Tenants have legal rights when they rent property. If you are renting residential or commercial space, you need to know how the law protects you. It is also important to understand what your obligations are as a tenant so you don't find yourself facing eviction or other problems. Unfortunately, if you don't learn about Pennsylvania real estate laws or know how the laws and their lease you, mistakes can happen.
Read MoreWhen you enter into a commercial lease as either a landlord or a tenant, the lease often lasts for a term of a year or more. There may be substantial amounts of money at stake. The terms of the lease can affect whether the building rental is profitable for you as a landlord and can affect whether or not the space actually works for your business interests as a renter.
Read MoreBeing a landlord can be rewarding and lucrative, as long as you do not make mistakes which end up costing you. Some of the common mistakes made by new landlords include not understanding anti-discrimination requirements, not conducting background checks before renting to tenants, failing to ensure a lease protects their interests, not understanding rules for eviction, and not understanding bankruptcy rules.
Read MoreThere are different types of environmental review requirements which are in place within the state of Pennsylvania. You need to know what the environmental review requirements are in your location and for your particular type of development project or business endeavor. The best way to understand the environmental review requirements applicable to you is to speak with a land use development attorney.
Read MoreA 1031 exchange, or like-kind exchange as it is also called, can make it possible for you to defer capital gains taxes on profits from selling a business property or an investment property. The Internal Revenue Service provides extensive details on the rules of a 1031 exchange, which you must be aware of if you are considering selling a property and hoping to do a 1031 exchange to avoid paying capital gains taxes.
Read MoreAccording to the Pennsylvania Attorney General, "a security deposit is money which actually belongs to the tenant, but is held by the landlord for protection against damages or unpaid rent." Landlords are required to give back security deposits as long as a tenant has not caused undue damage to a property. Normal wear and tear on an apartment is not cause for keeping a security deposit, and landlords will need to return the money that is owed to a tenant if a tenant has not caused substantial damage to the property in question.
Read MoreWhen buying land for commercial real estate development, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence to make sure that the land is going to be a viable place for your proposed development project. While the sellers of land must make certain disclosures to you, the doctrine of caveat emptor, or buyer beware, also applies in the field of commercial real estate. This means it is up to you to do the research that you need into all aspects of the land purchase so you can make wise investments.
Read MoreIf a tenant contests an eviction, you will need to go to court in order to get an order of eviction for the tenant who you want to force to leave your rental property. In many cases, tenants will not contest the eviction and the court will simply grant the order of eviction. When this happens, your only challenge will be to enforce that order. In other circumstances, however, the tenant might challenge the legality of the eviction and you will need to prove you have justification for evicting the tenant.
Read MoreA guaranteed maximum price construction contract is a contract in which the contractor agrees not to exceed a certain price for a construction process. The contractor assumes the risk of cost overruns caused by things like severe weather.
Read MoreLiens are claims on property for nonpayment. When a lien is placed on a property, the owner of that property can be affected in profound ways. A bank will not give a mortgage to a property with a lien on it, for example. This can be a problem if you are paying for a property to be developed with a construction loan and you need to convert that loan to a permanent one at the end of the project. If a mechanic's lien is put on the property, you may not be able to get your loan to repay the construction loan when construction is complete.
Read MoreYour residential construction contract needs to be very detailed. It should include complete information on the cost of construction, on the timeline for construction, on who will be performing work, and on when the construction project will be completed. If you wish to ensure a project is completed on time, you may also consider including clauses to provide penalties for delays that result in the project getting off schedule.
Read MoreIf a lien has been put on your property by someone who performed work for you, you need to contact an experienced mechanics lien attorney right away. A mechanics lien can impact your property rights in profound ways and can make you responsible for paying the contractor or subcontractor who put the lien on your property.
Read MoreIf you are going to be doing any type of land development, including new construction or remodeling, you need to make sure you do your due diligence. You want to make certain that your land can be used for the purposes that you intend and that your updates or your improvements are permissible. It is up to you to conduct your due diligence before acquiring property or entering into a contract for remodeling or building so you don't find yourself with land you cannot use or a building that violates the rules.
Read MoreIf your tenants are causing a disturbance, you need to take action because your other tenants could become angry, could complain regularly to you, or could even potentially have grounds for breaking a lease if the tenant who is causing the problems is making the property unsafe or uninhabitable.
Read MoreA Philadelphia commercial real estate lawyer provides assistance with many different aspects of commercial real estate investments and real estate transactions. Owning, investing in, or leasing commercial real estate can be a major investment and can require a substantial commitment on your part.
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