Michigan Real Estate Legal Questions

A private property owner has the right to prohibit individuals from carrying firearms on his or her property, whether concealed or otherwise, and regardless of whether the person is a CPL holder. If a person remains on the property after being told to leave by the owner, the person may be charged with trespassing (MCL 750.552).  ... Read More

Depending on the situation, you may or may not want to walk away. First, you need to know how much the property is worth. Check online for a rough estimate and, if it is $10,000 more than the value of the land contract, you might be better off selling the property and getting some money. Next, if you are an African American living in a primarily African American part of the state, there is a class action lawsuit against Vision Property Management (or its affiliates), you might have certain rights under the lawsuit to compensation. Lastly, the current seller might, to avoid the costs of foreclosure and eviction, offer you some cash to move out. I highly recomend you speak to a real estate lawyer before just walking away.... Read More

There are a lot of issues in your question. First, you need to know what the value of your home is.  I recommend you work with a licensed realtor to establish what the home could be sold for in today's market. Second, what are the terms of your land contract? Most provide, that, if you sell, either the new buyer has to be approved to take over the land contract or you have to pay off the land contract completely. Be aware that there are many unscrupulous land contract sellers out there that imposed, frankly, evil terms in their contracts with buyers. If you are a victim of such an agreement, you may need legal representation to extricate yourself from the situation.... Read More

Assumption: you got a land contract with someone else and have not been paid back and are owed $10,000. To keep the lawyers out of it, I reccomend you sit down with the co-buyer and ask them to buy you out or sell the house and pay you off or take a mortgage to pay you off. A lot depends on what the agreement was at the time- were you being paid back or were you partners in an investment? you have some leverage, you will want to negotiate with the co-buyer. You are owed money and can use your position to be sure you are paid back  ... Read More

The facts here are not very clear. If there is a recorded deed with a right of survivorship with a named person, that is enforceable. There has to be some writing. If one party paid all expenses, they can, when the property is sold, to be compensated for proven expenses. You don't really want to go to court, it will eat up all the money, so some pay-off will probably have to be negotiated. good luck.... Read More

Managing real estate from far away can be tough.  I recommend that you hire an attorney to evict the tenant. Get someone local to Alpena. The MichBar.org website lets you search for attorneys by their location. If you want to keep the house, you might want to hire a property manager or hire a realtor and sell it, I am sure the house is worth much more than you paid for it.... Read More

Much depends on what exactly the land contract says. Most land contracts provide that, so long as you reinstate, the seller cannot evict.  The best way to head off the problem is pay the seller back sooner rather than later. Most land contracts ALSO say that the buyer is responsible for any costs for eviction so you will probably wind up paying for the costs of the eviction also. The courts today are generally against putting someone out who is paying. Finding out exactly what your rights are is important. If you like, email me your land contract to g b at borman dot net and I will review it for you.... Read More

I would recommend that those involved consult a real estate lawyer regarding this. Depending where this is and other access issues, this may be permissible but it might not. Depending on zoning and the way the homes are situated, it could go either way.   this is the best I can do with the facts as presented... Read More

Sadly, the contract is binding. Your options are: find out the actual closing date on the house you are selling and get an extension from that buyer- you might have to pay a few hundred to get the extension you need to send notice to your buyer that you expect to close by a date certain and he is to release you if he can't perform by then, demand he put it in writing and demand prooof of funds from the new buyer you can also go to buyer number two, ask them to pay an additional $1000 for the property and offer a $1000 breakup fee to the current buyer for release from the current agreement. I hope this helps.    ... Read More

It sounds like the two siblings need to agree to something: either to split the rent as received or for the other sibling's rent receipts to be deducted from their share when the property is finally sold. Best to get an attorney and put it in writing. Otherwise, one should buy out the other.... Read More

Nothing here is an opinion about your rights in WI. Assuming you are still the PR of the Estate in Michigan, you have the power to transfer Michigan property. With regards to the tax consequences, I am not a tax lawyer and suggest you speak with a tax professional but the basis of property is typically calculated at the time of transfer. In this case, depending on the deed, it might have transfered twice if the deaths caused two events of transfer. However, if the deeds had right of survivorship, only once. I also reccomend consulting with a probate lawyer in both states. These kinds of complications are perfect examples of the money and headaches people avoid when they do proper estate planning. Best lf luck to you.... Read More

The economics will be decisive, I am not sure how easily the home can be moved and what that will cost. One thing is certain, if it can be cheaply moved, it is way cheaper than lawyers. as to who is liable: the new owner is first in line especially if the home was sold "as is (meaning he is on the hook for this not you)." If it wasn't depending on the warranties, title insurance may cover it as may some home insurance policies. If the new owner reaches out to you on this, splitting the cost of moving might be cheaper for both of you rather than go to court. The neighbor might sue to have the mobile home moved and the fill dirt removed. Why he sat his rights for so long might be an issue. The fill dirt might be deemed a trespass or nuisance but, since it has been there 10 years, any claim would require the neighbor to have just learned about it for those claims to stand much chance in court. Also the extent of the nuisance will depend on visibility of the dirt to the neighbor, the cost to remedy and its interference with his quiet enjoyment of the property (did the alledged nuisance interfere with how he lives in the property?).  Next, the placement of the home 8 feet from the line might trigger enforcement by the municipaility. If you can get the municipality to give a variance for the impropery location of the home, that would be one way to solve the code issue, or moving the home. You have some homework to do, get some estimates, check the sale paperwork  ... Read More

Hi Anonymous! If you were selling to the city, you might have a case but sadly the contract cannot be broken- if you breach, the buyers can sue you for specific performance and you will lose 100% of the time. But there is something you can do: offer some money to the buyers in exchange for their Release from the Agreement. accompany the letter with an explanation of your connection to the home. buyers often have second thoughts and might be releived to be let out of the agreement.  best of luck... Read More

This is a boundary dispute. While you can move the shed, if you do it and the shed is damaged, you could be liable. Have them move it. If indeed the dog fence is on your property, the right answer for your situation is to send a polite letter. You had the boundary surveyed and the shed is on your property, please move it in a reasonable time. If too much time passes, send a second letter, less nice, saying they have x days to move it or you will file an action for trespass. If they still refuse to move it, then call a real estate lawyer. Regarding the dog fence, you can be nice or mean about it. The only question is to what extent it effects your enjoyment of the property. If it doesn't affect things at all, I always tell people be nice, you never know when you need a favor from a neighbor.  The nice way is to mention it in the letter above and say, we will lease you an easement for the dog fence on our property for $10 a year. If they agree, the fence is now leased and they cannot claim adverse possession. If you want to be mean, you can order them to move it.    Good luck!... Read More

You should let the tenant know the property is being sold and let them know the day of closing where their next rent payment goes. Depending on the duration of the lease, the buyer is required to honor the lease through its end date. However, if the lease is month to month, the buyer can, after closing, bring an action to evict or sign their own lease with the existing tenant. If you like the tenant, given the market, you might negotiate, as part of the sale, that the tenant be given a lease as a condiction of closing.  Best of luck to you.... Read More

You need to speak to a real estate attorney as soon as possible. The facts as stated do not give a clear enough picture of the state of title on the property. In Michigan, chain of title passes from the first valid recorded claim to the next link in that chain of title. Typically, Land Contracts are not reversable by the person granting the contract.  When you contact the lawyer, have a copy of the land contract and any title work you have with you. Best of luck.... Read More

You should send a letter to the trucking company demanding repayment with a copy of the bills paid to fix the damage. If they do not respond, you should hire a lawyer, the law provides strict liability for damage to property from tresspass and for paying the property owner's attorney fees. Any real estate attorney would like this case, if your facts are correct, the attorney will want this case.... Read More

Depending on the circumstances and the specific disclosures made to you prior to purchase by the seller, it may be possible to rescind the sale. Additionally, the failure to provide possession might also be grounds to rescind the transaction. Getting legal counsel to do this is highly recommended. Best of luck to you.... Read More

You don't have to record a deed but you really should do so. If the deed is lost or stolen, you have no means of asserting your claim to the property. Worse, if someone records something on the property before you record your deed, they, not you, may have priority in right and may have a superior claim to the property than you do. Once the deed is recorded, your rights are public record, for better or worse. It is public so your interest is no longer private but it confers so many important rights to you would be wise to record your deed as soon as possible.   Good luck.... Read More

The Law specifically provides that Mobile Home Park operators are subject to the provisions of the statute. Post-lease security deposit issues can be thorny. Sometimes the landlord is justified in withholding and other times not. The facts in these situations matter a lot. Often the amount in controversy is too small for a lawyer to get involved. But when the landlord is over the line, they run the risk of getting hit with attorney fees: they need to account for the security deposit, was it deposited into a bank or not? has the landlord posted a bond for security deposits they have accepted? did the client comply with a demand for the return of the deposit with a notice of new address on a timely basis? are the landlord's charges reasonable. I reccomend trying to work it out, if that fails, it is time to find legal counsel. ... Read More