My wife and I own a home together in Orange County NY. Many years back, my wife under duress wrote a letter stating that upon the sale of our home, her mother would receive 1/3 of the profit from said sale. Is this letter legal. It was written as an email and only signed by my wife. The document... View More 
answered on Oct 20, 2023
To be enforceable a promise to do something must be supported by a corresponding promise by the other party (e.g. I promise to do A if you promise to do B)--this is often referred to as consideration. So it is unclear whether the promise to pay an amount of money to your wife's mother is... View More
I, along with my partner who is also 68 and suffers from advanced Alzheimer's Disease, resides in the home of the decedent whose house is in reverse mortgage. The deceased has six other siblings, three deceased. The house value is close to the outstanding balance on the reverse mortgage. I... View More
answered on Oct 19, 2023
A proceeding will need to be commenced in Surrogate's Court.
Ja k
I purchased a property under an llc. Unbeknownst to me the deed was fraudulent. I signed the deed back to the real owner. I did some repairs until I found out the deed was fraudulent. The real owner is now suing my llc and me personally for treble damages done to the property. Can they go after me... View More
answered on Oct 19, 2023
There are circumstances in which the owner of an LLC could have personal liability... particularly if it is alleged there was fraud. If you have been sued, you should immediately retain legal counsel as there are time limits to responding to litigation or a default judgment may be taken against... View More
I attempted a civil lawsuit but the Court dismissed it saying the Court lacks subject matter Jurisdiction to hear an action and I must use mandatory arbitration.
answered on Oct 17, 2023
It looks like your remedies are governed by a mandatory arbitration clause. The organization named in the by-laws should have information in terms of filing fees, paperwork, etc. Large arbitration organizations, such as the American Arbitration Association, have online resources. Good luck
My mother entered a contract to purchase a home. In the document she signed, it states very plainly that closing must be on or before September 22, 2023. My mother was told possession would occur at closing.
The owner of the property was not ready to close on or before September 22nd,... View More
answered on Oct 15, 2023
Your mother should have had an attorney since the contract likely required that closing be on or about September 22, 2023, and if the Seller could not do so, the Purchaser, your mother, had to make a TOE demand to force a closing. But as matters developed, your mother likely breached the contract.... View More
I live in New York, and I can't start building in P.R, until I'm able to claim 1/4 of the property that belongs to my grandmother's cousin. Last, I know that cousin passed away in 1999.
answered on Oct 11, 2023
I suggest that you look for a lawyer licensed in Puerto Rico and New York. Inheritance law as well as property law is local.
I have a class e felony conviction in the state of Ohio from 15 years ago. The judge ordered a restoration of all rights, and sealed/expunged my record after serving probation. I want to obtain my NYS Real Estate license, and it is an automatic disqualification if convicted of a felony, but do I... View More
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answered on Nov 4, 2023
When applying for a New York State Real Estate License, you are required to disclose all prior convictions, even if they have been sealed or expunged.
New York State does not recognize the expungement or sealing of convictions from other states in the same way. It's important to... View More
I was interested in a house that came on the market for $230K. After viewing, I made an offer. A few days went by and my agent said the seller had a better offer, so I offered more than the alleged other buyer offered. Again, I was contacted and told the other buyer had topped my offer. I again had... View More
answered on Oct 6, 2023
Off hand, I am unaware of a specific prohibition of such unethical conduct. If one obtains proof or a pattern of this conduct unique to that agent, then complaint may be filed with the NYS Dept. of State which licenses real estate brokers and agents and they may investigate. However, a hunch is... View More
Another party and I drafted a simple sublease agreement for commercial office space. We reviewed all terms and made adjustments. We signed the document and the other party is now wanting to amend terms after sharing it with their attorney. Am I obligated?
answered on Oct 3, 2023
Since the sublease is signed by you and the tenant, that is a done deal. How you deal with the new demand is a business decision. Happy subtenant or unhappy subtenant? A subtenant who walks away? Your subtenant has an attorney. You should as well.
There's a certain ex president that is being tried on fraud about lying about the square footage of their comercial realestate. but Louis Rossman exposed this SOME time ago that you can go anywhere on loopnet and show that commercial realestate listings and they lie about it all the time.... View More
As caretaker for over twenty years living in in a NYC home in reverse mortgage, my client died recently. Because the three siblings stopped access to detailed information from the doctor's during my former client's dying days, I refuse to cooperate with them. Can they forcefully access... View More
It's paid for and I pay the taxes.. Please advise, in detail. Thank you.
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answered on Sep 22, 2023
In most cases in New York City, if you own a house, you also own the land it's on, known as "fee simple" ownership. However, there are exceptions, like land leases in some co-op buildings, where you might not own the land. If you're paying property taxes and have a standard... View More
When my mother died in 2019, I unwittingly inherited a $100K Wells Fargo home equity loan from 2011 that it's my understanding was never paid back, either by her or by my late father. She had been claiming to pay off the loan using my SSI funds, and only in 2022 did I find out that was not... View More
answered on Sep 19, 2023
While an estate can owe funds for debt of a decedent which can be deducted from the distribution of their assets, you would not be liable on a loan you did not sign (in other words, you cannot “inherit” a loan). You can, however, inherit real estate and that real estate may be encumbered by a... View More
Hi,
My father recently passed away. About 5 years ago my father told me that he recorded a new deed for his house. The new deed transferred ownership from him, to him and me, with joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. We found the original deed in his house, it was completed and... View More
answered on Sep 19, 2023
An unrecorded deed is still valid and should be recorded asap, as NYS is a "race" state meaning of two valid deeds, the first filed has priority even if the other was more recent. Upon the death of one joint tenant, the survivor automatically obtains full ownership. Also, although there... View More
The girls or broker that did her loan got let go and apparently they the mortgage company are coming after us after numerous phone calls to them they didn’t know nothing
answered on Sep 5, 2023
Dear Queens Property Owner:
There are many forms of commercial leases available for use by property owners who choose to avoid using a lawyer (and that is never recommended). Some notions in law may stand in the way of a lease forfeiture without a right to cure in the event of a declared... View More
Our original condo Offering is missing 2 pages - which detail duties of Officers of the HOA. None of the owners, managing agent, local realtors attorneys used in closings have these missing two pages. We want to simplify the process by developing our own by-laws,. We want to do so without the... View More
answered on Sep 1, 2023
Dear Clifton Park Condo Owner:
I suggest you research NY model forms of Condominium Bylaws. I doubt anyone will suggest that it is agood idea to do an amendment of Bylaws without an attorney since this may require the approval of the Attorney General.
I was charged for the outside lawyer to represent me at the closing.
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answered on Aug 31, 2023
If your lawyer hired another lawyer to represent you at a real estate closing without your permission and you were charged for their services, it's important to consider the legality and appropriateness of this situation. In many cases, lawyers are expected to obtain their clients'... View More
As the sale date nears i have not heard from them about my payment. Can i make them honor the contract?
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answered on Aug 27, 2023
Yes, you can. Your first option is to serve them a Time of the Essence ("TOE") notice, which gives them the 30 days to close. Your next option, is to sue them for specific performance which would force them to close per the terms of the contract.
While under COVID-19-Related Hardship Foreclosure Protection (from 3/25/2021-9/20/2021) which my mortgage company extended to me upon my written request after filing the COVID-19 Hardship Form, their attorneys filed Notice of Motion and Motion for Termination of the Automatic Stay. I was not fully... View More
answered on Aug 25, 2023
Based upon the facts you've presented, it doesn't sound as if any fraud was committed - though I do sympathize with your frustration.
In just about any case, non-payment of your mortgage is grounds for termination of the Automatic Stay in a Bankruptcy Case. The COVID-19 Hardship... View More
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