Virginia Residential Real Estate Legal Questions

Your name can be removed from the title by you executing a new deed, conveying your interest to the friend, but you can't get off of the debt unless the lender releases you. If your friend has strong credit, and/or the property has substantial equity, the lender might be willing to do so. If the debt is close to the property value, it will be hard to get the lender to release you.  Start by checking with the lender...it never hurts to ask. Good luck.  ... Read More

You continure to be responsible for maintaining the property the same as with any loan. The lender only loans you the money, they don't do any maintenance. You are also responsible for keeping the taxes and homeowners insurance paid.  If you develop termites, the  expense of treatment is yours. One  risk of these loans is that if you use up all of your available funds, you are still required to pay the taxes, pay for the insurance, and do all necessary maintenance.... Read More

Title insurance normally insures access, but no particular access, unless that particular access is included in the legal description of your property. For example, if the policy insures "Lot 14 Sunnyside Acres", it insures access to the property iun some fashion. If the policy insures "Lot 14 Sunnyside Acres, together with a 20' right of way for ingress and egress as shown on the subdivision plat", then it insures that particular access. If your policy took exception to access, then it is not insured. Get a real estate attorney to review your policy as if access is insured, it should be covered. I do have a concern if you could have made the claim 9 years ago and didn't-there could be a Statute of Limitations issue.   ... Read More

Don't dare do what you suggested!  Have a lawyer check the title to make sure there are no unreleased deeds of trust, judgments, unpaid taxes, weird easements, or anything else that would negatively affect the title  to the property. Both siblings need to sign a new lawyer-prepared deed conveying their interest to you.    Pay the money at closing once the new deed is prepared and the title checked.    ... Read More

I am sorry that your purchase of a new home was less than stellar. Virginia code 55-70.1 lays out the standard for the implied warranty that comes with a new home bought from a builder. The statute indicates that a new home is sold with an implied warranty which provides that the home should be free from structural defects and should be delivered in accordance with industry standards. If the home has a defect notice should be given and reasonable time should be awarded to cure the defect.  You should consider hand delivering a list of issues that need corrected and get a commitment from the builder to complete the work by a certain date. If the work is not complete you can file a complaint with DPOR against the builder. They oversee licensed contractors and seek to ensure the integrity of the trades. An experienced attorney can help you walk through the process and send a letter and negotiate on your behalf.... Read More

No lawyer can tell you about a document without seeing it, but a "normal" quitclaim deed simply says the grantor hereby quitclaims unto the grantee all of her right, title, and interest in the following described property, then describes the property.  Bear in mind that there can be a lot of issues arise from quitclaiming an interest in property-Medicaid eligibility is affected if the grantor is on Medicaid, a lower tax basis in the grantee when property is received by gift as opposed to devise, if the property is encumbered with a deed of trust, and a quitclaim deed may  trigger a "due on conveyance" clause.  It's worth your time and money to have a lawyer review the deed and your situation.... Read More

If the contract isn't signed yet, he can make it a condition of the contract that the roof be repaired by a licensed experienced roof contractor.   If the contract is signed, and if it has a home inspection contingency, the home inspector should catch the roof issue.  A lot depends upon the language of the signed contract as they can vary significantly.... Read More

You only have a balloon payment if your note states it is all due and payable on the "x" day of whatever. Look at the Note. If your interest rate is fixed, your principal and interest payment shouldn't change but if your taxes or insurance go up, your escrow payment will increase. Your escrow payment is equal to 1/12 of your property taxes  plus 1/12th of your insurance. You may be able to shop around and find cheaper insurance, which would  lower your payment but you're stuck with your taxes, unless your jurisdiction has a "tax relief for the elderly and disabled" program. Most have the program so call the Commissioner of the Revenue in your jurisdiction to see if you qualify and you may be able to substantially reduce your tax payment. Some of these programs waive 50%-%100 if your  income is low enough.  ... Read More

Legally  speaking, there's little that you can do-if they are staying off of your property, they're not tresspassing. If they lie about you, it could be slander but slander suits are rarely worth the money you'd spend. If they keep up with the nonsense they're doing at some point you may be able to pile all of their actions into a complaint and get an injunction but you'll spend thousand of dollars in legal fees with a suit. Unfortunately, I don't know of a good remedy short of moving just as soon as your lease is up. Perhaps your landlord may be able to intervene on your behalf.     This isn't much help but I don't see any easy remedies.  ... Read More

Most home inspection contracts have language that limits their liability to the cost of the report-meaning if they miss something, you can get a refund of the price paid but they inspector doesn't have to fix it. Take a look at the report you received to see if this type of language is there. Having said that, if you sued the inspector, by the time you paid an attorney and the necessary expert witness, you could easily spend several thousand dollars. If you're going to spend the money, it makes more sense to spend it on the repair.  It can't hurt to contact the inspector, perhaps he can get it repaired cheaper but I am afraid you likely don't have a real cost-effective remedy. ... Read More

If this is a new home, there is a statutory warranty which covers the house for 1 year from the date of closing, and the foundation for 5 years. You aren't required to sign anything in order for the contractor to honor the warranty. Everything was to have been built in a workmanlike manner-which basically means good quality construction.   You can file a complaint with the State Contractor's Board and that may get the builder's attention. Perhaps you can threaten to file the complaint first and if the repairs aren't made, then file it.   If you are getting close to the end of the 1 year period, take dated photographs of all problems and document as well as possible that the issues arose before the year was up. The contractor is required to come within a "reasonable time" to make the repairs...whatever "reasonable" means-generally quicker if it's a major thing like a leaky roof, slower if it's a minor thing like a nail pop.       ... Read More

Your rights will be a matter of the listing contract that you signed. Not all listing agreements give a seller the right to "de-list", which basically means cancel the contract before the realtor has had a full contract's period chance to sell it. You can use a different realtor to rent if your listing agreement doesn't address rentals, and most don't.  I'd suggest waiting to rent until you reach agreement with your current realtor to remove it from the market.... Read More

Prescriptive easements don't require exclusivity so you can have more  than one way to access your property.  You need to talk to the lawyer the title company hired to represent you-perhaps a single suit to have the prescriptive easement established as to all the properties crossed is in order but he/she should be able to tell you.... Read More

Drafting a contract isn't a long task once the details are known, but bear in mind the lawyer you consult probably wasn't twiddling his or her thumbs waiting for you to come through the door so 2-4 days to get it to you isn't unreasonable. If your lawyer does his own title searches, and I hope he/she does, I'd allow a week or so for that-a title search can take a couple hours but occasionally they can take several hours. I hope this is helpful.        ... Read More

A foreclosure wipes out all liens on a particular parcel that are inferior (recorded after) the deed of trust under which the foreclosure occurred.   Your lien will survive as to any other real property to which it attached. As your judgment lien was apparently recorded after the deed of trust, you only get paid if the sale generates funds in excess of the expenses of sale and  the foreclosed debt...which happens but not too often.... Read More

If it is a deeded right of way, anyone damaging the road can be required to fix it, but with legal fees and expert witness fees (to verify the cost of repair), it might not be worth the effort. A single owner can't make up rules that apply to the road. She might be able to petition the Court to establish rules such as a speed limit but it would involve filing a suit against the other persons using the road, and normally law enforcement folks don't enforce private right of way issues.... Read More

First, assuming your grandmother left the property to your mother, you will need to probate (record) her will in the Circuit Court Clerk's office. You will also need to probate your mother's will, if she had one. If your mother was an only child, and if you and your brother are the  only children, it might be simpler to just record a list of heirs for each of them and have the property pass intestate (without a will). If your grandmother had multiple children, finding the original will will be critical as otherwise, the property passed to each of their children, ALL of their chldren.... Read More

You'll have to pursue your partner for your half unless the lease called for any returned funds to be payable to both of you. You can file a warrant in debt in District Court for around $42.00 and perhaps when your partner is served to appear in Court, it might prompt payment. The forms are available on line and at the Courthouse. Good luck.... Read More

That's a very tough question-no judge will make him re-do it all just for the color but you are entitled to reasonable compensation for the mistake. It's really a personal call but it's unlikely it would be worth spending a lot of money on a lawyer to have a Court decide. Were it me, I'd try something like this: I'd ask for some amount of money, plus perhaps an extended warranty on the house. The statutory warranty is 1  year on the house and 5 on the foundation, perhaps ask for $5000 and the warranty extended to 5 years on the house. It's all a matter of negotiation and if you can't agree, it would be an excellent case for mediation.  Good luck.        ... Read More

Make sure your lawyer is holding that deed in escrow until you are 100% satisfied with everything, including the settlement statement, and the buyer's money is in place. Then and only then should it be released. The settlement agent should be able to give you at least a working draft of the HUD-1 failry early.  The buyer's side might not be complete but your side may well be pretty close to final.... Read More

Have a lawyer go through the contract with a fine tooth comb to look for an out, perhaps some necessary language is missing (Virginia law requires a lot of notices of various types). I doubt they can force you to buy it but if they re-market the property and it sells for less than 360K, you will probably be on the hook for the difference, plus the legal fees and commission.  Would the engineer get in trouble if he officially gave you the information that you received in private?  If you have a loan contingency, perhaps a word to the lender about the flood map might get your loan canceled and allow you an out.  I'd strongly suggest seeing a good real estate lawyer as you've got quite a pickle there.  Good luck.... Read More

For probate purposes and transfer purposes, it makes a lot of sense to change the title to T/E, ROS.  BUT, if your marriage ever goes on the rocks, you'll wish you'd left it alone.  There are no real disadvantages to her. Property owned before a marriage is considered "separate" and not subject to division in a divorce, unless you re-title it, or unless it becomes "commingled" (where both of you have demonstrably made contributions to the property.-long story).  If you don't re-title it, you can leave it to her in your will, which can be changed if the marriage goes south. Either way, whether she gets it by survivorship deed or through your will, it's easy to sell in Virginia after your death so there are no disadvantages to her from a probate standpoint. Of course, sometimes momma wants her name on the deed...good luck explaining why you don't want to do that.  :)... Read More

Have a lawyer review everything you signed to see exactly what you agreed to do. Unless you agreed in the contract(s) to pay him a commission, you owe nothing. Maybe the builder owes him if the builder had a deal that the realtor would find him business. If there is nothing in the contracts thast required you to pay a commission for a building contract, tell the realtor to go away or you'll file an ethics complaint with VAR.... Read More