work, or perfecting and enforcing a valid lien of your own. We handle both sides.

Foreclosure Disputes

Challenges to a foreclosure, disputes over the sale, and questions about notice, standing, and surplus funds.

Broker & Commission Disputes

Disagreements over listing agreements, commissions, and an agent’s or broker’s duties in a transaction.

Eminent Domain & Condemnation

When the government takes your property or an easement across it, we fight for just compensation and fair terms.

Zoning & Land Use Litigation

Challenges to zoning decisions, permit denials, and land-use restrictions that stand between you and your plans.

Real Estate Transactions

Residential Purchase & Sale

Representation for buyers and sellers of homes, from the contract through closing, so nothing surprises you later.

Commercial Acquisitions & Sales

Buying or selling office, retail, industrial, or investment property, with the diligence and documents to protect the deal.

Commercial Lease Drafting & Negotiation

Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial leases for landlords and tenants before anyone signs.

Purchase & Sale Agreements

Drafting and reviewing purchase contracts, contingencies, and addenda so the terms say what you actually agreed to.

Title Examination & Curative Work

Examining title, clearing defects, and resolving liens so the property closes clean, working with our affiliated title company, Prime Title.

1031 Like-Kind Exchanges

Structuring and documenting exchanges so you can defer tax and reinvest, within the timelines the rules require.

Deed Preparation & Ownership Transfers

Preparing deeds and transferring property between owners, entities, family members, and trusts, done correctly the first time.

Owner Financing & Loan Documents

Notes, deeds of trust, and seller financing papers that secure the deal and protect the party carrying the loan.

Why Clients Trust Us With Their Property

Documents First

Deeds, plats, surveys, leases, and contracts decide property outcomes. We master them whether we are drafting your deal or trying your case.

Ownership Protected

Your title and your boundaries are not up for grabs. We defend them with the record on your side.

Value Recovered

When a deal or a defect cost you, we pursue the diminished value, repair cost, and losses you are owed.

Practical Strategy

Some matters close with clean paperwork or a firm demand. Others need court. We choose the path that protects you.

What to Expect

How Working With Us Begins

1

Consultation

Tell us about the property and what you need, whether you are closing a deal or facing a dispute. We review the documents that control it.

2

Review the Record

We read the deed, plat, lease, contract, and title, then tell you plainly where you stand and what the deadlines are.

3

Draft or Demand

We put the plan into motion: draft and negotiate the deal, or send the demand and file the case your goal requires.

4

Close or Resolve

We get the deal closed or the dispute resolved, and we are ready to try the case if that is what protecting your property takes.

Anthony I. Shin, Esq., founder of Shin Law Office
Attorney Insight

“Real estate cases feel personal because they are. It is someone’s home, or the building they bet their business on. People assume the deed settles everything, but most problems hide in the gap between the deed, the survey, and what is actually happening on the ground. We close that gap on the front end of a deal and put the record on your side when there is a fight.”

Anthony I. Shin, Esq.
Founder, Shin Law Office
Common Questions

Answers Before You Call

My neighbor’s fence is on my property. What can I do?
Start with the survey and deed. If the encroachment is real, you can demand its removal and, in some cases, recover damages. Acting matters, because long, unchallenged use can mature into an adverse possession or prescriptive easement claim against you.
What is adverse possession in Virginia?
It is a legal doctrine that can transfer ownership when someone openly and continuously possesses land that is not theirs for 15 years under certain conditions. It is also why you should not ignore a neighbor’s encroachment.
The seller hid a defect after I bought the home. Do I have a claim?
Possibly. Virginia recognizes claims for fraud and misrepresentation when a seller actively conceals a known material defect. We examine the disclosures, the contract, and what the seller knew and when.
Can I get out of or enforce a real estate contract?
Often, yes, on either side. We look at the agreement’s contingencies, deadlines, and conduct to determine whether a party breached, whether earnest money is at stake, and what remedies apply.
Do you handle real estate closings and contracts, or only disputes?
Both. We draft and review purchase agreements, prepare deeds, and handle closings, and we work with our affiliated title company, Prime Title, on title and settlement. We also litigate when a deal or a property right ends up in dispute.
Can you review my commercial lease before I sign it?
Yes. We review and negotiate commercial leases for landlords and tenants, flagging the rent, renewal, repair, and default terms that tend to cause the most trouble later.
How long do I have to bring a real estate claim?
It depends on the claim. Written contract disputes generally run five years in Virginia, while other claims differ. Because property records and deadlines interact in complicated ways, get an assessment early.
Do these matters always go to court?
No. Deals close at settlement, and many disputes resolve through negotiation, a corrected survey, or a demand backed by clear title evidence. We prepare every matter for court, which often produces a fair resolution without one.

Protect Your Property, Start to Finish

Whether you are closing a deal, defending a boundary, or unwinding one that went wrong, the paperwork is your best friend and the clock is not. Tell us what you need. Serving Leesburg, Fairfax, and all of Northern Virginia.

Prefer to talk now? Reach Anthony I. Shin, Esq. at 571-445-6565.

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Copyright © 2026 Shin Law Office, PLC. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any content on this site is prohibited except for individual, non-commercial, informational use. This limited permission does not allow modification, distribution, or incorporation of any content into other works or publications in any medium. You may not reproduce or distribute content from this site to any third party.