Real estate investment is complicated and a major decision to contemplate and make in regards to when, where, and how. Whether the transaction involves commercial or residential property, any minor oversight can result in severe, long-term legal repercussions.
To effectively protect your real estate investment, your attorney must know the business of real estate as well as your specific, particular issues. At Kearney, McWilliams & Davis, PLLC, our success emanates from our experience, but also in prudently reviewing clients’ real estate documents and transaction histories in order to protect them from possible legal liabilities.
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Real Estate
Property Transactions
Our real estate attorneys represent buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants in the following residential property matters:
- Sale and leasing negotiations
- Property development
- Homeowners associations
- Property management companies
- Investment property in disposing of office buildings
- Industrial properties
- Multi-family properties
- Undeveloped land
We are committed to providing our clients with service and results-oriented legal representation while guiding them through the complicated maze of regulatory, financial, and legal hurdles they may encounter.
Real Estate
Contract Drafting & Negotiations
For most people, buying and selling a home presents the greatest legal obstacle course encountered in their early adult lives. There are many key issues that arise in the purchasing process that could have adverse implications for as long as you own the home. A qualified real estate attorney can eliminate the guesswork associated with a purchase agreement and associated contract to achieve optimal and enjoyable ownership. Often, an attorney can perform the same functions a licensed real estate broker can perform, with a few exceptions. Having a contract drafter and negotiator familiar with the business and law of residential property transactions has distinct advantages. Some issues to consider when purchasing a residential property include:
- Building codes and related inspections vary greatly depending on your locale and oftentimes lenders have inspection requirements that may or may not exceed the municipal, county, city requirements.
- Which party will be paying for inspections? When is it desirable for a purchaser to initiate an additional inspection? What is the seller required to disclose to the buyer?
- Is the purchase subject to available financing or is the purchase subject to the sale of the buyer’s current home?
- Is a survey required by the lender and who will pay for the survey?
- What portions of the property and fixtures will be included in the sale of the property? Does the sale include appliances, furnishings, or outbuildings?
- When can the purchaser take possession of the property? Are the parties interested in short-term lease-backs where the buyer remains in possession as a tenant while the seller delays moving in for various reasons, such as selling their own home?
- Do any liens or clouds exist on the title of the property? Who will pay for a title examination or title insurance? Who will pay for the resolution of title issues?
- Are there restrictions on the use of the property? Are these still in effect, given the frequent unrecorded disregard or amendment of such restrictions?
- What are the remedies if one party defaults under the contract? What happens to earnest money or escrow funds?
Further, most real estate agents charge flat fees or commissions with very little accounting to the client as to how exactly that commission is earned. At Kearney, McWilliams & Davis, PLLC, we can avoid gratuitous flat fees and percentage-based commissions, providing itemized details of our representation in a specific accounting to you, meeting your needs as your experience and the transaction’s complexity dictates. These issues and many others frequently and consistently arise in residential real estate transactions.
Real Estate
Landlord/Tenant Disputes & Litigation
Oftentimes, disputes between a landlord and tenant can be resolved among the parties, without having to go through the expense and hassle of hiring an attorney. However, things don’t always go as they should. When it comes time to hand over the reins, Kearney, McWilliams & Davis, PLLC has the attorney horsepower to help resolve your dispute.
Many landlord/tenant agreements have provisions that specify alternative dispute resolution as opposed to costly litigation. If not, then jurisdiction will lie exclusively with the Justice of the Peace courts, appealed de novo into the County Courts at Law. Whether you are the landlord or the tenant, it is important to find a law firm with experience that’s comfortable in court appearances, mediations, and arbitrations. Finding a real estate lawyer with a strong real estate and commercial property transactions and negotiations practice is even more valuable. There are several different issues that landlords and tenants typically encounter when a deal has gone sour, including:
- A landlord may have failed to make the required repairs to a property to make it habitable
- A tenant may have overstayed his lease and is refusing to leave
- A landlord has wrongfully terminated a lease
Each of these issues are time sensitive and requires that the parties meet certain requirements within a given amount of time in order to protect their rights. At Kearney, McWilliams & Davis, PLLC, we have experienced attorneys ready to solve your problems. We are in a strong position to help you resolve your conflicts as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Real Estate
Breech of Contract & Negligence Claims
Unfortunately, not all real estate transactions are successful, resulting in losses and damage to property, tangible or intangible. Real property litigation often involves very sensitive timing, notice, and disclosure requirements, as well as strict procedures established by the courts. We stay ahead of the statutes, regulations, and deadlines, cutting down the time our client’s property is held up in a complicated eviction, boundary dispute, or other cloud-causing proceedings. We assist our clients with:
- Evictions
- Contract disputes
- Mechanics liens
- Construction disputes
- Eminent domain proceedings
- Title disputes
- Loan service
- Foreclosure issues
- Receivership matters
If you have serious defects with the home you just closed on, there may be methods to make sure you get proper compensation. If your home seller, seller’s agent, or home inspector has done any of the following you will be able to sue them:
- Failure to Disclose a Defect
- Negligence
- Fraud
- Breach of Contract
- Breach of Warranty
- Negligent Misrepresentation
Kearney, McWilliams & Davis are here to help you through this frustrating and complicated process. Our attorneys are skilled in representing recent homebuyers against the negligence of their sellers.