Michigan Real Estate Legal Questions

You inherited the house subject to the mortgage.  If you do not make the mortgage payments or pay the mortgage off, it can foreclose on the property.  A mortgage holder can assign the debt and mortgage rights to another person, like a debt collector, which would have the same basic rights as the original mortgage holder.... Read More

It sounds like the access to the lake and north side of the dock is an easement benefitting the property you now own.  If so, it “runs with the land” so benefits whoever owns your land at a given point in time.  There could be a problem if it is not mentioned in any deed over the past 40 years due to the Marketable Record Title Act.  Also, it is possible, though not likely, that the deed that earlier mentioned the access made clear that the access right was personal to the owner of your land at that time and would expire upon a transfer; if it was intended to be personal it would usually not be mentioned in the deed. ... Read More

No, not without a court order.  There may be some situations in which signing the QC deed would make sense but probably more in which it would not.  In all situations, it should be part of a negotiated resolution.  You need to have legal counsel to help you work through this. There are social agencies that can help you navigate your recovery from the abusive situation; they should be able to point you to legal help. ... Read More

I am not certain what you mean by a Surviorship Deed Joint Tenants. If your partner executed and recorded or delivered to you a deed conveying title to you on his passing, you would have title on his passing, assuming he does not do something else with the property during his lifetime.   If the deed conveys title to himself and you as joint tenants, or as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, you would share ownership as joint tenants during his lifetime and upon his passing you would have title to the real property. There is an important difference between joint tenants and joint tenants with rights of survivorship, though: with the first, either joint tenant can break the joint tenancy, converting it into a tenancy in common while with the second, neither joint tenant alone can do that.   If the deed conveys title to the two of you, without saying joint tenants or joint tenants with rights of survivorship, you would share ownership as tenants in common, in which case his half interest would go to his estate and you would hold the other half interest.  I hope this helps clarify your situation.... Read More

What you can do is largely controlled by your agreement with your landlord.  What you propose to do may or may not be permitted.  You should definitely retain an attorney in such a transaction becuase there are a number of issues you will need to have properly handled in any agreement with the assignee. ... Read More

Whether one whose name is on the deed is living there or not is not particularly relevant.  But your question indicates a few possibilities with different implications.  If a married couple owned the property at the time the mortgage was signed and only signed the mortgage, the mortgage most likely would be invalid. There might be grounds for reformation but that is not a given. If multiple people not married to each other owned the property at that time and not all signed the mortgage, the mortgage may be valid against the partial interest in the property owned by those who signed so foreclosing could lead to you being a tenant in common with the others.  That could be subject to a survivorship interest if the owners held title as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship, but the survivorship interest would not apply if they were tenants in common or joint tenants.   Another common scenario would be that only one held title at the time the mortgage was sigend and then, after that, transferred title to him/herself and another, the mortgage could be valid against both owners and you would forclose against the full title of the property and get full title to the property upon the expiration of the redemption period. This is the most likely scenario. You would also be able to pursue a personal claim against all who signed the promissory note, regardless whether they all still own an interest in the property or live there.   ... Read More

First, you should understand that the neighbor's survey showing they own a 32 ft. strip of the 80 acres does not mean they actually have superior title.  In the type of legal description involved, overlaps in descriptions can easily happen.  Second, the occupancy of the 32 ft., along with the rest of the 80 acres, by the same owner for over 50 years would establish adverse possession in that owner.  The recent deed would not destroy that owner's claim.  Third, in boundary situations like this, acquiescence should also be considered.  It has a lower burden of proof than adverse possession and generally softer rules on tacking.  In any boundary dispute, I would plead both and develop the evidence to see which is more applicable.... Read More

Builders are very busy right now.  It is all too easy for them to put responding to complaints about past work at the bottom of the pile.  Write a letter to the builder referring to the warranty and detailing the problems.  If you send the letter by certified mail, it will establish proof of when you submitted a claim on your warranty. A smart builder will not ignore that. ... Read More

A deed usually conveys just the real property—the land, improvements and things attached to the ground or improvements (like the furnace and built-in appliances).  Most physical personal property is transferred less formally by a bill of sale—less formal because the bill of sale is not recorded anywhere. Vehicles are transferred by title and intangible personal property like shares of stock may have certificates.  The boyfriend’s daughters have a right to call for probating his estate and, as part of that, an inventory of the personal property he owned at his death.  An obvious question is whether the boyfriend left a will.  If so, it will control who gets what.  If not, then the rules of intestacy would favor his children as his heirs.... Read More

If the house is in your brother’s name, he could give or sell it to you.  For a gift, a simple quit claim deed would suffice.   If you plan to invest any significant money in the property, I would recommend getting a title search or title insurance so you can be sure you have clear title.... Read More

You would need to obtain a circuit court judgment recognizing that you have established title to the property.  There are many elements to adverse possession and, as the claimant, you would have the burden of proving each of them by clear and cogent proof.  If the land involved abuts other land to which you hold title, you should consider a claim for acquiescence as an alternative.  It is easier to prove, if the conditions are right.  Because adverse possession and acquiescence are fact-intensive, they can be expensive suits to take all the way through trial, for both sides. Unfortunately, they are difficult to settle short of that.  Emotions often run high and opposing sides often strongly believe different facts.  You will definitely need the help of an attorney and most likely a surveyor.  I would pick an attorney with experience in such cases, preferably in the area in which the land is located, and, if a surveyor will be needed as an expert, let that attorney pick a surveyor he or she thinks will best understand the case and be able to testify to the court.... Read More

Your agent should inform the listing agent, in writing, of your insistence on proceeding to close and request that the seller not contact you directly.  It is not illegal for the seller to speak to you directly, and any legal action would likely take more than the one week between now and the closing, but in this situation the seller should understand that continuing to try to contact you is counterproductive.   If the seller thinks he/she has a legal basis for terminating the agreement, your agent should request that the listing agent provide an explanation, in writing, to your agent so that you can respond to it through the agents. Bear in mind that agents cannot always control their clients.  Even if you follow what I suggest and the agents do their part to the best of their ability, the seller may simply be beyond their control.    ... Read More

Years ago I wrote a chapter for a continuing legal education book addressing breaches of real estate purchase and sales contracts.  Based on the research I did for that chapter, because you have treated the transaction as still pending a few weeks after the missed deadline, you need to give the buyer a notice (best in a letter) setting a firm deadline for performance with a warning that no further delays will be tolerated.  That deadline needs to be reasonable time in the future, given the length of time they have been in default without you declaring a default.  Here I would suggest that be a couple weeks out from the date of the letter setting the deadline.  Then if the buyer does not perform, you can terminate the closing.  I have applied this approach a few times over the past few decades and not had a buyer challenge it.  This is important because you do not want this nonperforming buyer to be in a position to challenge a purchase by someone else.       ... Read More

If both parties agree, I would not use a partition action.  If both parties want to split the property physically, you would obain a survey with the legal descriptions, obtain local government approval for the split if required, and then both parties would sign deeds of the land to go to each party.  That would be very simple, with no need for a partition action.  If both parties want to sell the property, they can proceed with a sale without going through a partition action.  A partition action is useful when one party wants to sell the land and the other will not agree.  With joint tenancy with full rights of survivorship, a partition action is available but of limited utility because the survivorship interest cannot be broken.  This means that all the court can order sold at auction is the life estate interest of the joint tenants, but when all but one joint tenant have passed away, the property vests in the last surviving joint tenant.  Not a lot of buyers for that sort of interest.  All parties are much better off if they can agree what to do with the property, and in that situation, you don't need a partition.... Read More

The purchase agreement should address when possession is to be delivered.  If it is silent, possession is to be delivered at closing.  Neither party can unilaterally change the deadline for delivering possession. If the seller refuses to close unless the buyer agrees to delayed possession, the buyer should schedule the closing, notify the seller of the closing date, time, and place, and then show up.  If the seller does not close, that would set up a claim for breach of contract to obtain specific performance and/or damages.  Such a suit could take more than 6 months to reach the end but that is rarely necessary.  The parties usually reach a resolution once they have to engage attorneys.  In your case, the seller may not be willing to risk the loss of the sale and may be counting on the sales proceeds to pay for the new place. If the seller closes but then refuses to leave, the buyer can bring an eviction action.  The notice requirement is usually 7 days; if the seller is not out by then, the buyer would proceed with the summary proceedings.  A hearing usually follows a week or two thereafter and, if the seller has no right to stay, the court will order the seller to leave within 10 days.  This may get the seller a month or so.     ... Read More

Yes, but it is complicated and you may have to pay her money to do it.  The most effective route is a partition action.  In such an action, the court orders the property to be sold at a public auction and the proceeds divided between the owners.  If you hold title as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship, the sale is complicated because of the survivorship feature, but it is more likely you hold title as tenants in common or joint tenants.  At the auction sale, the bidding usually comes down to the competing owners; the one bidding more gets the property but has to pay the other their share of the winning bid price.  (In your case, if you win the bidding at $100,000, you will have to pay her $50,000.) Of course, existing mortgages have to be paid before the owners get any money.  You would need to have new financing lined up ahead of time.  As I mentioned, it is complicated.  Within a partition action, it is common to ask the court for an accounting if one party has been carrying a larger burden and another getting a larger benefit, as may be your case; in that case, the court may order that one party can recover a larger share of the net proceeds. Fortunately, becuase the sale at public auction usually does not generate a price anywhere near what could be obtained by a typical sale through a listing, the competing parties will often agree to put the property up for sale and split the net proceeds.  Obviously the lack of routine maintenance would impair the sale price to some extent.  If the net proceeds justify it, you may still want the court to order an accounting before splitting the net proceeds.... Read More

Likely the suggested language is sufficient, but I cannot be certain without seeing the Master Deed (including the Condominium Subdivision Plan which is an exhibit to it) and records of the Condominium Association relating to any assignment/reassignment of the parking spaces.  If the Master Deed and Condominium Subdivision Plan provide that Parking Space A is a limited common element of Unit 1, the deed does not need to expressly call out the parking space; it is appurtenant to the unit.  Often master deeds allow reassignment of parking spaces by agreement of the affected unit and at least some filing with the association or, perhaps, an amendment to the master deed recorded with the county.  If there has been such a reassignment in this case, it would be good to have the deed say Unit 1 with all rights in general and limited common elements including Parking Space X.... Read More

Based solely on what you describe, you should refuse to sign a new quit claim deed and renounce the one you signed when you signed the land contract.  If you have performed your obligations, the seller cannot get the house back.  If you have not performed, she has to either forfeit or foreclose the land contract, both of which require court action.  (If she tries to rely on the deed you signed on the same day you signed the land contract, you should object that that deed was an unlawful attempt to deprive you of the rights provided by law.) If she tries forfeiture, you could defeat it by curing any delinquent payments.  If she tries foreclosure, you could defeat it by paying the full amount due on the land contract.  I would recommend you give her a letter offering to give her the entire amount you think is owed on the land contract and requesting that she give you the deed in fulfillment at the same time.  The letter should request that, if she disagrees with the amount you claim is owed, that she provide what she thinks if the balance due and documentation to support her number.  ... Read More

No one else will clean up your title.  From your brief description, it sounds like you will need to get the person who recorded the improper quit claim deed to record a new deed reversing that one or a quiet title action in circuit court.  I cannot tell if you have a good case.  The other person may have some legitimate reason for recording the deed, such as a boundary dispute, and I have had townships and counties insist a land division was improper when it was, in fact, proper.  But if the other person won't undo the earlier deed, you will need an attorney to dig into your situation and see if you can make a case for quieting title.   ... Read More