For years, I have been showing landlords how to search the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System web portal for free and detailed information about potential tenants’ criminal records, traffic citations and more. The one glaring absence in the online information...
Knowledgeable and efficient closing services.
Real Estate Practice
PA Historic Preservation Incentive Act to Spur Renovation of Historic Structures
When Governor Corbett signed House Bill 761 on July 2, 2012, the Historic Preservation Incentive Act, which was part of a larger Bill that provided amendments to the Tax Reform Code of 1971, became law. (Pa. Pub. Law. No. 751, Act No. 85, Art. No. XVII-H (July...
Finding and Trusting Real Estate Mentors and Professionals
This week, two clients came in with problems which caused me to choose the topic for this article. The first was early in the week, when I had a consultation with a client who had loaned money to a Pittsburgh based wealth building coach. The client hadn’t...
The Risks and Rewards of Tax Sale, Foreclosure and Short Sale Investing
Just last week, after over a year waiting for a second decision from the Pennsylvania Superior Court, I was able to let my client know that we “won” his lawsuit, and he will be able to keep the $180,000.00 property he bought at a Sheriff’s sale for just...
Entities for Business and Real Estate Investing 2012
A new year is a time for resolutions to open new businesses or to change the structure of the business you have for asset protection, tax benefits, privacy, retirement and/or estate planning purposes. But before you figure out the changes you want to make, you...
Bankruptcy Issues for Landlords, Contractors, and Real Estate Buyers – Part 2: Claims and Claimants
As real estate lawyers, we run into questions involving bankruptcy of our landlord clients’ tenants, of our contractor clients’ customers, and of the owners of real estate our clients want to buy. In this series of articles, we will attempt to address some of...
Bankruptcy Issues for Landlords, Contractors, and Real Estate Buyers – Part 1: The Automatic Stay
As real estate lawyers, we run into questions involving bankruptcy of our landlord clients’ tenants, of our contractor clients’ customers, and of the owners of real estate our clients want to buy. In this series of articles, we will attempt to address some of...
Three Years of the Western PA Mortgage Fraud Task Force
Just when I started thinking the Western Pennsylvania Mortgage Fraud Task Force was slowing down, since I hadn’t seen any press releases in a while, the Department of Justice announced that the task force was going strong on its third anniversary. The U.S....
Cutting the Pie — Real Estate Partition Actions in Pennsylvania
When more than one person owns an interest in Pennsylvania real estate, and the owners can’t agree on the management or sale of the property, a special type of equity proceeding called Partition Action is the way to resolve the issues in court. In my practice,...
Entities for Business and Real Estate Investing 2011
Fall is the time to plan your entity structure for your business for the coming year. You want to have everything set up the way you want it, and enough time to make the transition on January 1st. Of course, you can start a new entity any time you need to, but...