Author Archives: jeshuatlauka

  I had indicated in a previous post that the 90 day moratorium on all foreclosures by advertisements in Michigan was set to expire on June 30th, 2013 – with no indication it would be extended.   Well, the Michigan Senate HAS indicated it will be extended – to January, 2014 – in Senate BillContinue reading “Michigan 90-Day Foreclosure Moratorium – Set to Sunset June 30th? – Senate Says “Not so Fast””

Currently I have a handful of real estate disputes that involve these common facts: 1. parties enter into a real estate transaction; 2. After the contract is executed; 3. the Buyer finds some condition in the Property that: a. was not, in buyer’s opinion, properly made known to them, and                     b. if it wouldContinue reading “Lesson From Real Estate Litigation: Disclose, Disclose, Disclose!”

I was in Court this morning representing a Property Management Company in an eviction proceeding. It is always unfortunate when a landlord/tenant relationship breaks down and results in legal action. unfortunate, but necessary at times. Some private investors in the real estate business think it is more cost-effective to evict tenants themselves – this isContinue reading “Lessons from Court: Potential Pitfalls in Managing Your Own Investment Real Estate”

  $2.2 Billion in Payments to Homeowners According to the Office of Comptroller on Currency, More than 2.4 million checks related to the Independent Foreclosure Review have been cashed or deposited by homeowners who were wrongfully foreclosed on for nearly $2.2 billion through May 16, 2013. For more information, check out the OCC’s website at: http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2013/nr-occ-2013-85.html  Continue reading “Payments to homeowners wrongfully foreclosed on approach $2.2 Billion”

A reality of the real estate crisis that hit in 2008 –  we discovered (and are still discoverying) that there were those individuals and companies who benefitted greatly from falsifying loan documents. Case in point, the owner of Prime Title Insurance Company in Grand Rapids, MI was just sentenced to prison for his role inContinue reading “Forged Mortgage Documents: Hard to Prove?”

I recently had a real estate client come in the office; she had purchased “universal” legal form documents (for quite a considerable amount of money, I might add) that she intended to use in her real estate investment practice. She was prudent, and wanted to make sure that the documents were legally sound, so sheContinue reading “The Problem with Universal Legal Form Documents, Unaccompanied By Your Lawyer’s Review”

In the world of lending if a business wants to secure financing, you will be hard-pressed to find a bank that is not going to require some collateral, including a personal guarantee of the debt by the principal(s) of the business. businesses don’t want to sign personal guarantees; it’s why businesses take on the corporateContinue reading “Ambiguities in the Promissory Note: When is a Personal Guarantee REALLY a Personal Guarantee?”

I just had a trial that ended yesterday. Very interesting case that involved some interesting facets of real estate law and provides a good example of why you should get legal advice prior to entering into any contract, real estate, or otherwise.   Briefly, the facts of my case are as follows: Mom and DadContinue reading “Lessons from Trial: The Indestructible Deed: Joint Tenants with Full Rights of Survivorship”

Happy Friday to all!   I recently wrote an article that was published as a Guest Blog post with Early Careerists where I discussed serving on a Non-Profit Board. You can check out my article http://earlycareerists.com/blog/a-lesson-in-professional-development-be-someone-who-cares-serve-on-a-non-profit-board You can also connect with Early Careerists on twitter at @earlycareerists  

Mistakes in Real Estate Closing Documents happen. It is a fact.  What are the ramifications? I will give you  the cliche “lawyer answer” – It depends. Among other things, it depends on how significant the mistake is (does it render the lender’s ability to enforce its rights invalid?), and if the lender seeks a Court to “fix”Continue reading “Mistakes in Real Estate Closing Documents: Court Decides Not to Invoke Equity to Save a “Sophisticated Lender” from its Mistake.”