Real Estate Law Archives

A Marcellus Shale case that has nothing to do with fracking p3

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Oct 23, 2014.

In the last couple of posts, we have discussed how the law treats property ownership. Property rights are commonly described as a “bundle of sticks,” and a landowner can lend or sell or duel over one stick or a combination of sticks. When a landowner grants his neighbor an easement with a reversionary right, for example, he essentially loans a couple of sticks from his bundle to his neighbor for as long as his neighbor needs them; when his neighbor no longer needs them, the sticks go back to the landowner.

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Are finders keepers and losers weepers in property law? p3

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Oct 3, 2014.

It is hard, some days, not to think of Dr. Seuss when we are flipping through real estate cases. The expression from “Horton Hatches the Egg” is usually the first to come to mind: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent.” Property and contract law would be a lot easier, though much less interesting, if everyone would just say what they mean and mean what they say.

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Are finders keepers and losers weepers in property law? p2

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Sep 22, 2014.

We are talking about a U.S. Supreme Court case decided in March 2014. The case — Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, shorthanded as “Brandt” — was a win for property owners. And we are not just talking about homeowners. The ruling also protects the rights of businesses that own land along abandoned rail corridors.

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Are finders keepers and losers weepers in property law?

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Sep 19, 2014.

In March 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision about property rights. The case, Brandt v. United States (formally known as Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, 134 S. Ct. 1257, 188 L. Ed. 2d 272 (2014)), was about abandoned railroad rights-of-way that had been turned into public recreational trails.

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At what point does disclosure become oversharing? p3

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Aug 28, 2014.

Do you wonder why people like to be scared? Why haunted houses are so popular at Halloween? A friend from the Midwest tells us of a house where a notorious murder took place there about 30 years ago. The house is now a museum, a tribute to robber baron architecture.

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At what point does disclosure become oversharing? p2

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Aug 24, 2014.

We are circling back to our discussion about a homebuyer’s lawsuit against the seller and the seller’s real estate agent. After the sale was completed, the buyer discovered that a notorious murder had taken place in the home. She sued, claiming that the defendants had an obligation to tell her about the home’s history.

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At what point does disclosure become oversharing?

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Aug 21, 2014.

We talk about zoning and land use disputes all the time. A friend pointed out that those posts are generally about lawsuits or disagreements between landowners or between a landowner and the city. What we have devoted less space to are disputes between buyers and sellers. A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling has come to the rescue.

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New L&I rule may be out of proportion to family’s grief

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Jul 25, 2014.

Progress continues in the city’s efforts to transform Department of Licenses and Inspections procedures, according to Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. The city made a commitment to its residents following the June 5, 2013, Market Street building collapse, and a new signage regulation unveiled last week is part of that initiative, he continued. For critics of L&I and, perhaps, the mayor, the new rule is fine; their questions concern the reason the city took so long to develop a regulation about signage.

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Dune look now: Public and private interests clash on Jersey shore p2

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Jun 15, 2014.

New Jersey could be losing patience with property owners in communities along its coastline. The state has asked for easements, but the property owners are balking. The easements would give the Army Corps of Engineers enough room to erect barrier dunes along the beaches, dunes that would protect homeowners and businesses during a storm like Sandy. The dunes would also block the property owners’ views of the beach, or so they argue.

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Title insurance companies marketing directly to consumers

On behalf of Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C. posted in Real Estate Law on Apr 11, 2014.

Title Insurance is an important protection for both owners and buyers in real estate transactions. Title insurance, as the name suggests, insures the policy holder against financial loss stemming from defects in title to real property. Many times these title defects are hidden to those involved in a transaction. Examples include improper legal description of the property, forged signatures, falsification of records, and title being taken by the wrong person after an improperly probated will.

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