Real Estate Newsletters

Deceit in Real Estate Transactions

Real estate transactions present opportunities for deceit. Deceit, insofar as the area of tort law is concerned, is usually defined by state law.

Presentation of and Response to Offers to Buy Real Estate

All offers to buy real estate must be presented to the seller or his agent as soon as possible. That means that as soon as the buyer's offer is made available to the listing agent, that offer must be presented to the seller. The listing agent has no discretion in whether to present an offer to the seller. All offers must be presented, even if the listing agent believes that the seller will not accept the offer.

Resolution of Disputes with Interstate Household Goods Carriers

When a customer contracts with a mover to transport household goods across state lines, federal law requires that the mover's contract include a provision for arbitration as a method of resolving any disputes that arise. Although the arbitration provision is required, the customer may resort to the court system and is not obligated to first go through the arbitration process.

The Attractive Nuisance Doctrine

Generally speaking, an owner of real property owes no duty to a trespasser, other than to avoid willfully, wantonly, or deliberately harming the trespasser. In some circumstances, however, the owner of real property has an obligation to exercise reasonable care in order to prevent trespassing children from injury.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which can be found at 42 U.S.C.S. § 9601 et seq., imposes liability on property owners for the cleanup of environmental hazards. Notably, liability accrues under the law even where the property owner was not the cause of the contamination.