Get free answers to your Real Estate Law legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I am a widow, and I own a house in Michigan that I intended to flip. My husband, who is now deceased, added his daughter to the deed solely for cheaper insurance purposes. I am also on the deed, and I am the sole person on the mortgage. My stepdaughter believes the house is hers and is living... View More 
answered on Mar 13, 2025
Partition or partition sale is the name of the legal action to be instituted. However, I don't understand the state of title. Did you and your husband own the property as husband and wife? Did both of you sign the deed to add his daughter to the title? If you both owned it and only he... View More
I have an issue with the city water municipal foreman in my town. I was charged $1,500 for my water bill, which later increased to $3,000 in six months without a clear explanation. Despite having the water shut off when the bill was $1,500 and receiving help from an agency to pay it off completely,... View More
answered on Mar 8, 2025
What 'town' is this? Are the payments made actually credited, and/or was there some sort of water leak or other situation that might have led to such a high bill before being shut off entirely? WERE any payments made?
Understand that municipal water supplies are empowered to... View More
My brother passed away in December 2024, and I am the personal representative for his estate in Michigan. His wife passed away in 2013. They lived in a home purchased during their marriage, but only his late wife’s name was on the deed. My brother never had the property transferred to his name.... View More
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answered on Mar 7, 2025
The Will devise is your source of title. When you are able to sell it during the Probate process, then your Deed will have the devise to you as the derivation of title in the legal description. It should specifically cite the will book, page number and docket number of the Court where it was... View More
I am the personal representative of my brother's estate in Michigan. He purchased a home with his late wife in 2008, who passed away in 2013. The deed is currently under his late wife's name with "estate" noted after it. My brother never had the deed changed to his name. His... View More
answered on Mar 8, 2025
You will need to provide the probate attorney with a copy of the deed. If the language on the deed is drafted properly, then the property interest may not need to be probated. Deeds contain language that has far-reaching consequences, so that is where most attorneys would start, by reviewing the... View More
I purchased my home in Michigan 3 years ago, and there is a utility pole 16 feet onto my property from the end of the public right-of-way. The utility company refuses to relocate the pole, citing its presence before my purchase and an old court precedent. I have contacted the Michigan attorney... View More
answered on Mar 8, 2025
Your attorney will need to review the easement rights of the utility company further. The easement language will control. If this pole was placed there without permission and it is on your property, then you may have to file an action with the court to have it removed.
My mortgage servicer foreclosed on my property in Michigan after receiving a full payoff check from my insurance company for a total loss due to a fire on January 16, 2023. The insurance check was issued on August 4, 2023, but the servicer did not inform me of it and continued to provide monthly... View More
answered on Mar 2, 2025
Something does not sound correct. If the mortgage was paid off from the insurance company, the servicer should not continue with the foreclosure. It would need to be canceled. An experienced real estate attorney should review the documents and former loan payoff to be certain. Good luck.
I am part of a homeowners association for a subdivision with private streets, and we're facing issues with property owners blocking a 33-foot street that is meant for all residents to use. Despite new signs indicating these are community streets, some landowners are preventing access by... View More
answered on Mar 1, 2025
We would need to see the earlier court decision to determine if the homeowners are in violation of the court order. If so, then, if the settlement agreement allows for the court to reopen the matter, an attorney would be able to go back to the earlier court to review the settlement and ask the... View More
If a husband and wife in Michigan jointly own a house and one spouse passes away, what happens if the surviving spouse has enough income to cover the mortgage payments but cannot qualify for the existing mortgage due to loss of income? The mortgage is in both names, there is a little life... View More
answered on Feb 28, 2025
If the couple is jointly on the mortgage, the surviving spouse should continue making the payments under the mortgage agreement. Nothing should change based upon the fact pattern as presented. However, if household income has decreased since the death of a spouse, consider a mortgage modification... View More
I am the authorized representative of an estate dealing with a co-op that is refusing to respond to my request for equity redemption. Despite multiple communications, including a registered letter sent in September 2024, the co-op continues to stonewall me and is charging carrying charges that seem... View More
I received a refund check for an escrow overage from my mortgage company in August of last year. This was issued before they paid our taxes, leading to a negative balance in the escrow account. Now, they are increasing our monthly payments by over $1500 to cover a $10,000 shortage. We didn't... View More
answered on Feb 27, 2025
Who is 'responsible'?
That depends. Is the accounting accurate and did you receive the money refunded?
Then YOU as the property owner are ultimately 'responsible' to pay the taxes.
Unless the company misapplied the funds or didn't actually refund... View More
I sold a vehicle in Michigan, and it has been between one to two years since the sale. There was no formal bill of sale completed, and the buyer has never registered the vehicle title with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State's office informed me that I am still the titleholder and... View More
I bought a house from a friend through a verbal agreement and paid him $18,000. He was supposed to pay the back taxes, but he didn't fulfill this obligation, and now I'm at risk of losing the house due to unpaid taxes. I also discovered that he didn't own the property nor was it in... View More
answered on Feb 19, 2025
If the conveyance was by a warranty deed, the seller breached one or more warranties and you could sue to enforce the warranties. There may be a claim for breach of contract as well.
The criminal matter should be referred to the police. You could sue him based upon the threats of arson... View More
My husband purchased 10 acres in 2020 and my son was put on the quit Claim deed to protect me, as I could not be put on it living in another state and on disability. My son passed away in September 2024 of ALS. He was married Aug 2023 and now she says half the 10 acres are hers. My husband has... View More
answered on Feb 5, 2025
I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your son, and the mess that this is creating. HOWEVER, without seeing the deed it is impossible to know. This all depends on HOW your son was 'put on the deed'. Was it 'joint owners with full rights of survivorship'? Joint Tenants? Tenants... View More
I may be joining a class action suit against mfrs. due to links between this material and ulcerative colitis but don’t want to jeopardize selling my home down the road.
answered on Feb 3, 2025
Michigan law requires disclosure of all 'relevant' information, and indeed, the 'sellers disclosure statement' talks about water tests for private wells and septic systems and requires disclosure. If you report 'no tests' then the buyer can (and should and if they are... View More
answered on Feb 2, 2025
What is your question?
Your disability status is not relevant but HOW the neighbor is ‘killing trees’ is.
But neither of those things is a question.
What do you want to know?
answered on Jan 31, 2025
Under Michigan law, a will does not have to be notarized. See MCL 700.2502 for the requirements. It is reprinted below. Having a valid will is the first requirement. You will also need to have the will probated.
700.2502 Execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills.
Sec. 2502.... View More
I am under contract to purchase a rental property currently in the process of receiving a rental liceance from the city. My purchase agreement stipulates that the rental liceance must be granted before the deal is closed. During pre-purchase inspection, several major structural and health issues... View More
answered on Jan 29, 2025
The purchase agreement that requires the rental license to be granted before closing should also already include a clause for notifying the seller of inspection results and of your satisfaction with said results. If serious issues are found, the seller must either fix them or release the buyer from... View More
The land contract my grandparents had on the property was not registered and they did not have the title to pass it on. The attorney hired to fix the bad title reported my father as the heir to my grandparents' estate but they had named their grandchildren the heirs next in line to their... View More
answered on Jan 24, 2025
This depends on several things including the order of the deaths and whether or not your mother or grandparents had wills.
Without seeing all of the documentation I’d just be guessing and that wouldn’t help. You should take ALL the documentation to a local estate and real estate... View More
Ex girlfriend and I bought a trailer 6 years ago. Both of our names are on the title and the mortgage. She agreed to refinance when it became eligible, 4 years ago. She did not. She has been late on payments (but within the grace period) for a while but recently let the account go 29 days past due.... View More
answered on Jan 19, 2025
This is a contract issue as this relates to a "trailer" and therefore does not come under real estate law. A trailer is not real property and you do not specifiy if the property on which the trailer sits, is yours. Therefore a 'partition action" may not the proper legal... View More
answered on Dec 21, 2024
I’m sorry to hear of your loss. But the answer is unclear without more details.
Was step father the sole owner of the property?
Was there a will or trust or ‘ladybird deed’?
Are there other heirs?
Paying the mortgage and/or taxes doesn’t impact things much... View More
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