An interesting question was posed by a real estate licensee the other day. Let’s look at the facts: Agent 1 was driving the consumers around and pointed to a new community as they drove past its entrance. Weeks later the consumers, without an...
Read MoreHome Improvement Consumer Protection Law (HICPA)
Home improvement contractors in Pennsylvania are subject to regulation. Homeowners often get confused about when the new law, known as the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (“HICPA”) applies. Here is an excerpt from some Continuing Legal Edu...
Read MoreNBC Investigative report on Toll Brothers quotes Tupitza
NBC 4 in Washington, DC just published an investigative report on Toll Brothers. (If only we could have trained the on-air reporter to pronounce Tupitza as “2 Pits Ah” instead of 2 pizzas!!!) Their focus was on buyers who lost their do...
Read MoreBuying a New Construction Home
Buying a home that is a new construction home seems easier. It is certainly more risky. It does not matter if the builder is Toll Brothers, Pulte, Orleans or Joe with a pickup truck, the risks a buyer encounters in new construction greatly exceed th...
Read MoreAdverse Possession
1. ELEMENTS A claimant must prove actual, exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct and hostile possession of the land continuously for 21 years. 2. STATUTORY BASIS The statutory basis for adverse possession is 42 Pa. C.S. § 5530, whic...
Read MoreNeighbors Trees and Bushes at Property Lines
One of the most common points of dispute between neighbors comes from the growth of trees, shrubbery, and bushes. The planting of an acorn five feet from a property border may be meaningless in the life of the planter. However, as that tree grows s...
Read MoreDeed Out of Estate – Should I use a quitclaim deed?
QUESTION: Should a decedent’s estate administrator use a quickclaim deed to transfer estate property to himself before transferring to heir. Administrator does not want to leave the property in the name of the decedent who died 7 years ago...
Read MoreSheriff Sale Answers Will i loose my judgment lien?
QUESTION: I have a judgement against a man. My title search shows that my judgment is is second place behind a small mortgage on his house. There are 5 judgments after mine and the guy in last place has the property listed for sheriff’s sale...
Read MoreNature of Judgment Liens in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court discussed the nature of judgment liens in the case of In re: Upset Sale, Tax Claim Bureau of Berks County, 505 Pa. 327, 479 A.2d 940, 943-44 (1984). The Supreme Court stated as follows: Judgment liens are a prod...
Read MoreExtent of Lien of Judgment in Pennsylvania
A. Lien Against All Real Property of Judgment Debtor: When entered of record, a judgment operates as a lien against all real property of the judgment debtor in the county in which it was filed. 42 Pa. C.S.A. § 4303(a) (1982). The lien of a j...
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