Category Archives: Uncategorized

I was finalizing creating an easement agreement for a client of mine – a married couple. They reminded me of a recent case that I read this week, Zaher v Miotke, Docket NO. 307394 (March 28, 2013), concerning a married couple who forgot to include the spouse when he created an easement document. The case ofContinue reading “Real Estate Transaction Mistakes: Consequences of Forgetting About “Dower” Interests”

Yesterday I posted an encouraging statistic – that more business entities in Michigan have been formed in the last fiscal year than in years – since fiscal year 2005. That is encouraging news! It also reminded me that most of these new businesses are likely smaller closely held companies – typically either owned and operatedContinue reading “Shareholder Oppression? When Relationships In Closely Held Businesses Go Bad.”

  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”