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Residential Transactional Issues
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Arbitration: The Pro's and Con's
May 2009
Arbitration is a system of resolving disputes that is generally quicker, less expensive and more informal
than litigation. Arbitration can binding or non-binding.
Generally, it does not allow for appeals. You can have the dispute resolved by one arbitrator
or a panel of arbitrators. Often arbitration decisions
do not require a written explanation of the decision or require that laws, rules or regulations be followed.
In real estate seller, buyers and professionals
often agree to arbitration without any thought, but should they? To read about the pro's and con's of agreeing to arbitration, click here.
Creative Financing is Back! December 2007 "Rent to Own", "Lease With Option to Buy" , "Buy on a Contract for Deed"
and "Seller Financing" are phrases that are popping up all over. A win-win for sellers who can't sell and buyers
who can't buy? It can be but there are many traps for the unaware ......
To read the rest of this article click here
Is It a "Win Win" or a Scam? March 2009 Investors are continually looking for new ways to purchase properties to take advantage of the existing market so
it is no suprise that they have come up with a way to purchase short sale properties with little investment and an immediate
profit. If you are an investor you must make sure that you are not unintentionally violating the law. If you are
a real estate professional who is involved in one of these transactions you had better make sure that you are protecting your
client and yourself from unitentionally becoming involved in an illegal transaction.
In our newsletter I previously wrote about
various alternative financing options including “Rent-to-Own” agreements*. In that article I expressed concern
as to how they might be used and you could easily find yourself in a situation where both the landlord/seller and tenant/buyer
are unhappy and blaming the real estate agent for the rent-to-own that did not work out. Well, the problems are starting to
appear.
To read the rest of this article click here
Representing Buyers February 2008 Do you treat your buyer clients different
than your seller clients? You should. In each case you are obligated to represent your client’s interests to the best
of your ability but the interests of the buyer and seller are very different. The goals and fears of each are different. Many
agents have gotten away with not fully representing their buyers because their buyers had no fears and mainly looked at their
agent as a necessary evil to get access to the MLS listings or to draft a purchase agreement. Those days may be over......
To read the rest of this article click here
Residential New Construction Statutory Warranty Summary July 2006 Whether you represent a buyer or a builder of new residential construction, you must be familiar with Statutory
Warranty requirements. Can they be waived? How does the homeowner make a claim? How long does the homeowner have to make a
claim? These issues impact how the purchase agreement is drafted, how complaints are dealt with and how to make sure that
you are protecting your client so that they will use your services in the future and recommend you to acquaintances........
To read the rest of this article click here
What Happens When the Homeowners Association Runs Low on
Cash?
October 1,2009
As a by product of our economic
and real estate troubles more and more associations are experiencing money problems. The first payment that a homeowner
will stop paying when they get in trouble are the association dues. If at some point in time they stop paying their
mortgage payment they have absolutely no incentive to pay the association dues. What is even worse is that when the
lender finally recovers the property through a foreclosure they often do not pay the past or current association dues.
This means that in the normal foreclosure situation the association will not get paid until the foreclosure has been complate
and the property has been sold to a new home owner. This means that the assoication cannot count on recieving any money
for at least 18 months. To Read the Rest of This Article Click Here Who is Afraid of the Big, Bad "As-Is" Addendum? January 2007 Usually a Seller who has lived on and is familiar with a property will be willing to give certain disclosures
about the property’s condition in the Seller’s Disclosure Statement as drafted by the Minnesota Association of
Realtors. When a party has owned and occupied the property for a long time prior to sale and insists on selling the property
in an “as-is” condition, this often sends up red flags for Buyers and their agents.......
To read the rest of the article click here
Methamphetamine Disclosure June 2006 The new methamphetamine disclosure law, which took effect on January 1, 2006, requires sellers to disclose
to buyers in writing if they are aware of that meth production or meth contamination has occurred on their property. Sellers
of residential and commercial property (both publicly and privately owned), public waters, and public rights-of-way must make
these disclosures before signing any agreement to sell or transfer the property.....
To read the rest of this article click here
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