Why Is the Housing Market So Sluggish? There is a critical shortage of homes causing a weak housing market. Sales of pre-owned homes dropped 3.3% in June from May, and 18.9% lower than from June of 2022. While a six-month supply is considered balanced between buyer and seller, the current sales represent only a 3.1-month […]
Assessor’s Parcel Numbers are usually included in the legal description of a deed. But that does not always work; there are times when the APNs do not exactly describe the individual parcel. The assessor’s office does not necessarily follow the subdivision map in assigned APNs. Parties do not necessarily have the Assessors map to refer […]
New York Real Estate Journal published an article on July 30 authored by Co-Chair of Olshan’s Real Estate Law practice Thomas Kearns entitled “LLC Interest Forfeiture Is Disfavored” (or here for NYREJ subscribers). Under New York law an LLC member’s interest may not be forfeited for a zero or near zero price if the member […]
The BC government has announced new legislative changes aimed at strengthening depreciation reports for strata corporations, effective July 1, 2024. Impact on Strata Owners and Council Members Depreciation reports provide estimates of the long-term repair and replacement costs of a strata corporation’s shared property and assets. Previously, obtaining these reports could be deferred repeatedly as […]
While I take a lot of pride in helping property owners, landlords, and tenants with their real estate legal problems, I take equal pride in the cases I don’t accept. In many cases, it doesn’t make sense to hire a real estate lawyer, and I am upfront about such matters when meeting with prospective clients. […]
A federal judge ruled last week that policyholders eventually have to “put up or shut up” when it comes to proving that certain interior damages caused by a storm must be the result of damage to the exterior of a building, allowing water to damage the interior of a building. 1 The lesson from the […]
The Supreme Court of Victoria has ruled that a lease that is a “retail premises lease” (within the meaning of s.11 of the Retail Leases Act 2003) when it is entered into cannot cease to be such a lease during its term. In Richmond Football Club v Verraty [2019] VSC 597. Croft J upheld an […]
If you are a homebuyer seeking a mortgage and the house you contract for appraises for less than the actual contract price, you need to fully evaluate whether to waive the so-called appraisal gap. Waivers of appraisal typically occur in high demand real estate markets, where there are more buyers seeking homes than sellers listing […]
In McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court, (2018) 4 Cal.5th 241, the California Supreme Court held that homeowners’ (collectively “the Van Tassels”) claims seeking recovery for construction defect damages are subject to the Right to Repair Act (“RRA” or “The Act”, California Civil Code section 895 et seq.), and thus the Van Tassels were required […]
Many homeowners may have taken second mortgages, including home equity lines of credit, on their homes years ago, and thought that the underlying mortgage debt for such loans was forgiven. Other homeowners may have inherited a home without knowing that there was a second mortgage in place or bought such a home at a foreclosure […]