Homeowners Insurance is not limited to fires, fallen trees, and general mayhem. When a homeowner is sued by a neighbor, the homeowner should routinely ‘tender’ the claim to the carrier (present the lawsuit to the insurance company, asking the insurer to provide your defense in the lawsuit). The question then…
A creditor who is awarded a money judgment in California must still collect the money that they are owed. The two most common steps they take are to garnish wages (if possible) and to record an ‘abstract of judgment’ in any county where the debtor owns real estate. The abstract…
Figure this – you are in the process of buying a commercial real property and you see service vehicles (such as FedEx, UPS, and other companies) from the neighboring business crossing over the property to access their business, and some of the other property employees parking in the soon-to-be your…
When a California real estate agent lists a property for sale with his broker, it is not unusual for another agent from the same brokerage to assist the buyer. When the same broker represents both parties in the transaction, that broker is a “dual agent,” and owes fiduciary duties to…
In less urban areas, property boundary lines and their corner markers are often lost. Trees fall or are logged, slopes give way, streams erode banks, and all of nature conspires to make marks on the ground disappear. California real estate disputes often hinge on locating a property line on the…
Let’s get this out of the way – the only essential terms for a real estate sale contract are the identities of the buyer and seller, the property in question, and the purchase price. Essentially, that is the law in California. Of course, the courts have found ways around the…
California commercial leases often include options for renewal of the lease beyond the initial term. Option terms can provide the duration of the renewal, and describe the future rent, or provide a mechanism for calculating the rent to be paid. But, frequently commercial lease attorneys encounter leases that are not…
Sometimes possible real estate buyers do want to close the deal unless they can obtain certain benefits, such as a zoning change, or lot split. To lock up the property and make their investment worthwhile, they enter an option contract. An option is a unilateral contract under which a property…
A condition in a contract is a fact, the happening or nonhappening of which creates or extinguishes a duty on the part of the promisor. If the promisor makes an absolute or unconditional promise, he must perform when the time arrives. But if the promisor makes a conditional promise, he…
I have written in the past about Sham Guaranties – this is a guaranty of a loan where the guarantor has such a close identity with the borrower that they are in effect providing a guaranty of their own loan. Such a sham guaranty is not enforceable. A typical scenario…