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- Certified Specialist, Real Estate Law, The State Board of Florida Board of Legal Specialization
- Title Insurance Closings - residential and commercial
- Wills - Trusts - Estate Planning
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- Condominium Law
Real
Property Contracts
as answered in The Breeze by Attorney Sylvia E. Heldreth
as answered in The Breeze by Attorney Sylvia E. Heldreth
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My husband and I have been debating whether we want to have a real estate professional help us find our new home. He says that we don't need the extra expense. I say that there is no cost to us. He says he knows how to look for a house. I say that there are issues, such as making an offer that would be safer with a professional. Who is right?
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My husband and I would like to sell our house. We listed it with an agent who came back to us the very next day with a potential buyer who will only make an offer if we have a home appraisal done. She wants us to pay for it. She says we will need to have one done before closing anyway. Should we?
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My house needs repairs but I'd rather sell it "as is" than put the money into fixing it first. How much do I have to tell a potential buyer about the problems with the house if I make it clear that I'm selling it "as is"?
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My husband and I decided to purchase a condo at pre-construction prices. It was to be ready for move-in within five months. The builder's representative assured us that they always complete their projects on time. I began to be worried when I noticed that the contract we signed had a blank space where the completion date was supposed to be. I became very worried when I drove past the property four weeks after construction was supposed to have started and saw that nothing had been done. The builder's representative said that permits had been delayed. Now six months have gone by and they haven't broken ground yet. Can we get out of this?
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My builder wants to close on our new house but my husband and I are worried because three light fixtures are on backorder and the ceiling fan has not been installed. Also, the builder says we can't have a copy of our blueprints and that we must close next week because a Certificate of Occupancy was issued. Can we withhold money at closing in case these problems are not solved?
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My brother recently signed a purchase agreement and put a deposit on a house that my sister-in-law had not seen. She did not like the house at all when she finally did see it. Now they don't want the property. The purchase contract has a mortgage contingency that requires a written mortgage commitment. My brother never applied for the mortgage and believes that he will get his deposit back because he never received the written commitment from the bank. I think he will lose his deposit. Who is correct?
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My brother-in-law told me that he plans to make an offer on a house that my sister has not seen because she is in California visiting our parents. He knows that she may not like the house but says that he is building enough contingencies into the contract that he can "get out of it" if she is unhappy. Is getting out of a contract that easy?
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My sister lives in a northern state and she told me about her surprise in losing a house that she wanted to buy because she didn't realize what the phrase "Time is of the essence" meant. It seems she missed one deadline in her sales contract and lost the entire deal because of this. Can this happen in Florida?
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My husband and I are having a house built. We have picked out the floor plan and have even chosen the appliances and colors. Last night, our builder's Sales Associate, Robbie, gave us a monstrous contract and asked us to sign it. My husband and I are not lawyers and we have never had a house built for us before. What should we do?
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The contract that we signed for the building of our new home states that the house would be ready in six months "except in those situations caused by the unavailability of labor and /or supplies, acts of God, the Government, labor strikes, or any other cause not within the builder's control." I can't believe that any of these things have occurred but we have been waiting a year for our house. The builder has been very vague and refers frequently to labor unavailability and acts of God. Can we ask for our money back? Should I see a lawyer?
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My mother recently sold her home in New York. She was very organized about the search for her new home, including having a list of questions for the owners of each condo she saw. One of the questions was "Are the neighbors ever noisy or are there any other nuisances in the building?" She recently purchased a nice condo directly from its previous owners. Now that she has been in the condo for a month, she knows that the next door neighbors have a dog, Thunder, that barks all day. Her new neighbors across the hall told her that the previous owners complained constantly about the noise. Is there anything she can do? She wants her money back.
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My wife and I have been negotiating the sale of our house. We have used e-mail for all of our communications with our real estate agent and the potential buyers and the potential buyers have been doing the same. It just occurred to me that there might be legal implications to making and accepting offers via e-mail. Are there?
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My husband and I disagree about just how much honesty is the best policy when we list our condo for sale. I think we need to disclose EVERYTHING, from the fact that our garbage disposal stops dead when it's overloaded to the fact that the Condo Association has four lawsuits pending. He says that we only have to disclose property defects that may be expensive to correct.
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I am about to sell my house to a couple who, quite frankly, aren't very nice. A friend told me that they remind her of a couple who bought a house from her years ago. They were so uncooperative that they wouldn't move out for three days after the closing. It was a nightmare because she couldn't move in! What do you call people like this and how can I avoid this problem?
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I have been living in a small rental house for two years. I would like to buy it, and my good friend, Bill, the owner, would like to sell it, but my realproperty is not very good. Bill suggested that we sign a land contract. What is that and of what should we both be aware?
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I opened my business in a freestanding building several years ago. I've been paying rent ever since. My landlord mentioned that he was surprised that I had never exercised my option to purchase the building. I thought I could only do that if someone else made an offer that I could match. Or, is that a "right of first refusal? What should I do?
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My son's high school history class is doing a short section on the law. He was talking about "contracts" the other day and said that if one person agrees to sell another a home, the deal is "a done deal" because an "oral" contract has been entered into. Is he correct?
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I am trying to sell my house. A home inspector made some good suggestions about things that really should be done. What is the normal percent that the seller is responsible for under paragraph N? What is paragraph N?
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My grandfather has lived in his home for fifteen years. He has a mortgage that still has five years left. Grand Dad has lots of cash now so I suggested that he pay the mortgage off. He said it would cost him too much to do this because of prepayment penalties. Why can't someone just pay a debt if he feels like it?
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We are having a terrible time finding a buyer for our house and have reduced the price several times. We really must sell soon because my husband lost his job and we have to move. The house had been listed with an agent for six months but we let the listing expire last month. I received a call last week from someone who saw our house when the agent advertised it and had received some information from our agent. He said that he also called our previous agent last week but she explained that she no longer had the listing. He got our number from the telephone book. The potential buyer would like to see the house and sounds very positive about buying it. He mentioned the money we would both save by not paying a real estate commission. Our previous agent called us yesterday to tell us about the call from the potential buyer. She said that she had negotiated with him previously but I know his name was not on the potential buyer list that we received when the listing expired. What should we do?
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When I moved to America, I hired an architect to build my house and she hired some contractors who I didn't like. She explained that she had the authority to "contract in my name". I want to list my house for sale with a real estate agent soon but I am a little nervous about someone representing me. What if he/she consents to a sales agreement that I don't like? Can I protect myself from this when I list with a Realtor?
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I bought a house on Pine Island three months ago. Last week, I discovered that the septic tank is defective. My new neighbor told me the previous owners, who have moved to Alaska, knew the septic had a problem. I asked my real estate agent if there is anything that can be done and she said that I had "examined the property and agreed to accept it" in its condition. Is she right?
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My husband and I are on a tight budget and we are trying to purchase a house. There are so many fees that we did not consider when deciding to buy. Can we skip some of these? Do we really need a survey?
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My "Significant Other" of ten years just suggested that we buy a house together. I'm not sure if this is a wedding proposal but I'd like to understand the different legal forms that home ownership could take for us. We each have money to put toward the down payment and our realproperty is good but what am I really getting into?
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My husband and I have been renting and we would like to purchase our own home. We're confused about deposits. We looked at a development that has lots for sale and also new construction. We've also looked at individual houses in some very nice neighborhoods. The sales person at the new development said we could put down a reservation deposit that was fully refundable. The real estate broker who showed us a house we liked said that if we put down a deposit with an offer and then backed out, we'd lose our deposit. Who's right?
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I know that the real estate market is supposed to be terrific right now but my husband and I have had no luck in selling our home. It is really time for us to move into an assisted living facility. My husband met a man who is a professional investor who said that he has helped people in our situation many times before. He suggested that we let him find a buyer who could lease/purchase the house. We would have to pay the investor $3,000 which is a real savings over the fee the realtor was going to charge. I'm not sure about this.
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I am considering buying a piece of property from a man I've known for many years. I understand that he has a judgment against him because he never repaid a loan from his brother-in-law who later became his ex-brother-in-law. His brother-in-law sued him right after the divorce and won. My friend said that, despite this, there is no lien on the property and that I could easily buy it. What is the difference between a lien and a judgement?
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We listed our home with a small real estate company that was recently sold to a much larger company. Mary, the agent with whom we originally listed, is no longer there and, Lance, the new agent assigned to us insists that we reduce our asking price or find another brokerage. Isn't the new company bound by the previous listing?
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We have our house for sale and have been asked whether we would consider a "lease option". What does this mean?
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My husband and I have been renting a house for several years. The landlord, a nice man, is liquidating his assets and would like to sell us the house. He knows that our realproperty history is not good because we were very late in paying bills when my husband was ill and unable to work for several months a few years ago. We have been very prompt with our rent. He has offered to sell us the house using a "land contract." What is that?
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This information is not intended
as specific legal advice to anyone and is based upon facts that change from time to time. Individuals should seek legal counsel before acting upon any matter involving the law. |
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Miramar St., Cape Coral, FL 33904
Telephone: 239-542-8899, Facsimile: 239-542-2923 |
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