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Blog Category | Real estate & land use
No Good Deed . . .
Ridiculous as it may be, some buyers and sellers hook-up without a Realtor®’s involvement. It may be then that you get a call for help. What would you charge to put a simple agreement of sale together covering all the terms the buyer and seller have already negotiated? Maybe it’s...
Read moreMaintenance Agreements Can Help Avoid The Pitfalls Of Shared Driveways
A shared driveway may be an impasse or an obstacle to the sale of property. Why? To a lender the reason is the same as that behind its demand that the title be marketable. The mortgaged real estate is collateral for the loan and the lender wants to assure that...
Read moreNegotiating the Change in Terms Addendum to Agreement of Sale
In a balanced market, and frequently in this seller’s market, properties are sold twice. There is the original offer and acceptance and then there is the renegotiation that follows the inspection reports. When a problem is discovered by an inspection, how should it be handled? Assuming that the agreement is...
Read moreMediation – Sound Legal Guidance for Realtors and Their Clients
Most of you have had some experience with the mediation program established by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® and invoked in the agreement of sale, most likely from working with a client who initiates mediation or upon whom a request for mediation has been served. Realtors® too are named respondents...
Read moreState Investigates Licensees Alleged to Have Violated Governor’s Closure Orders
The process of reopening business in Pennsylvania has been a bumpy road and the twists and turns ahead make predictions difficult. Not so the past: we know what was allowed and what not at any particular time. On March 19, 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania...
Read moreSocial Media & Financial Considerations For Real Estate Professionals Old issues – New times
Old issues – New times Social Media Remember being inundated with solicitations for courses on the essentials of social networking, the rules of media etiquette and the like? Everyone was all over that stuff. Today, when the Commonwealth’s response to the pandemic evokes such vitriol and division it is hard...
Read moreConflicts When Listing Realtor Brings a Buyer When A Close Relative Or Friend Wants To Buy Your Listed Property
When A Close Relative Or Friend Wants To Buy Your Listed Property Real estate agents deal with conflicts of interest on a regular basis. Most of you are attuned to spotting and dealing with the conflicts that may arise out of dual agency when you are representing both the buyer...
Read moreUsing a Pre-Settlement Walkthrough Report is Recommended
A recent spat between brokers brings focus to this standard form. There is a broker who, like others, requires that all settled transactions undergo a review before the salesperson’s commission is paid. The review assures that management is supervising its affiliates and that glaring errors can be rectified with the...
Read moreThe Basics of Title Insurance
For many farmers, the winter is a time of reflection on the prior year’s yield and preparation for the growing season ahead. This reflection and preparation phase might involve thoughts of expansion for the upcoming year, whether through the purchase of assets from an older generation as part of the...
Read moreRealtors Should Guard Against Discriminatory Practices
Study reveals housing discrimination by real estate licensees An article that appeared in the New York Times in November 2019 cited study results showing housing discrimination by real estate licensees. Investigators posing as white buyers received different treatment than buyers of color and of other minority classifications. Among the allegations...
Read moreAddressing Housing Discrimination With Your Real Estate Clients
While you are committed to uphold the principals of fair housing, you may find the occasional client or customer who hasn’t accepted your pledge. They may ask you to turn your gaze as they engage in unlawful and furtive discrimination; they may ask you to promote their discriminatory practice; they...
Read moreTimely Ordering Of Real Estate Title Report Is A Requirement
The last major change to the Standard Agreement of Sale for Real Estate (ASR) added the requirement that the buyer order a title report within so many days of execution of the agreement. The reaction to this change was all over the place, but most folks were calm. So the...
Read moreResidential Property Claims – Seller Fails To Disclose Material Defects
Advice for the buyer’s agent I have been saying it for nearly 40 years and it remains true: most lawsuits involving the sale of residential real property claim that the seller failed to disclose material defects. The seller is usually not the only defendant. The listing and selling licensees and...
Read moreReal Estate Transaction Dual Agency and the Escalation Clause
A broker recently called seeking an answer to what he thought was a dilemma created by an in-house transaction in which he was working with the seller and one of his sales agents with the buyer. Yes, that would be dual agency. Not only would this be dual agency, it...
Read moreReal Estate Seller Disclosure Law
A Checklist of Issues that a Listing Agent Should Review with Their Seller The disclosure of a home’s material defects didn’t begin with passage of the Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law (“RESDL”). Pennsylvania common law has long required that sellers disclose latent and material defects. The problem, prior to the...
Read moreDeadline Dates and Times Can Impact Real Estate Deals
Does anybody really care what time it is? You don’t need to be reminded how time-sensitive the business of real estate can be. Timing is not always everything, but it is critical in the executory period that exists between signing an agreement and settlement. A good practitioner should never lose...
Read moreIndependent Contractor Agreement
Real estate licensees can be transient. When a sales associate moves on, the broker will likely take one of three paths: 1) congratulate and thank the associate and release her listings and buyer agency contracts; 2) go berserk and escort the associate to the door; or 3) take a path...
Read moreReferral Fee Real Estate – Legal or Illegal?
The answer is simple: it depends “It depends” is the right answer to most questions. Here the question is whether it is legal to give thank you gifts to people who refer buyers and sellers to real estate licensees. The reason I can’t give a straight answer to this simple...
Read moreCan a Real Estate Agent Sue for Commission?
My mentor and former PAR legal counsel, the late Tom Caldwell, used to caution brokers intent on suing clients for fees by asking that. The clear message is that when you sue for a fee, the client is going to bite by claiming that no fee was owed because of...
Read moreUnderstanding Pennsylvania’s Broker Lien Law
A majority of states, including Pennsylvania, have enacted broker lien laws that enable real estate brokers to file liens on commercial property in the full amount of their Pennsylvania real estate commission. There are prerequisites to be satisfied before a broker’s lien can be asserted: The terms of engagement of...
Read moreTaking Real Estate Cases To Magisterial District Courts
The magisterial district courts are the small claims courts of Pennsylvania. The magisterial district justices (MDJs) are the small claims judges. It is within their jurisdiction to conduct preliminary hearings in criminal matters where the only issue is whether there is sufficient evidence to send the matter to the common...
Read moreHow Long to Return Deposits?
As a broker holding a deposit, how long should it take you to return it pursuant to the terms of a release signed by both parties or when sufficient time has passed (the 180 days or whatever it has been reduced to) and not litigation/mediation has been initated? I am...
Read moreUntimely Repairs
PART ONE It happens. Sellers agree to make repairs suggested by a home inspection, but fail to complete the job timely. When this happens a buyer is faced, unfairly, with proceeding under a contingent plan (e.g., having repairs made post-settlement or taking cash in lieu of repair) or of delaying...
Read moreAttend Inspections
PART TWO Who, if anyone, should attend home inspections has been a topic of debate for as long as home inspections have been a standard element in a residential transaction. Year ago when the topic came up at an NAR meeting of attorneys who represented state associations of Realtors, the...
Read moreUntangling Joint Ownership of Real Estate
By: Ronald L. Finck, Esq. It is not uncommon in the farm community for real estate to be owned jointly by two or more owners. Many times, parents will transfer their real estate to more than one child as part of their estate and farm succession plan. Joint ownership of...
Read moreWhat if?
These two words are the start of many questions by those who draft contracts, including agreements for the sale of real estate. Consider Paragraph 18 of the PAR standard agreement entitled Maintenance and Risk of Loss. This paragraph was borne of the following “what ifs?” What if the HVAC system...
Read moreGetting Creative
The most dangerous clause in the_Standard Agreement for the Sale of Real Estate (ASR)is found in our current Paragraph 32(B), Additional Terms. Here’s where agents can let loose with the most creative use of the pen imaginable! A problem is, that when these works of art fail for any reason,...
Read moreFessing Up
Recommendations On How Agents Should Handle Missed Agreement Deadlines Of the common mistakes in residential sales, none occurs more frequently than the failure to abide by timelines, specifically those found in the inspection contingencies. If there is a time limit, someone will miss it. In the Standard Agreement, the burden...
Read moreSelling Real Estate in an Era of Modern Surveilling
You either have firsthand experience or have heard stories of how modern surveillance techniques are entwined in the sale of real estate. Baby cameras, pet monitoring applications, security systems, and other surveillance equipment with varying degrees of technological and recording capabilities are now common features in homes. Some systems have...
Read moreA Tip from the West?
Timely tender of deposit checks is a growing problem that did not exist when offers and deposit checks were hand delivered. Now, deposit checks follow an offer’s acceptance by a handful of days. Further, a typical agreement includes a checkmark in Paragraph 26(G) limiting the seller to retaining paid deposits...
Read moreA Question of Coverage
Mistakes happen. Consider the case of listing agent Robert. Robert happened to be on vacation when he received an offer at list price. He reviewed the standard form on his cell phone and reported to the sellers that it looked great. The agreement was executed electronically as was the sellers’...
Read moreThe Superior Court Recently Ruled on Two Issues Under the Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law that Realtors® Should be Aware of
The first question decided by the court was whether the seller was liable for failing to deliver a Property Disclosure Statement, where the agreement included an “as is” clause. The second question was what constitutes “actual damages” as the term is used in the Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law (RESDL)...
Read moreVituperativeness: Is There Ever a Reason?
My wife and I were recently sharing a farewell dinner with a couple moving from the mid-state. Their home was sold and packed. They were letting down their hair after a week that was particularly demanding, both physically and mentally. The wife of this couple, Betsy (not her real name)...
Read moreExpletive Deleted
In news and other articles, another’s profanity is frequently replaced with “expletive deleted.” Some use the term in self-censorship. More often, we just let the expletives fly. At that moment it might feel quite good to do so; upon reflection, not so good. Realtors® hold no ownership on profanity or...
Read moreA Listing Agent’s Right to See your Buyer Agency Contract
Does a listing agent have a right to see your buyer agency contract? At the moment, I can’t think of a good reason! It is not prerequisite to your being paid a cooperating commission. Your entitlement to that is wholly dependent upon whether you are the procuring cause of the...
Read moreCommunicating Acceptance: When is a Binding Agreement of Sale Officially Formed?
Many believe that an Agreement of Sale is effective the moment both parties sign it. It can be, when the parties are in the same room to witness the others’ signing. More often, however, the parties review agreements at separate locations and without knowing what the other side will do....
Read moreCan the Department of Revenue Collect Realty Transfer Taxes More than Once on the Same Sale?
A: Yes. The Department of Revenue takes the position that an assignment of an executed agreement of sale for real property may result in double realty transfer tax because it considers the assignment a separate transaction involving the conveyance of real estate. When a buyer buys a commercial property, but...
Read moreMyths Regarding Real Estate Transactions We Just Can’t Shake
There is a lot of fake news out there! And there is a lot of fake news about news that is claimed to be fake that isn’t fake. Here you will see a number of real estate transaction myths that just might be true, or not! Keep this article and...
Read moreIt’s Not Too Early – Real Estate License Renewal Time Approaches
Time is relative so whether May 31 is fast approaching or is way far out is for you to decide. What I can tell you is that by the summer and fall of 2018, many of you will be calling for help with real estate license renewal problems. So what...
Read moreTerminating A Real Estate Agreement of Sale
Terminating an agreement of sale falls into one of three categories: 1) termination based on law; 2) termination based on a contractual right; and 3) termination unsupported by law or contract. Most terminations are based on a contractual right to do so and most of those fall into rights granted...
Read moreWhat’s the Follow-Up?
Home Inspection Contingency Periods The buyers entered an agreement to purchase a property with an external insulation finish system known as Dryvit. Upon inspection of the Dryvit, the report noted a few areas that were suspect for some moisture infiltration. The buyers decided to submit a corrective proposal asking the...
Read moreTake My Advice . . . Please Get a Home Inspection Before You Buy
I was helping an old friend of mine son and daughter-in-law with their home purchase. The house that most caught their fancy, and the one they eventually purchased, was a flip. Now, I have a lot to say about flipped houses, primarily based upon the volume of litigation that I...
Read moreYour Real Estate Seller May Not Have a Dime’s Worth of Recourse!
In those good ole days of real estate transactions, offers were also accompanied by deposit checks. There was no place on the standard agreement to accommodate today’s practice of transmitting deposits “within ___ days (5 if not specified) from execution.” It is evident from the many inquiries on this topic,...
Read moreShould I Have My Own Attorney for Residential Real Estate Transactions?
Buying a home will probably be the largest and most significant purchase you will make in your life. Having an experienced real estate attorney who will protect your interests can help you avoid problems with a home purchase or sale. Residential real estate transactions involve the law of real property,...
Read moreAccess to Landlocked Property
For a property owner whose property does not adjoin a public road and does not have access either through an express access easement or by legal implication, Pennsylvania’s Private Road Act (the “Act”) offered the landlocked property owner a remedy. What Does Landlocked Mean? So, what does landlocked mean? Since...
Read moreStormwater Management – The New Burden on Property Owners
It used to be the rule that rainwater runoff was not the responsibility of the landowner. The law recognized that water runs downhill. No longer. As EPA and the Pennsylvania DEP increase their emphasis on reducing pollutant discharges to the Chesapeake Bay, landowners are facing two challenges with regard to...
Read moreFlood Insurance Reform Act
Homeowners in flood prone areas will face increases in flood insurance premiums under provisions in the Biggert–Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (the “Act”), certain provisions of which went into effect October 1, 2013. For homeowners in designated areas, the National Flood Insurance Program provided federal subsidies for flood...
Read moreOil and Gas Act – Municipal Zoning Limitations
On February 14, 2012, the Unconventional Gas Well Impact Fee Act (Act 13 of 2012) which amends Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes was signed into law by Governor Corbett. This Act among other matters required municipalities to amend their land use ordinances to allow unconventional...
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