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Real Estate Litigation Lawyers in New York
Real Estate involves time, money, and use. Real estate is not only the single largest asset a business or individual will own financially, but it is also an asset that will be used the most, and owned for longest amount of time. Real estate is important for its financial value, but also for its direct impact on your daily life.
Since real estate is an important asset, and often it is where you live or work – disputes involving real estate are serious by definition. Trust a top real estate litigation attorney to deal with any disputes and lawsuits that may occur.
Our attorneys are prepared to defend your rights, including the following areas:
- Breach of Contract
- Commercial Landlord-Tenant Disputes
- Failure to Disclose Defects
- Leases & Assignments
- Mortgage Foreclosure
- Option Agreements
- Security Interests
- Title Issues
Every piece of land/building is unique in the eyes of the law. You can’t simply replace or substitute a piece of real estate. There is a legal remedy unique to real estate called “specific performance”. For example, if a seller breaches a contract to sell a piece of land, the buyer can seek specific performance instead of compensation. If successful the court will force the seller to sell the land to the buyer. This is a powerful remedy for a real estate litigation attorney.
If you are facing a real estate lawsuit or dispute, or want to prevent a potential problem, contact our New York litigation firm to consult with a real estate litigator. The following are some common areas where disputes occur:
Purchase-Sale
New York statutory laws, as well as the common law, closely regulate real estate transactions. For transactions involving multiple states, federal laws may come into play.
Even the smallest residential real estate transactions will involve numerous documents including the sales contract, deeds, mortgages, notes, and other documents regarding zoning, land use, etc. Larger commercial real estate transactions can easily become complex with security interests, leases, financing arrangements, and numerous interested parties.
Title Litigation
If you’re buying a piece of land you need to know exactly what you’re buying. This may be surprising, but one of the trickiest questions in real estate is: who owns it?
Ownership of land is no simple matter. One step is checking the title history to figure out who owns land – somebody may have recorded a forged title years ago. In New York, for example, if somebody has used another’s land for 10 years, they can claim ownership to that part of the land. It is also possible to have ownerships to parts of the land – somebody may have mineral rights to land and outside parties may have legal guaranteed permission use the land. There may be restrictions built in to the title about what can be built on the land regarding type, style, and size limitations. Ownership of land may come with obligations attached to pay for street maintenance. If the land is located on water, or requires extensive irrigation, there are laws and rules about water usage.
Ideally, all of these terms are clearly expressed in title, but often they are not. As a buyer, you need to know exactly what you are buying. If you are facing a dispute over the terms of a title, our attorneys can help make things right. Please talk to a title litigation attorney FYulia Vangorodska to clear up your situation.
Mortgage & Foreclosure Litigation
Most real property is secured by a mortgage. Our litigation team is prepared to handle issues involving mortgage fraud and foreclosure issues. While a bank does have the right to foreclose when the mortgage note is in default, they have to follow specific rules. For example, a homeowner has a guaranteed time period after the foreclosure sale to try and rescue their home or real estate. Even if you are facing foreclosure, you still ought to be treated with respect by the bank.
Mortgage agreements in NYC can be tricky and lead to litigation
Estate Disputes & Litigation
Real estate also presents issues of inheritance and survivorship. There can be future interests – usually in the form of reversion and remainder interests – in a piece of land. When a previous owner of the land dies, somebody may be able to step forward with a valid claim to ownership. If your title company didn’t find this information, you may be in a very bad situation.
Leasing
In New York, landlord-tenant situations are very common. As a landlord, it is important to memorialize your expectations in legally valid and enforceable language. As a tenant, you should know that many regulations cover the terms of leases. Its possible that certain terms in a lease are not legally valid or enforceable.
Landlords, and particularly their staff, need to be aware of both New York and National laws covering discrimination.
Land agreements can exist for decades. An agreement made a century ago can affect how the land is used today. Real estate law is notorious for old, arcane legal terms. You need a lawyer who understands the most arcane of legal terms.
Regulatory Matters
Landlords and their employees need to aware of the Federal Fair Housing Act. Establishing policies and procedures can prevent charges of discrimination.
Landlords and managers in New York City need to be fully aware of rent control and stabilization and how it affects their leases.