Wisconsin Real Estate Law Questions & Answers
Q: Is it a law in WI to sell others property without a real estate license and what can be the outcome if caught?
What is the fine or jail time per occurrence? Is it a felony?
Wis. Stat. 452.17 provides the penalties for selling real estate without a license and reads as follows:
452.17 Penalties.
(1) Any person who engages in or follows the business or occupation of, or advertises or holds himself or herself out as or acts temporarily or otherwise... Read more »
Q: Can you separate ownership of house and land with deed and title documents? Is there another process?
Wisconsin lot with home.
In Wisconsin, any permanent structure on the land is included with the deed to the ground beneath it. The only exceptions I know of are mobile homes, where a separate title may be issued for the mobile home by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. It depends on whether the mobile home... Read more »
Q: Can a WI Realtor force a seller to purchase title ins for new owner? Why can’t new owner purchase their own title ins?
Are the Realtor and/or WI Title Comp supposed to inform seller with details of all closing costs? In my case, my specific closing cost questions weren’t answered.
Your obligation to provide title insurance to the Buyer comes from a standard provision in the Offer to Purchase requiring Seller to provide evidence of title to the Buyer in the form of a title insurance policy. If you were working with a listing agent I agree that it seems reasonable to expect... Read more »
Q: Can I make the village replace my driveway from years of their snowplows turning around on it.
Even after asking them to stop they still kept turning around on my driveway. I waited as long as I could, and now it's destroyed. I want to know my rights before I go and meet with them.
You may be able to seek a remedy if you are able to prove that the damage was caused almost entirely from the plows and no other use or condition. That seems like a pretty high burden of proof.
Q: Home listing -The owner is deceased and the agent says the “kids told him they have right to sell” How do we verify.
Eventually the title company will insure that the sellers have the right to sell. In the interim, you could ask if they have an order from the probate court making one of the children the personal representative of the estate.
Q: I have an easement driveway to my property, who is responsible for trimming tree branches?
The trees aren't mine or on my property. Tree branches are hanging over the driveway and brushing on vehicles entering & leaving my property.
Generally, easements indicate responsibility for maintaining the road. Arguably, tree trimming should be a part of maintaining the road an access. Check the easement language to see how maintenance responsibilities are handled.
Q: If a city gets a judgement on a Raise or Repair order,is it legal if they did not include the lein holder?
Generally, a municipality does not have to name a lien holder of a property when seeking a judgement relating to delinquencies unless they are seeking a foreclosure based on a failure to pay real estate taxes.
Q: Which WI statute protects home buyers from undisclosed issues in the condition report of their home?
The seller of my home knew of diseased trees (received a bid for multiple thousands of $$) and did not disclose them on the condition report. I'd like to read the exact real estate legislation that I'm protected by.
Take a look at Section 100.18
100.18 Fraudulent representations.
(1) No person, firm, corporation or association, or agent or employee thereof, with intent to sell, distribute, increase the consumption of or in any wise dispose of any real estate, merchandise, securities,... Read more »
Q: How do I find the text from peterson v. feyeresien? It was printed in Wisconsin Reports 203 1930.
I'm pretty sure that cases this old are not freely available online. You can access them with a subscription. Alternatively, you can visit your County Courthouse which usually maintains a library. If in Madison, you can visit the State Law Library or the University of Wisconsin Law School. In the... Read more »
Q: The Seller is trying to change contract on purchase of home when a contract was signed and offer accepted?
I signed contract and offer was accepted for 1,000 over asking price plus 4,000 closing costs. initial closing was scheduled for june 28. Now they changed the closing to july, 20th without my approval. I paid for inspection and inspector says windows need to be replaced for the loan to go through.... Read more »
It is impossible to answer a contract question without reading the contract. That being said, generally neither party may unilaterally change the terms of the offer. In the present case, if your lender will not fund the closing without the window replacement, then the terms of the contract may... Read more »
Q: We recently were going to purchase my recently passed dads home. We had it all set and 5 days before closing my
Husband changed his mind. Now the estates lawyer is coming after my husband for breach of contract. Can he do that ? Or force us to purchase
Assuming that you have no contingencies remaining in the offer that you could exercise in good faith, then a failure to close on the part of the Buyer is a default. Assuming this is a standard WI WB-11 Offer to Purchase form, if Buyer defaults, Seller may:
(1) sue for specific performance... Read more »
Q: Any legal options when a house is sold to another for much less than I offered? This was four months apart.
I made an offer on a foreclosed home in November of 2018. The bank counter offered, then I counter offered. The bank refused that offer and pulled the home off the market. I recently discovered that the home was sold in February 2019 for $20,000 less than my initial offer. I am quite upset by this... Read more »
Generally you would not have a claim against the bank unless you believe that the bank violated federal fair housing law by discriminating against you for a prohibited reason such as your age, race, religion or family status.
Q: What rights does the seller's bank have in a short sale and can they make their own terms that go outside a written cont
We just closed on a house on April 26th and the seller's bank 2 hours before closing told us we needed to pay an outstanding lien or they would walk. Our closing disclosure 3 days before never said anything about paying this additional 1874.75 fee. Can we go back to the bank to get our money back?
In a short sale the seller's bank has significant leverage. Essentially, they can dictate terms to release their lien and those terms may go beyond the agreement between the buyer and seller. Your question does not provide information on the type of lien the bank wanted satisfied or why they would... Read more »
Q: Hello I am looking for a lawyer who is familiar with real estate partitioning in Qzaukee county.
You might try the law firm of Levy & Levy - a link to their website follows: http://levyandlevy.com/index.shtml
Q: Is an email a binding contract or commitment to purchase in terms of real estate?
We wanted to purchase a small portion of an empty lot next to our house. The contractor agreed on a price with us and then nothing happened for two years. The contractor did a survey recently - not based on the portion of land we wanted to purchase. We resurrected the idea of purchasing again... Read more »
Agreements to purchase real property in Wisconsin must conform to the requirements of Section 706.02 of the Wisconsin Statutes. That section sets forth the formal requisites for a sales contract or conveyance. Section 706.02(d) requires that the agreement be signed by all parties so email messages... Read more »
Q: My landlord wants me to pay for professional carpet cleaning, despite not clarified in lease agreement. What do I do?
My landlord just sent us a letter saying that we need to have a carpets professionally cleaned before moving out. However, the lease does not mention the house needing to be professionally cleaned whatsoever. The most it mentions regarding carpets is that it should be "cleaned". And before I signed... Read more »
Both are true. Landlords cannot deduct this cost from security deposits and may seek to recover the costs through billing or an action to recover the cost.
Under Wis Admin Code ATCP 134.06(3)(c) landlords cannot withhold from a tenant's security deposit for normal "wear & tear" even if... Read more »
Q: My brother and I inherited land when our mother passed away my aunt's own a portion of said land
I asked my aunts to buy us out or were selling our portion there making things difficult although we inherited it legally , 1 aunt is saying it's private property and that we can't sell our portion .
You will need to look at the deed to determine how you took title to the land to figure out what to do next. I recommend you pay a real estate lawyer to examine it for you and then lay out your best options in this situation. If you and your brother own an interest in the property, and you hold... Read more »
Q: My lease has 2 different terms which is correct?
The front page of the lease says "for the year of Jan. 1st 2018 to December 31st 2018" in the provisions on the 2nd or 3rd page it says "both the tenant and landlord acknowledge this lease is for a minimum of one year" the lease was signed in September 2018, does that mean our lease expires in... Read more »
I have not seen your lease, but it sounds to me like someone forgot to change the dates on the front of the lease. It seems they intended the lease to run for at least one year from the date you signed it, but if that was their intent the dates are unclear. If it had said "This lease is for one... Read more »
Q: Signed 1 year lease. 3 months later property is sold to new landowner who now wants a new lease signed. Is this legal?
The new lease has many things changed.
Generally, the lease from the prior owner is assigned to the new owner. The old lease remains in force through its original term. The new landlord may seek to obtain a new lease to replace the old lease but you do not have to agree to the terms. Of course, the landlord might choose to not renew... Read more »
Q: Are there transfer fees involved when you quit claim property from an LLC to the sole owner of the LLC?
I received a letter from the state asking why a transfer fee exemption was used. I quit claimed the property myself and am not sure what they are referring to?
Generally transfers between an LLC and the sole member of the LLC are exempt from the Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Fee. Section 77.25 (15s) of the Wisconsin Statutes governs and states that the transfer fee does not apply to a conveyance ....... Between a limited liability company and one or... Read more »
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