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...
Real Estate
A Greenhouse Is Not a Building
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...
Abolition Of Dower Rights In Ohio Now Up To Ohio Senate
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...
Caveat Emptor (“Let the Buyer Beware”) Is Still Alive and Well in Ohio Property Law
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...
To Be or Not to Be (an Enforceable Real Estate Agreement), That Is the Question
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...
General, Unrestricted Access Easement Does Not Guaranty Unlimited, Unrestricted Use
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...
Real Estate Law 101: Open-End Mortgages
What is an Open-End Mortgage? Generally, an open-end mortgage is one that remains open after it has been delivered to the county recorder, and it permits the lender/mortgagee to make advances on the loan that are secured by the original mortgage, but only to the...
Real Estate 101-Purchase and Sale Agreements
The purchase/sale agreement is probably the most misunderstood, but most important document utilized in a real estate transaction. Some of the unwary mistakenly refer to the agreement as merely an “offer”, not understanding that if signed by (accepted by) the...