Both chambers of the Ohio legislature have passed Senate Bill 57, which aims to provide tax relief for property owners who have been harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This bipartisan legislation, which passed in the Ohio House and Senate with unanimous approval, is...
Industry metrics continue to signal that homebuilders are experiencing a strong summer. In order to continue the trend, homebuilders need to meet the demands of the market. As mortgage rates remain low and buyers place bids on homes sight unseen at record numbers, the...
We’ve been getting some questions lately regarding the new notary law that recently went into effect in Ohio. The law (Ohio Senate Bill 263, the Notary Public Modernization Act) makes significant changes for Ohio Notaries Public and those who wish to become Notaries....
By Amanda Lauer While the legalization of marijuana has become a hot topic in the news – in both a medicinal and recreational context – little attention has been given to how this legalization is impacted by both the financial and real estate industries. As the trend...
Just last month, two churches made national news when they became victims of a crime that is rapidly on the rise: wire fraud. The churches were both duped under similar circumstances that are becoming more and more common. Saint John XXIII in Milwaukee, Wisconsin lost...
Ohio Board of Tax Appeals ruling on greenhouses could impact any property owner with “movable business fixtures” That old adage – “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck” – may hold true for waterfowl and a host...
On June 6, the Ohio House of Representatives passed HB 407, which would abolish dower rights in Ohio. Dower rights relate to the interest that a surviving spouse holds in the estate of a deceased individual. Since its passage in the House, the bill was introduced in...
The doctrine of caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) is still alive and well in Ohio, generally precluding recovery in an action by a purchaser against a seller pertaining to a property’s defective condition if: the condition complained of is open to observation or...
While title to real estate cannot transfer without a deed and a closing, the closing merely carries out the provisions of the real estate agreement. Accordingly, it is the agreement in a real estate transaction that is of paramount importance as it creates the...
Watch Your Language. As established in other “Watch Your Language” articles for this Blog, as a general rule, courts will uphold language in commercial agreements, unless it is contrary to statutory law or public policy. They traditionally presume that commercial...