Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

Are you certain it was not an Assignment of the Deed of Trust? Lenders may record an assignment if they sell the rights to a loan after closing.

Loan documents should be recorded promptly after closing, usually within days or weeks or at the latest if something hits a snag a month or two. In some cases, however, it may be possible that a title company / lender "misplaced" these or in even rarer cases some loans closed by an unscrupulous title company that failed to record, taking years to clean up their mess. However it is pure conjecture as to what happened without seeing the actual paperwork.

Regardless of any reason for delay, there is probably no harm done to you. If anyone was harmed by the delay it would be the lender, who in theory might've been unprotected in the intervening years. If you know you took out the mortgage and the proper lien is showing up on land records, the fact that it was recorded late does not affect a borrower's current rights or obligations.

I hope the general legal information above answers your question though it is not intended to offer any specific legal advice or create any attorney/client relationship.