Timely Contract: Recent Episodes
Timely Contract
Timely Contract matches the needs of buyers and sellers for real property, contractual, construction, or water-related legal counsel with the services of experienced real estate attorneys. Our podcast is an education channel to help buyers and sellings navigate the real estate transaction waters.
Disclaimer: Timely Contract podcasts are meant to be informative; however, Timely Contract podcasts are not legal advice. Legal advice is the result of the application of proper law to a particular set of circumstances. Whether or how the law applies to a particular factual situation is a legal question that cannot be answered by a Timely Contract podcast. In addition, Timely Contract podcasts sometimes differ from their written transcript. Listeners and readers should not rely on a Timely Contract podcast, or a transcript of a Timely Contract podcast, as legal advice. Listeners should seek legal counsel and get a true legal opinion before taking actions regarding real property.
Podcast Episode by Art Macomber
Art Macomber spells out how TimelyContract.com works to provide limited scope real estate legal services.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transaction. TimelyContract.com, providing Better Information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
Podcast Episode by Greg George
Greg George talks about issues that come up with purchase and sales agreements and why you would want to have it reviewed by an attorney.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transaction. TimelyContract.com, providing Better Information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
What are the benefits to using the limited-scope legal service provider Timely Contract? Art Macomber highlights the situations where a limited-scope legal service is most beneficial.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transaction. TimelyContract.com, providing Better Information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
What is a tenancy in common agreement and how do they protect your ownership interest in a piece of property?
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit Timely Contract dot com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transaction. Timely Contract dot com, providing Better Information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
In this podcast, Greg is going to discuss some aspects about title insurance, what it covers, what it doesn't cover, what it's all about. Because in my law practice, I frequently see issues come about where people are asking me about it. Be it an easement, or restrictive covenant or some other type of document that affects the title to or the use of their property.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transaction. TimelyContract.com, providing Better Information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
Hi, I’m Shawn, an attorney with Macomber Law in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I serve clients who have real property issues in Washington, Idaho and Montana. Today we’re talking about the risks of having more than one person on title to real property.
Most of us were taught that nice friends share with their friends. (Thanks Mom!) Mom chastised us for taking the doll or the toy sword away from our playmates, and immediately gave the toy back to the playmate in question. This brought us to tears. Now that we are adults, some of us carry that lesson over into the world of real property, thinking that sharing ownership in a piece of real estate with friends or family (or combination thereof) would not only be fun but also would be a nice way to share our mutual good fortune and vacation home.
It is not. Your mom was wrong (but probably only on this point).
In fact, without understanding the different ways to own real property with other people, and the legal rights of all the owners to that real property, sharing can “only lead to tears.” And very probably big lawyer bills. Merely knowing the legal rights and responsibilities you undertake as a co-owner of real property will not shield you from tears. Instead, you would be wise either to run away from the proposal to buy that piece of property with friends (screaming is optional) or treat the proposition as a business dealing from the outset, setting down the rights and responsibilities of each of the co-owners in a written document that a court could enforce.
You think I’m just fishing for more legal cases? Not so. The caseload of good real estate lawyers overflows with untangling former friends from this sticky situation. The sad solution frequently resolves itself after many tears, months and possibly years of litigation, and irrevocably broken relationships. Here are the facts.
Whether you’re in Bonner County, Ferry County, Kootenai County or Lake County, the law generally provides two ways to own real property in common: joint tenancies with the right of survivorship or tenancies in common. “Joint tenants” usually describes how the title to real estate is vested in spouses buying property. The instrument conveying the real property (usually a deed) may state that the recipients take title as “joint tenants.”
For example, say that Uncle Bob conveys his lake cabin property to his favorite niece Sue and her husband George as “joint tenants.” Sue and George will own the property equally. Each will hold title to 100% of the interests in the real estate. This is not a 50-50 split. The law generally understands that “with right of survivorship” applies to these situations. The legal term “With right of survivorship” means that when one spouse dies, 100% of the interests in the title to the lake cabin property automatically will vest in the surviving spouse.
The stickier situation arises when two or more people buy land together, whether as a vacation refuge or an investment. In this case, the conveying deed may not specify how the co-owners will hold title to the property. When this happens, the law generally views the new owners as “tenants in common.” When people hold property as tenants in common, each owner has the right to use and possess the entire property as long as one co-tenant’s use does not exclude any of the other co-tenants.
This means that, when Dick and Jane and Lily and Logan by one parcel of bare land together and Lily builds a house on that bare land, ALL four tenants in common have the EQUAL right to use that house even if they didn’t pay for it. Lily may get so tired of Dick, Jane, and Logan using her house without her permission that she wants to sell it, retreating to the solitary life of an RV-dwelling vagabond. However Lily may not be able to do that if a lender financed the property’s purchase. In that situation, the deed of trust or the promissory note may contain a “due on sale” clause. If the bank finds out that Lily sold her interests, it could require Dick, Jane, Lily, and Logan immediately to repay the entire amount of that loan. Without a written agreement between the four owners, nothing prevent Lily from transferring her interests to a complete stranger, instead of to her other three cotenants.
Logan could decide to rent out the property to weekend campers, or log the entire property, without asking permission of Dick, Jane, or Lily. As tenants in common, the remaining three generally have no legal way to prevent Logan from doing so. The best that Dick, Jane, and Lily may hope for is that Logan give them an accounting of how much he made by renting out the property or selling the timber.
The law usually requires tenants in common to share the maintenance expenses of property they own. Dick may decide on his own, without talking to Jane, Lily, or Logan to “improve the property” by digging a well or paving the road. He does so at his own risk: the law generally will not require cotenants to reimburse a fellow tenant in common who did not first get the others’ consent to incurring maintenance costs. This could hold true even when Dick, Jane, Lily, and Logan, before they bought the property, agreed in writing on the terms and conditions governing how they planned to maintain and use the property. (You can blame an entirely different legal doctrine called “merger,” for this. Merger may be discussed in a future podcast.)
As a tenant in common, each may have the right to use the commonly held property as collateral for a loan solely benefiting that tenant. For example, the law may allow Jane to borrow against her interest in the property to buy a new home in a different location, without notifying Dick, Lily, and Logan in advance. If that happens, and Jane defaults on the loan, the lender may be legally allowed to sell the entire property to recoup the debt. Dick, Lily, and Logan each likely would receive an equal share of the net sales proceeds.
When tenants in common like Dick, Jane, Lily and Logan die, the property does not automatically pass to the remaining co-tenants. Instead, it passes to the heirs of the dead co-tenant. Their surviving co-tenants have no choice in who replaces the deceased owner.
Despite each tenant in common’s right to use the entire property as though only he or she owned it, the law generally requires tenants in common to maintain a trusting, honest relationship with each other. This can cause tensions to rise quickly and the relationships to become increasingly complex. If Dick is excluding another tenant from using the property, sometimes the only recourse available either is to sue Dick to quiet the title to the property, or file a partition lawsuit. In a partition matter, any tenant in common asks the court either to split up the actual real estate between the co-tenants or to sell the entire parcel and split the net proceeds between the tenants in common.
Your takeaway: do NOT follow mom’s advice and own real property with several other people. If you are tempted to do so, obtain legal advice from a competent real property attorney before you sign any documents. Ensure that the deed conveying the property passes legal muster BEFORE depositing that earnest money. And as always when dealing with real property rights, remember to CYA: call your attorney!
The first question is, when should I not be using timely contract when I think it would be the perfect service? And the second question is, when should I be using the timely contract service?
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transitions. Timely Contract, providing better information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
Show Transcript:
Hi, I’m Shawn, an attorney with Macomber Law in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I serve clients who have real property issues in Washington, Idaho and Montana. Today we’re talking about road ownership.
Let’s say a road no one uses is next to your property. And let’s say you think to yourself, “If only I could use that road, I could build a shop there and get all my tools/plants out of the garage/dining room. Nobody else ever uses it and it’s not even paved.” Tempting as it might be to build the shop on that lonely road, first find the answers to some basic questions: Like, is this really a road, or could it be something else? If it is a road, is it a private road (for example, owned by a subdivision or a private road association)? Or is it a public road (dedicated to or claimed by a city, a county, or a highway district)? If someone else – whether a private entity or governmental entity – has a right to claim the road, what steps can you take to legally claim the road for yourself? How can you avoid risking the local governmental code enforcement officer requiring you to tear down your brand-new shop? And who pays for all this anyway?
To find out whether the road is private or public, consider consulting your title report. If your home is in a city, town, or subdivision, your title report might contain reference to a record of survey, a city plat, or subdivision plat. Those instruments should indicate whether the road is held privately, or dedicated to a governmental entity like a city, a county, or a highway department. Your title report may simply refer to a “right-of-way,” whether public or private. If you live in a more rural area, you may need to contact your county road and bridge department to determine whether the road in question is public or private. If you still have questions about the plat, the survey, or the information you receive from the county, a qualified land-use attorney can help you find the answers.
If a governmental entity owns the road, you may be able to negotiate obtaining the portion of the unused road with the city or county, just as you would if a private person or road association owned the road. You may want to consult with a real estate agent or an appraiser to find out how much that abandoned road is worth in the current marketplace. This will give you a starting point to negotiate a sale or trade of the road with its owner. Recognize however, a private real property owner has no obligation to even start negotiating a purchase, exchange, or donation of the road to you. In these United States of America, private property owners cannot be forced to sell their property to another person absent a court order.
On the other hand, if the road or right of way is owned by a city, county, or highway district, starting out negotiating with those entities is not usually the most effective way to realize your goal of putting that unused road to your personal use. Instead, state statute combined with city or county ordinances will dictate how you must proceed and achieve the goal of building shop. Generally, someone wanting to build on a public right-of-way must first ask the city or the county to give up the right-of-way. The legal term is “to vacate or abandon.” Most governmental entities require not only a written request or petition to vacate a road, but also that the petitioner pay the processing costs or fees.
Dedicated streets, sometimes called rights-of-way belong, not to the city or county, but to the people in the city or county. As publicly elected officials, the county commissioners or the city council have the obligation to be good stewards of publicly owned property (which includes dedicated streets or rights-of-way). To be fair not only to the petitioner but also to the other citizens they represent, the law requires that a city council or board of county commissioners hold a public hearing when presented with a petition to vacate or abandon a street. Notice of the hearing should be published in a local newspaper, posted on or near the right-of-way or street in question, and mailed to nearby neighbors.
At the hearing, the board of county commissioners or the city council are supposed to hear evidence from the petitioner, supporters, and opponents of the request to vacate the street or right-of-way, as though the board or council are judges. In fact, members of the board or counsel are required to act as judges, in a “quasi-judicial” capacity. The members may only consider information and evidence that proponents or opponents submit during that hearing. Should they do otherwise, it is likely that they violated their constitutional duties. There is a procedure, “due process,” that the board or council must follow. This can get tricky, especially in smaller counties or cities where the council or board members wear many hats and the citizens may encounter the members at the local grocery store, Little League game, or church social. If you find yourself in that situation, your right to a fair hearing on your petition to vacate the unused road could be in jeopardy. Retaining an attorney at this point may well be in your best interests.
At the public hearing, the board or council has the responsibility to decide whether there is enough evidence to support vacating or abandoning the street or right-of-way, and whether doing so is in the public interest. After the members have heard all the evidence and testimony, they are supposed to “close” the public hearing, then open a “public meeting,” where the members talk about the evidence, and decide whether to grant or deny the petition to vacate. Once the members have made that decision, the law requires that they put their decision in writing.
If the city council or board of county commissioners grants the petition, you are good to go. Congratulations! You may now proceed with building that shop. Recognize that when a publicly dedicated street or right-of-way is abandoned, the property gets split along the centerline – the boundary of each property owner on either side of the street now extends until they meet in the middle. You don’t get to take your half out of the middle. If you have the idea that your shop is going to span the entire vacated public right-of-way, you may be in for a surprise. At that point, your choice is to change your plans or buy a portion of your neighbor’s property.
On the other hand, the city council or board of county commissioners may deny your petition to vacate. Don’t despair; all is not lost. However, you may have an uphill battle, and the battlefield is the district court. It is highly recommended at this point that you NOT PROCEED WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY. Both Idaho and Montana require all parties to lawsuits to abide by the same procedural court rules, whether they have an attorney representing them or not. The legal maxim that “a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client” pertains here – to both sexes!
In short, when seeking a retreat space and desiring to build it in the middle of that abandoned road, achieving your goal can be tricky. One misstep could prevent you from achieving that goal. The path forward is fraught with rules and procedures that a non-lawyer may find too intricate to navigate solo. On the other hand, doing it the right way can be very rewarding. While it’s possible to do it on your own, the prudent person seeks guidance from an expert.
Guidance is one call or click away, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So remember if you have any questions, it’s prudent to CYA: call your attorney!
Discussing civil litigation is somewhat difficult, because no one really wants to have anything to do with it. Sometimes it is the only method for resolution of legal difficulties. In real property law, contracts, construction, and water issues, we have found some specific methods can help permanently resolve disputes at the lowest cost.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transitions. Timely Contract, providing better information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
What does “buyer beware” mean for a new resident looking to buy a home? It is up to you to look out for yourself. Especially in Montana and Idaho, the law here protects homebuyers less than in other states, both in the purchasers’ relationships with their realtors and the obligations sellers owe to buyers.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transitions. Timely Contract, providing better information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
Property owners in Idaho who benefit from easements over someone else’s property—or who have easements going over their property—can have plenty to think about when it comes to their legal rights and responsibilities. In today’s episode Greg various situations and legal options.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transitions. Timely Contract, providing better information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
For a freedom-loving people, the Inland Northwest provides dramatic opportunities to worship, raise a family, partake of the beautiful outdoors, and work neighbor-to-neighbor on the thorniest of local issues. We would not have it any other way.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com. Visit TimelyContract.com for easy, fast, and expert solutions for your real estate transitions. Timely Contract, providing better information for real estate transactions. Welcome to the new world of transactional real estate. Welcome to Timely Contract!
In this podcast, I will discuss what I tend to see in buyer representation agreements, the legal obligations created by buyer representation agreements, and the areas where I have seen disputes arise in connection with buyer representation agreements.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Brandon Slaven from Macomber Law and Timely Contract discusses the important of deeds in the transfer of property and the different types of deeds that are used.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Complexity of the law equals an unfair burden, especially for existing owners who may because of circumstances change a minor use in the presence of a nasty neighbor. I think the law needs to be less complex. I think ordinary people should be able to read the Codes themselves and come to a clear conclusion about what they are allowed and are not allowed to do with their own property.
Visit TimelyContract.com to learn more about how our attorneys can help with your real estate matter.
What’s a “floating easement?” This episode describes the instrument and talked about the potential issues it could entail.
Greg George with Macomber Law discusses the decision facts that should go into determining if fileing a law suit is the best course of action.
What are the challenges of HOAs when it comes to individual property rights versus the rights of the many members of the association. Which trumps what, the rights of the individual or the rights of the many?
A client approached us with a question on access easement. Art discusses the options around a stated access easement agreement.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
What happens to your business if the governor shuts down your operation because of a national pandemic?
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Greg discusses property boundary issues and ways these disputes can be addressed.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Art discusses commercial contracts and the process for review and issues that can impact an agreement. Example: Art discusses how the corona virus is impacting contract lease agreements.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Has the pandemic created a challenge to meet with a real estate attorney to discuss and issue? Macomber Law has become a licensee of TimelyContract.com and now provides full service legal solutions via the internet.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Discuss the purchase and sale agreement for real estate, the things you have to have in the agreement, and important things you need to know before going into an agreement.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
People understand that if they own property, they have certain property rights, but there are restrictions on property use and this can impact property value. You may think you have the right to do something on your property, but then comes a neighbor, and HOA, or a host of other entities that limit your property use.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
What is involved int he litigation process and what are the potential ramifications. Art Macomber presents information about the litigation preparation that goes into a case and some strategies for best preparing for the case. Also what you should do to prepare for litigation.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Greg will discuss today why recording public documents are very critical and share a story about a case where an unrecorded document made a real estate transaction very difficult.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Attorneys are required to keep your secrets. Confidentiality rules say your attorney can not tell anyone anything you share with them without your express permission. Art Macomber presents the benefits of having an attorney relationship set up for your real estate matters.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
Art discusses issues property owners face with real estate lot consolidation and some of the things you must consider.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
So many people buy real estate without having their contract reviewed; taking a risk on the most expensive purchase of a person's life. Contractual terms can impact resale value and even limit use…In this episode, Art shares some stories on how a simple contract review saved money and time.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
A house built back in 1978 had a fence that followed the section line perfectly, but at a point, the fence meandered and took 3 or 4 acres from the property owner. During a suit, Art helped the property owners resolve the case by performing the basic research that had not been done upfront. This podcast highlights the importance of understanding boundary law.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.
A Vague Deed can create unforeseen legal expenses and complicate the estate transfer process. Art Macomber shares a couple of stories of families who struggled with an estate transfer because of a Vague Deed.
This podcast is sponsored by TimelyContract.com, Real Estate Property Lawyers providing Better Information for Real Estate Transactions. Visit www.timelycontract.com to learn more about the transactional real estate legal services offered through Timely Contract and their network of online experienced real estate attorneys.