Some people think that any lease is a good lease, or that all leases are created equal. They couldn’t be more wrong, and it is a very expensive lesson to find out after you buy a rental property that the lease or leases on which you depend for the income to pay...
Knowledgeable and efficient closing services.
Landlord-Tenant
Seven Things to Know Before You Buy a Rental Property — Thing One: Utilities
As a real estate lawyer for 25 years, I have watched many investors come and go, and some stay and prosper for the long haul. I have helped them with contracts, closings, evictions, contractor troubles and sales, among other things. Each time someone calls me...
ACRE Goes to Court On First Rental Registration Ordinance and Prepares to Fight More
Last week, ACRE joined the fight with the Apartment Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, The Landlord Services Bureau, The Realtors’ Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, our state association, The Pennsylvania Residential Owners’ Association, and our...
A Matter of Trust
Conventions are great! We have so many national experts with incredible information and motivational presentations. I take ideas from every speaker I listen to, and incorporate them in my real estate investing and the advice I give to my clients. I’ve heard...
Pennsylvania’s New Wage Attachment Rules
On December 21, 2005, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its Civil Procedural Rules, Order No. 446, Promulgating the Rules of Civil Procedure governing the attachment of wages. The order of the court was effective January 21, 2006, and finally enacted the...
Bankruptcy and Evictions- In Re Alberts
Landlords already know how the challenge of evicting a tenant who files for Bankruptcy protection during the eviction process, especially a tenant who knows how to play the system. After the decision of Judge Deller in the recent Beaver County case, In Re...
Megan’s Law Searches
If you were a woman, or a family with young children looking to buy, rent-to-own, or rent a new place to live, would you want to know if a pedophile or serial rapist lived next door or down the block? Might that affect the value or marketability of the...
Criminal Records Check
Last week, we were showing apartments and taking rental applications. A woman came to see the units, made a good impression, filled out the rental application, and paid the seventeen dollars we charge for a credit report. Looking over the application, her...
Student Housing, Civil Rights and Property Rights
For many years, municipalities all over Pennsylvania have been attempting to deal with student housing issues. When colleges and universities do not have enough dormitories on their own campuses, many homes in the areas adjacent to the schools become student...
Bankruptcy Law Meets Eviction Law
There was little in the Bankruptcy Reform Law of 2005 to be excited about, except if you were a credit card company. But tucked away in that law was a provision which has proven beneficial to landlords in certain eviction actions; Section 362 of the law...