Home » Legal » Real Estate Law » Real Estate Law » General Real Estate Law Questions

Differences Between a Residential and Commercial Lease

Although state laws vary with respect to commercial and residential leases, each state consistently makes a distinction between the two which has a big impact for both the landlord and the tenant. Every state has laws protecting the rights of tenants in residential leases stemming from the landlord’s failure to provide required safe and habitable housing to the landlord’s failure to timely return a former tenant’s security deposit. In a commercial lease between a commercial tenant and commercial landlord, the thinking in most states is pretty much the same: commercial tenants are presumed to have the training, experience, knowledge and sophistication to enter into a written commercial lease and have access to skilled third party professionals to assist them in deciding whether to enter into a commercial lease or not.

→ Read More

A Life Estate in Real Property

A life estate is an ownership interest in land that allows the holder of the life estate interest possession of the property until the death of the measuring person’s life.

→ Read More

Partition of Jointly Owned Property

Where joint owners cannot agree on the whether or not to sell a jointly owned piece of real estate, the party or parties seeking the sale can go to court and file an action for “partition”. A partition action involves the division of property such as a home, farm, or undeveloped land (in some cases it can also apply to certain personal property as well).

→ Read More

Real Property Defined

Real property is generally defined as land and things permanently attached to the land. Things that are permanently attached to the land include homes, garages, and buildings, and may also be referred to as ‘improvements.’ Substances that are beneath the land (such as gas, oil, minerals) are also considered permanently attached. Other items that can be attached to the land but that aren’t necessarily permanent, such as mobile homes and tool sheds, are not considered to be real property.

→ Read More

Real Estate Syndications

Real estate syndicates create, sell, and operate real estate investments. This type of industry was especially popular in the ’80s, due to the favorable tax shelter treatment offered in the IRC. They offer a veritable myriad of investment scenarios, such as raw land speculation, new construction, new property or rehabilitation. A syndicate may be in the form of a corporation, or full or limited partnerships, with the latter being the most common format. Real estate syndications are not used like they were in years past, given changes in the IRS guidelines and the downturn in the country’s real estate market.

→ Read More

Responsible Party for Home Repairs Following a Home Purchase

Whose responsibility is it to have the repairs done and paid for on unexpected problems with air conditioning, stove, roof, water heater, furnace, following a newly purchased home: the seller, the buyer, the home inspector/contractor who inspected the property before close of escrow or a combination? Transfer disclosure statement requirements, signed by the seller and given to the buyer, make sure that the seller discloses to the buyer all matters known by the seller about the property, about its conditions that would affect its desirability by a willing buyer, or the amount of money that a willing buyer would pay for the property. If the home was a newly constructed home, the developer will be responsible for the repairs at his or her own costs. If the buyer can prove that the seller knew of a known problem with the home that was sold and does not disclose this before close of escrow, the seller is responsible for all costs of the repair that failed after the home was purchased.

→ Read More