Author Archive for: ‘katebrookeadmin’
It’s a Jungle Out There!
I have several bits and bobs for you today related to contracts. Addenda. For our purposes, an addendum modifies a contract. You can’t amend a contract that doesn’t yet exist. If your buyer and seller want to agree to something before they have signed the real estate sale agreement, an addendum is not the means of doing so. You will need …
Dual Agency – It’s Hard To Do.
I was hired by property buyers a few months ago and again recently. They are trying to buy a property they presently rent from an older guy who apparently believes he can force the world to spin in the opposite direction. He doesn’t like women much either, especially women lawyers. My clients on the other hand are a dream. Nice couple, good business folks, good listeners …
How Much Experience Do You Have?
I have an appointment with a real estate broker today who joined a non-typical local real estate brokerage a couple of years ago but has now left. At the time she joined the brokerage, she signed a four page confidentiality agreement. Can you guess why she is coming in? In the old days, a contract with a brokerage might be …
The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
The Dodd Frank Act (for short) is a large and complicated Act intended to prevent, among other things, future consumer/mortgage crises, such as the one we have been going through for the last six plus years. The nuances of the Act as a whole are too complex for this article and, perhaps, my brain. However, an administrative rule governing one …
Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act Expired!
For those of you in the process of short selling your homes, please be aware that Congress has not yet extended the Mortgage Debt Relief Act into 2014! In 2007, Congress passed the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act to help people selling their personal residences in short sales, executing deeds in lieu of foreclosure or even restructuring debt in a …
All Cash, Not Cash
I have written before about making sure that contingent funds (401k loan, equity line draw, trust funds, etc.) are disclosed by the buyer in the purchase and sale agreement. Here is a real life example of the reason (other than my penchant for telling others what to do, that is!). To recap, the obligation to disclose to the seller the …
Selling Your Home in Pictures!
The last time I (tried) to sell a home, I was a bit disappointed with the photographs. Although the home was beautiful (if I say so myself), it is a bit dark and the photos didn’t really do it justice. Here is some good advice about photographing your home from James Haselhofer of True North Images. By the way, James …
Picking Your Clients
I got a call from a listing broker the other day. In his own words, he said “these people are the rudest clients I have ever had to deal with.” He wanted to end the listing agreement but he didn’t know how. A contract is an agreement between two or more parties. If it is well-drafted, a contract contains all of the necessary rights and …
All Cash Transaction And Other Advice For Realtors
Call me crazy, but a residential purchase is not an all cash transaction if the buyer is (i) borrowing from a hard money lender, (ii) using a gift from dad, (iii) drawing funds from a trust or (iv) using the proceeds from a line of credit or 401k. All of these financing options are contingent and the failure to disclose …
Tenants Growing Marijuana
Tenants Growing Medical Marijuana There has been a lot of talk among real estate lawyers lately about tenants who rent a home and begin growing medical marijuana. Even if the tenant is doing so legally, there is a risk of abuse and unlawful use. Since growing medical marijuana is legal, if you want to prevent a tenant from doing so, …
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