In Washington DC’s red hot real estate market, the pressure on real estate sellers to showcase their real estate has an ugly underside. Increasingly real estate owners faced with the prospect of selling real property with latent defects are attempting to circumvent the seller’s disclosure requirement in a sales contract by using an as-is clause… Read more »
DC Real Estate Due Diligence Checklist: 1. Verify address and legal description of property. Property in Washington, D.C. is designated by lot and square. 2. Determine if the state of the title of the acquisition is: fee simple, a leasehold estate, or both. a. If leasehold estate, review carefully to cover assignability, mortgage-ability, non-disturbance for… Read more »
IRA Beneficiary Trusts Many people use Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) as an investment tool when planning for retirement. Like any other asset, IRA owners have the right to name whomever they wish to be the beneficiary of the account. If you have significant assets, you might want to consider setting up a trust that is… Read more »
The Basics of Mechanic’s Lien Priority Mechanic’s lien priority functions differently than the priority of other types of liens. As is generally the case, a lien priority is typically determined by the timing of their filing. For example, the first lien filed with the Recorder of Deeds will be the first mortgage, which carries with… Read more »
If you own your home, and your mortgage company “offered” to purchase homeowner’s insurance for you, its possible that you have been a target of a sophisticated scam to profit unlawfully. “Forced placed insurance” could be a complex scheme in which banks “buy” homeowners insurance for homeowners at unreasonable rates, but gain valuable kickbacks for doing… Read more »
