Showing posts with label Real Estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Estate. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Charlottesville Attorney: Real estate contract did not bind 'buyer's agent'
A real estate buyer who faced a seller’s suit for damages when he failed to close on the deal cannot sue the agent on the contract on a third-party claim alleging she also represented the buyer.
Richard E. Peterson Jr. signed a contract to buy property. He said the sales contract that included his realtor’s signature also served as a written agency agreement between him and his realtor Glenda von Dameck, her broker Louise Y. Baker, and their employer, Long & Foster Real Estate Inc.
In an agency disclosure on the first page of the pre-printed sales contract, von Dameck and Long & Foster were identified as Peterson’s agents, in their respective capacities as “Selling Agent” and “Selling Firm.”
Toward the end of the contract, it appeared von Dameck signed her name to the contract on a line provided for insertion of the name of the “Selling Firm/Agent.” Baker’s name does not appear in the sales contract.
The defednants claimed the sales contract was not a written agency agreement but simply disclosed the existence of an earlier oral agency agreement they had with Peterson.
The Montgomery County Circuit Court entered judgment for the real estate professionals and the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld that decision in an unpublished order released April 13.
Mere disclosure of the earlier agency relationship in the sales contract, along with von Dameck’s signature indicating she was the selling agent, did not render the contract between the buyer and seller a written agency agreement between the purchaser and his real estate agents, according to the Supreme Court’s unanimous five-page order in Peterson v. Baker.
The sales contract was a written agreement between only two parties, Peterson and the seller, the high court said.
Interesting article. Please contact us if you need legal advice.
Tucker Griffin Barnes P.C.
Charlottesville (434-973-7474)
Lake Monticello (434-589-3636)
TGBLaw.com
Inquire@TGBLaw.com
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Lender's mistake leads to homeowner horror
Reprint of interesting article from Virginia Lawyers Weekly:
Couple unable to stop auction; bank purchases home to remedy situation
By James Heffernan-jheffernan@nvdaily.com
Roy and Stephanie Mitchell were notified last Friday that the house they purchased this past summer was to be sold at auction Tuesday, despite the fact that they hadn't missed a payment.
Mrs. Mitchell said the former owners defaulted on the property, which the couple purchased in July. They have a copy of the deed, she said, as well as a report showing that the bank received its money from the sale.
"We can't understand it," she said. "We thought we did everything we were supposed to do."
The property, at 8049 Main St., is the Mitchell's first home.
"We wanted to live in this area," said Mrs. Mitchell, a former Northern Virginia resident who moved to Winchester nine years ago. "We waited for the right opportunity, and we were in a bidding war for the house. There were a lot of hoops we had to jump through."
The Mitchells and their real estate agent, Barbara Bailey of Holler Realty in Woodstock, believe the dispute over the title dates to when the bank foreclosed on the property.
They say the lender, Deutsche Bank Group, either lost or never filed the second of two required mailings involved in the transaction.
"We were told that because the trustee's notice they filed was in question, our deed was in question," Mrs. Mitchell said. "The bank didn't see our deed in their records, so they went forward with the auction."
Prior to the proceedings Tuesday outside the Winchester-Frederick County Joint Judicial Center, auctioneer Todd Fisher informed the Mitchells that the sale could not be stopped, and that the only way to remedy the situation was for the bank to buy back the property and issue a confirmatory deed.
The bank did in fact reacquire the property and has promised to make things right, according to Bailey, though it may take two to three months for the couple to receive the corrected title.
"They have said, 'Trust us. This will not hurt you. We will give you a deed, and everything will be the same,'" Mrs. Mitchell said.
For first-time homebuyers like the Mitchells, that's a leap of faith, according to Bailey.
"Until you have that deed in hand, there will always be that fear," she said.
The negligence that led to the Mitchells' nightmare is becoming more common as banks across the nation deal with a glut of foreclosures. State attorneys general are calling for an investigation into whether the mortgage industry has been rubber-stamping foreclosure paperwork to boost business.
Last week, Bank of America became the first bank to stop seizing foreclosed homes in all 50 states while the claims are sorted out. PNC Financial Services, GMAC Mortgage and JPMorgan Chase have announced similar moves in at least some states.
"These big banks are running roughshod," Mrs. Mitchell said. "What if we hadn't been notified [about the auction]? Someone would have bought our house, shown up on the doorstep and said we need to move out.
"This could happen to anyone," she added.
Please contact us (Charlottesville Attorneys) if you need legal assistance.
Tucker Griffin Barnes P.C.
Charlottesville, VA
434-973-7474
Inquire@TGBlaw.com
www.TGBLaw.com
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Virginia to join foreclosure investigation
Article is an interesting reprint from the Virginia Lawyers Weekly:
Published: October 12, 2010
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has joined 48 other state attorneys general in a multi-jurisdiction investigation of bank paperwork errors that have led banks and processing firms to suspend foreclosures across the country.
At issue is whether employees at banks and foreclosure processing firms signed court documents that had unverified or false information in an attempt to speed up the process. Cuccinelli said the joint investigation will review the practice of so-called “robo-signing” within the mortgage service industry.
“Obviously this issue affects people’s homes as well as the economy,” Cuccinelli said in a news release Wednesday. “This probe will be thorough, expeditious, and fair to both homeowners and lenders.”
Confirming Virginia’s planned participation in the investigation in Roanoke Tuesday, Cuccinelli suggested his was not a targeted investigation. “There are no accusations, no nothing yet,” he said. It’s just an investigation.”
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is heading up the bipartisan multistate group that will undertake a coordinated probe of potentially flawed foreclosures nationwide. Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Miller, said Bank of America’s decision last week to temporarily halt foreclosures nationwide showed that the industry needed to slow down.
Alabama is the only state not to join the investigation group.
Richmond lawyer Henry McLaughlin III, whose practice is devoted to foreclosure prevention, was happy to turn away some potential clients on Oct. 8 after BOA announced it was halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states.
“I have talked to a number of very happy clients who had called me about pending foreclosures” by BOA, he said. McLaughlin told several people who had consulted him that they might not need him just yet, or maybe ever, if they were facing a BOA foreclosure. His own pending cases against BOA are claims for damages, not efforts to halt foreclosures.
“I don’t think this is overall a good thing. I do think there are problems” with paperwork, and not just with BOA. McLaughlin applauds the Virginia attorney general’s interest in joining the multi-state investigation. “There’s more to be discerned about this,” he said.
JPMorgan Chase and GMAC also have halted foreclosures in the 23 states where courts review foreclosure cases. According to news reports, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said it would halt sales of foreclosed homes for a month as it reviewed documents. On Friday, Houston-based Litton Loan Servicing LP, owned by Goldman Sachs, agreed to also halt some foreclosures.
“The mortgage industry is getting the message that this is serious, it’s wrong, and we will stop it,” Miller said in a prepared statement.
Miller said the group’s scope could expand. He said submitting foreclosure documents without verification, or with false representation, as well as signing some legal documents without notarization might violate state laws and court rules.
“These are starting points, and it’s possible this group may limit, expand or change its objectives,” Miller said. “What’s important here is this is a cooperative and coordinated effort by states to address a serious problem. This is not simply about a glitch in paperwork. It’s also about some companies violating the law and many people losing their homes.”
In some states, including Virginia, lenders can foreclose quickly on mortgage borrowers who are delinquent. No judicial action is required. Other states — including Ohio, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Illinois — use a lengthy court process for foreclosures. They require documents to verify the accuracy of the loan information including who owns the mortgage.
In what has become known as “robo-signing,” some employees have admitted under oath to signing thousands of affidavits and documents without fully reading or understanding them. The affidavits verify the accuracy of the loan information, including who owns the mortgage. The practice has sparked action from officials who are concerned people have lost their homes to sloppy paperwork.
Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, said Maryland would be part of the multi-state group to make sure the state’s residents have not been affected by the practice.
“We don’t know if there is robo-signing going on in Maryland, but there might be,” Guillory said. “Halting these foreclosures will give the banks time to figure it out.”
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper launched an inquiry and sent letters to 14 lenders, including Charlotte-based Bank of America, asking the companies to suspend foreclosures in North Carolina until they can show that their affidavit procedures have been reviewed and are in compliance with the law.
“If mortgage companies are using potentially unlawful practices to push through foreclosures in North Carolina, that needs to stop,” Cooper said in a prepared statement. “Foreclosures have to happen when people don’t pay, but homeowners deserve a fair shot at keeping their homes when possible.”
Some though are concerned a widespread moratorium could have a negative impact on the economy.
White House adviser David Axelrod said Sunday the administration is pressing lenders to accelerate their reviews of foreclosures to determine which ones have flawed documentation. Axelrod said flawed paperwork was hurting the nation’s housing market as well as lending institutions, but said there are valid foreclosures that probably should go forward because there were not problems with the documents.
Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc., agreed that it was easy to see where the public outcry against the banks and processing firms came from. But, he said a blanket moratorium could hinder a housing market trying to recover.
“Clearly the kinds of shortcuts they were taking were inexcusable, especially five years into this mess,” Sharga said. “It’s easy to understand the outrage, but you have to be a little careful of overreacting that could have some serious unintended consequences for the economy.
“The last thing this economy needs is a moratorium of any sort,” Sharga added. “It would be disastrous for the housing market.”
- By Ben Mook with additional reporting by Peter Vieth and Deborah Elkins
Please don't hesitate to contact us (Charlottesville Attorney) if you need legal assistance.
Virginia to join foreclosure investigation
By Virginia Lawyers WeeklyPublished: October 12, 2010
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has joined 48 other state attorneys general in a multi-jurisdiction investigation of bank paperwork errors that have led banks and processing firms to suspend foreclosures across the country.
At issue is whether employees at banks and foreclosure processing firms signed court documents that had unverified or false information in an attempt to speed up the process. Cuccinelli said the joint investigation will review the practice of so-called “robo-signing” within the mortgage service industry.
“Obviously this issue affects people’s homes as well as the economy,” Cuccinelli said in a news release Wednesday. “This probe will be thorough, expeditious, and fair to both homeowners and lenders.”
Confirming Virginia’s planned participation in the investigation in Roanoke Tuesday, Cuccinelli suggested his was not a targeted investigation. “There are no accusations, no nothing yet,” he said. It’s just an investigation.”
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is heading up the bipartisan multistate group that will undertake a coordinated probe of potentially flawed foreclosures nationwide. Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for Miller, said Bank of America’s decision last week to temporarily halt foreclosures nationwide showed that the industry needed to slow down.
Alabama is the only state not to join the investigation group.
Richmond lawyer Henry McLaughlin III, whose practice is devoted to foreclosure prevention, was happy to turn away some potential clients on Oct. 8 after BOA announced it was halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states.
“I have talked to a number of very happy clients who had called me about pending foreclosures” by BOA, he said. McLaughlin told several people who had consulted him that they might not need him just yet, or maybe ever, if they were facing a BOA foreclosure. His own pending cases against BOA are claims for damages, not efforts to halt foreclosures.
“I don’t think this is overall a good thing. I do think there are problems” with paperwork, and not just with BOA. McLaughlin applauds the Virginia attorney general’s interest in joining the multi-state investigation. “There’s more to be discerned about this,” he said.
JPMorgan Chase and GMAC also have halted foreclosures in the 23 states where courts review foreclosure cases. According to news reports, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said it would halt sales of foreclosed homes for a month as it reviewed documents. On Friday, Houston-based Litton Loan Servicing LP, owned by Goldman Sachs, agreed to also halt some foreclosures.
“The mortgage industry is getting the message that this is serious, it’s wrong, and we will stop it,” Miller said in a prepared statement.
Miller said the group’s scope could expand. He said submitting foreclosure documents without verification, or with false representation, as well as signing some legal documents without notarization might violate state laws and court rules.
“These are starting points, and it’s possible this group may limit, expand or change its objectives,” Miller said. “What’s important here is this is a cooperative and coordinated effort by states to address a serious problem. This is not simply about a glitch in paperwork. It’s also about some companies violating the law and many people losing their homes.”
In some states, including Virginia, lenders can foreclose quickly on mortgage borrowers who are delinquent. No judicial action is required. Other states — including Ohio, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Illinois — use a lengthy court process for foreclosures. They require documents to verify the accuracy of the loan information including who owns the mortgage.
In what has become known as “robo-signing,” some employees have admitted under oath to signing thousands of affidavits and documents without fully reading or understanding them. The affidavits verify the accuracy of the loan information, including who owns the mortgage. The practice has sparked action from officials who are concerned people have lost their homes to sloppy paperwork.
Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, said Maryland would be part of the multi-state group to make sure the state’s residents have not been affected by the practice.
“We don’t know if there is robo-signing going on in Maryland, but there might be,” Guillory said. “Halting these foreclosures will give the banks time to figure it out.”
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper launched an inquiry and sent letters to 14 lenders, including Charlotte-based Bank of America, asking the companies to suspend foreclosures in North Carolina until they can show that their affidavit procedures have been reviewed and are in compliance with the law.
“If mortgage companies are using potentially unlawful practices to push through foreclosures in North Carolina, that needs to stop,” Cooper said in a prepared statement. “Foreclosures have to happen when people don’t pay, but homeowners deserve a fair shot at keeping their homes when possible.”
Some though are concerned a widespread moratorium could have a negative impact on the economy.
White House adviser David Axelrod said Sunday the administration is pressing lenders to accelerate their reviews of foreclosures to determine which ones have flawed documentation. Axelrod said flawed paperwork was hurting the nation’s housing market as well as lending institutions, but said there are valid foreclosures that probably should go forward because there were not problems with the documents.
Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc., agreed that it was easy to see where the public outcry against the banks and processing firms came from. But, he said a blanket moratorium could hinder a housing market trying to recover.
“Clearly the kinds of shortcuts they were taking were inexcusable, especially five years into this mess,” Sharga said. “It’s easy to understand the outrage, but you have to be a little careful of overreacting that could have some serious unintended consequences for the economy.
“The last thing this economy needs is a moratorium of any sort,” Sharga added. “It would be disastrous for the housing market.”
- By Ben Mook with additional reporting by Peter Vieth and Deborah Elkins
Please don't hesitate to contact us (Charlottesville Attorney) if you need legal assistance.
Tucker Griffin Barnes P.C.
Charlottesville, VA
434-973-7474
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TGBLaw
Firm Video (3 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgrYjyhCwyo
Friday, February 06, 2009
Nice and roomie - Do you homework before adding to your household
NEW! February 2009: Get Real
Don't get a roommate until you read this
BY C-VILLE ABODE
Nice and roomie
For many of us, the word “roommate” was weaned from our vocabularies some time after college and before marriage. But thanks to the housing crisis and job layoffs, some homeowners who thought their roomie days were long behind them now find themselves considering such an arrangement in order to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments.
“I’ve heard people talk about it recently,” says Charlottesville real estate attorney Bill Tucker of Tucker Griffin Barnes, P.C.
In a rush to ease their financial burden, squeezed homeowners might make the mistake of posting a want ad and praying Single White Female doesn’t come a-knockin’. Not so fast. Unlike the carefree coed days of yore, selecting a roommate now should be undertaken with careful consideration and an eye toward the law.
In other words, “think of this person as a tenant, not a housemate,” says Doron Samuel-Siegel, associate attorney at the firm. Even if the roommate is a close friend, keeping this aspect of your relationship by the books will save you money and headaches down the road.
The first thing you want to do is have a tenant/landlord lease drawn up, either by an attorney (which can cost anywhere from $300 to $500) or by downloading a more general lease from the Internet (which costs roughly $50). If the latter, make sure it’s specific to the state of Virginia, since housing laws vary from state to state. It’s not a bad idea to eyeball the most recent Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act so you’re at least vaguely familiar with the latest laws.
A good lease will include clear language pertaining to when the rent and other household bills are due, and penalties if they’re not paid on time. It should also specify tenant rights (use of the TV, washer/dryer, garage, overnight guests, etc.) and obligations, with regard to smoking, pets, yard work and household chores, as well as the all-important termination clause. “This gives the landlord the right to throw the tenant out if they break the terms of the lease,” says Tucker. The more specific the lease, the less room there is for creative interpretation—one reason why shelling out big bucks for a lawyer to do it isn’t a bad idea.
Another important thing to consider, points out Tucker: Most homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover tenants and their belongings. So if the roomie decides to light a bonfire in your kitchen, you won’t be reimbursed unless you have a landlord/tenant rider added to your existing policy. Similarly, your tenant will want renter’s insurance—which usually costs under $100 per year—to protect them and their stuff in the event of a fire, flood or other disaster.
As far as what to charge, that unfortunately comes down to what the market will bear (you won’t be able to pass off three quarters of the mortgage to the roommate!). Check the classifieds to see what other landlords/homeowners in your area are getting.
Last but not least, some neighborhoods and housing complexes prohibit tenants, so double-check the neighborhood covenants and restrictions beforehand. By brushing up on the laws and getting everything in writing, your latest (and hopefully last) roomie experience need not be a bad one.—Jessie Knadler
Don't get a roommate until you read this
BY C-VILLE ABODE
Nice and roomie
For many of us, the word “roommate” was weaned from our vocabularies some time after college and before marriage. But thanks to the housing crisis and job layoffs, some homeowners who thought their roomie days were long behind them now find themselves considering such an arrangement in order to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments.
“I’ve heard people talk about it recently,” says Charlottesville real estate attorney Bill Tucker of Tucker Griffin Barnes, P.C.
In a rush to ease their financial burden, squeezed homeowners might make the mistake of posting a want ad and praying Single White Female doesn’t come a-knockin’. Not so fast. Unlike the carefree coed days of yore, selecting a roommate now should be undertaken with careful consideration and an eye toward the law.
In other words, “think of this person as a tenant, not a housemate,” says Doron Samuel-Siegel, associate attorney at the firm. Even if the roommate is a close friend, keeping this aspect of your relationship by the books will save you money and headaches down the road.
The first thing you want to do is have a tenant/landlord lease drawn up, either by an attorney (which can cost anywhere from $300 to $500) or by downloading a more general lease from the Internet (which costs roughly $50). If the latter, make sure it’s specific to the state of Virginia, since housing laws vary from state to state. It’s not a bad idea to eyeball the most recent Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act so you’re at least vaguely familiar with the latest laws.
A good lease will include clear language pertaining to when the rent and other household bills are due, and penalties if they’re not paid on time. It should also specify tenant rights (use of the TV, washer/dryer, garage, overnight guests, etc.) and obligations, with regard to smoking, pets, yard work and household chores, as well as the all-important termination clause. “This gives the landlord the right to throw the tenant out if they break the terms of the lease,” says Tucker. The more specific the lease, the less room there is for creative interpretation—one reason why shelling out big bucks for a lawyer to do it isn’t a bad idea.
Another important thing to consider, points out Tucker: Most homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover tenants and their belongings. So if the roomie decides to light a bonfire in your kitchen, you won’t be reimbursed unless you have a landlord/tenant rider added to your existing policy. Similarly, your tenant will want renter’s insurance—which usually costs under $100 per year—to protect them and their stuff in the event of a fire, flood or other disaster.
As far as what to charge, that unfortunately comes down to what the market will bear (you won’t be able to pass off three quarters of the mortgage to the roommate!). Check the classifieds to see what other landlords/homeowners in your area are getting.
Last but not least, some neighborhoods and housing complexes prohibit tenants, so double-check the neighborhood covenants and restrictions beforehand. By brushing up on the laws and getting everything in writing, your latest (and hopefully last) roomie experience need not be a bad one.—Jessie Knadler
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