Michigan Residential Real Estate Legal Questions

your landlord sounds like a peach technically, the failure to provide water is serious violation of the lease and you are not obligated to pay rent until the issue is fixed and, if you give him warning, you can arrange to fix it yourself and deduct from rent (but you better be sure about the quality of the work!). the following questions as about other specific violations of Michigan law? did he give you receipt for your security deposit? did he tell you where he deposited the security deposit or give you proof of bond? is the property required to be registered as a rental where you live? if so, is it properly registered? each of these question go to whether the landlord has failed to comply with Michigan law.... Read More

You have a very strong case for nuisance.  You can sue the tenant for her behavior and the landlord for not providing quiet enjoyment of the property as required by the lease. Please use your cell phone document the abuse. You need evidence. A few photos of different men coming over will establish the situation. Start with a letter to the Landlord cataloging the conditions at the property and tell him that if he fails to cure the situation within 14 days, you send him a notice of breach of the contract for lease. If they refuse to correct the situation, then you need to hire counsel and sue. Michigan law provides for attorney fees for certain situations.... Read More

Potentially, yes, liability might be found, given the cost of paint and signs is cheap compared to a destroyed car, it would make sense to do simple warnings.   If the association was my client, I would tell them the cost of the deductible from the first claim would be cheaper than paint and signage.... Read More

Sadly you are going to have to fix the garage door: once title transferred to you, unless there was some kind of repair warranty as part of the sale, you became responsible for all repairs not covered by the Association. You might try saying you are victim here and the association should split the bill with you as their delay in enforcement is saddling you with the bill.  Because of the low amount of dollars involved and the fact condo agreements usually provide that you have to reimburse them for legal fees, suing them is not recommended. Better luck to you.... Read More

Email alone may create a contract. Contracts require: an offer- he offered to let you use his guy for the fireplace acceptance- you agreed and sent money to him for the fireplace consideration- the money you sent, the check, is a writing sufficient to support a contract under Michigan law. regarding terms- the emails described the work to be done, timelines and who would do the work. On these facts, it looks like an enforceable contract. The specificity of the email and any vague language in the e-mails can also change the outcome. I suggest you send a letter to the builder outlining your position and request he cancel adding the fireplace back in. He might decide to hold up closing, so you may have to close and go after him afterwards. Some builders are thinly capitalized and a lawsuit causes them to close.... Read More

Sorry to hear the problems you are having. With cases like these, the details matter a lot. You may also have insurance that might also be able to offset costs. I recommend you have legal counsel review all documents related to the transaction to determine the viability of any claims you may have.... Read More

Depending on what the contract for sale says, you may have a cause of action against the Seller. Do you know when the mold happened? Did you inspect the property and not see it? Did you hire a property inspector to inspect the property prior to purchase? Typically, unless the contract of sale says otherwise the seller is responsible for damage to the property after sale.  ... Read More

Most Condo HOA's designate what repairs are to be done by the Assoc and which aren't. Most provide repairs for roofs, walls and foundations. Before hiring counsel, I recommend you attend an association meeting and ask them to address your issue. Let neighbors know the Assoc is not repairing properties as required and ask they fix it right. The damage you describe directly affect the asthetics of your unit but be aware, most condo agreements provide that if you sue the association, you have to pay their attorney fees.  Best of luck to you.... Read More

Yes, assuming the contract is otherwise enforceable.  It would not be enforceable, for example, if the seller did not provide a seller's disclosure statement or if the house was built before 1978, a lead-based paint disclosure.  There are other possible grounds in some particular situations (seller is a licensed real estate agent, developer of a condominium, lied about the condition of the house, or does not have clear title to the property). If the contract is enforceable and the buyer wants out for a reason not covered by the agreement, the seller can (1) take the deposit and terminate the agreement, or request a court (2) to compel the buyer to perform the agreement or (3) to award the seller his or her actual damages.   The seller's damages are, loosely speaking, the difference between the sale price in your contract and the value of the property on the day you breach.  If the property was listed through a realtor, the price you agreed to pay is probably about the same as the value today.  The seller could also recover some other damages, like the cost of carrying the property (taxes, mortgage interest, insurance) until a new buyer is found and that deal closes.    ... Read More

You may have legal rights.  Generally if the driveway (or some other obvious sign of occupation) was in place for at least 15 years, without permission from the neighbor, or if you and the neighbor had a dispute about the boundary location and yet he acquiesced in your driveway being there, you would have protected rights.  Acquiescence is the most likely cause of action against the neighbor.  You need to take legal action within one year of the "ouster" to reclaim your rights.  These cases are very fact-dependent so can get costly.... Read More

It is not dower but homestead protections that require a husband to sign a mortgage for a house in which he lives with his wife.  Michigan abolished curtesy (male dower) decades ago and dower (which only protected wives) earlier this year.  Signing the mortgage means you can be booted in event of a foreclosure, which is why the lender insists upon having both spouses sign.  You would be liable for the debt if you signed the mortgage NOTE, a separate document agreeing to repay the loan.  If your name is not on the last deed, you and your wife need to look at your estate planning situation.... Read More

Most likely.  Unless it was left to you as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, your sibling can force a sale through a partition action.  And such a sale is like a foreclosure sale so usually one of the interested parties--the one with the biggest checkbook--gets to buy the property at a bargain price, with the other sibling getting part of the sale price.  It is far better in this situation if the siblings can work out a deal, like you buying out your sibling's interest at fair value or paying half the fair market rent to your sibling, or selling the property through a realtor to get the maximum value out of it.   ... Read More

No one is required to tell you this except a buyer's agent, although sometimes closing documents prepared by a title company mention it.  In truth, no one can tell you when you purchase a property what the taxable value will be in the subsequent year.  When it "uncaps" in the next year, you don't get the assessed valuation the seller had in the year of the sale.  And in the new year, the assessed valuation can be substantially higher than it was before.  Some assessors neglect to keep assessed values current because taxes are paid on the taxable value and then, when a property sells, the assessor jumps it up to where it should have been.  I recently handled an appeal similar to yours in which the assessed values on a street fluctuated up and down over 40% over a period of a few years.  That is bad assessing, unfair to all.... Read More

Yes.  The usual approach is to report it to your insurer and let them pursue the neighbor after paying you.  If you do not have homeowner's insurance, you can sue the neighbor yourself.  Assuming the neighbor has homeowner's insurance you are likely to be paid.  If the neighbor does not have insurance, the law is still on your side but perhaps with a more difficult fight.  For future purposes, you have the right to remove any part of a neighbor's tree that hangs over your property.  ... Read More

I'm sorry.  I am not sure that I follow your question.  If you have signed a binding purchase agreement, you have the right to proceed with the purchase.  If you have an option to buy, it may be conditioned upon your not being in default of the lease.  Being in the process of buying does not excuse you from paying rent until the closing occurs and a pending eviction for nonpayment of rent would impair your ability to get a mortgage.  The seller may be threatening eviction to get you to pay until the closing, or the seller may be using a default, or alleged default, to get out of an option the seller does not want to honor.  I would recommend getting the landlord paid current and, in the second situation, suing to enforce the option if the purchase price is fair. ... Read More

You are legally responsible to the landlord--that is why they refused to release you from the lease.  Given the impact on your credit rating, your best course would be to try to reach a compromise with the landlord and then demand your former boyfriend pay them the compromise amount.  If he won't, you would need to pay them and then demand he pay you.  If he won't you could take him to small claims court if you can show he agreed to pay the rent.  The amount involved does not justify hiring an attorney and you don't need one to try to reach a deal with the landlord or pursue the ex in small claims court.... Read More

To remove tenants, the lease needs to be expired or subordinate to the mortgage, or you have to be able to prove the tenants are in default.  Assuming one of these is true, you have to go through the eviction process under summary proceedings. If the lease is subordinate to the mortgage, the process can be quick.  If the lease is expired or you need to prove default, it is longer.  Generally it will take 1-2 months to put them out.... Read More

This is a complicated situation involving the master deed and Section 67(3) of the Condominium Act, a recent amendment of which purports to apply retroactively.  It sounds like it is a site condominium so the phase would be developed when the infrastructure is in, with the timing of the building of houses within units not being relevant.  And the lapse period runs from the recording of the master deed or later expansions, contractions, or conversions, so it is not possible to say with this limited information if the lapse period has run but I would not assume that it has.... Read More

The right to the deposit would depend upon the language of the PA and the Seller Disclosure Statement.  If the seller has not provided an SDS, you have the right to terminate and get your deposit back. In this case, I would hold firm on the return of the entire deposit.   If the SDS has now been provided, but the well/septic section of PA allows you terminate if not satisfied, you have the right to the deposit back. The PA may not be all that clear if the seller has made a "reasonable offer" to fix the problem.  The seller needs a release so he can market the house to others and you need a release so you can put an offer on another house without fears of action over this one.  In this case, I would push back that you get the deposit and wait a few days for the seller to come to his senses.  But if you find another house you want to move on, it would be worth $500 to have this PA firmly put to bed first. ... Read More

If your uncle conveyed the property to your father in a deed identifying the uncle as grantor and your father as grantee, your father may have good title to the property.  Your question implies you have found a title defect but does not indicate a reason for that. You should obtain a title insurance commitment if your father is selling the property.  It will identify the title holder and any exceptions to title.  If it identifies your dad as the title holder with no exception relating to your uncle, you may not have a problem. If it identifies your uncle as title holder, then you will need an attorney to look at the document from your uncle to your dad and see where the problem arose and, based on that, what can be done to fix it. Randy Schipper... Read More

The answers to your questions will turn on the provisions of your master deed and the Michigan Condominium Act.  The master deed allocates responsibility for common elements. The association is responsible for general common elements but limited common elements, a category that usually included decks, are handled differently in different master deeds.  The master deed could have unit owners responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of decks while giving the association substantial say in when and what has to be done. Two key points of the condo act: an association must have a reserve fund (although the minimum level is just 10% of the current annual budget), and mrr responsibilities allocated to the association cannot be shifted to unit owners without an amendment to the master deed with 2/3 approval of the members and of the first mortgage holders. A vote at an association meeting would not be effective for that. Randy Schipper... Read More

That depends. The first step in answering this would be to review the details of the purchase agreement.  Many of them provide for an automatic extension if the lender approved but needs a little more time to close.  If yours has that, it controls.  Also, if you or your agent indicated a delay may be acceptable, you would have to honor that, and, if you have tolerated a week's delay already, you cannot simply pull the plug.  If you have agreed to or tolerated a delay, you would need to give the buyer written notice a date, a reasonable time out (likely several days) for the buyer to close or you will then declare the agreement terminated. While "the law abhors a forfeiture", if you give the buyer a clear deadline a reasonable time out, courts will usually enforce the termination.  ... Read More

Courtney The 4 of you would be equally liable to the landlord.  However, among the 4 of you, responsibility would usually be allocated based on "equitable" factors like who did the damage.  Based on what you wrote, if they sued you to recover a share, they would likely lose.  I would tell them to take you to court or leave you alone.   ... Read More