Antelope Valley Real Estate Lawyer
During the course of a lifetime, there are many reasons you may find yourself searching for a lawyer. Finding a trustworthy and experienced lawyer can be a daunting task. Specializing in business, employment, estate planning, and real estate law, Derryberry & Associates has served the Antelope Valley area for over 15 years. With our broad range of expertise and our professional, yet personable approach, we believe you’ll quickly see why this beautiful community continues to rely on us for all their legal needs.
Real Estate Law
As a landlord, finding a skilled real estate lawyer is essential. Whether you’re facing environmental compliance issues, dealing with a problematic tenant, or buying commercial real estate properties, you want a team of real estate attorneys that truly has your best interest at heart. At Derryberry & Associates, we provide extensive real estate legal services to the Antelope Valley area. Whatever your real estate law needs entail, we’re here to help our valued clients. Give us a call today to schedule a consultation!
Evictions
Evictions are never fun, whether you’re a tenant or a landlord. However, when the need arises, it’s important for landlords to have the proper eviction procedure in place. Tenant management can be difficult and complicated. If your tenant is behind on their rent or they have caused property damage, eviction may be your best course of action. If you’re hoping for a smooth and painless eviction process, it’s important to approach it carefully. That’s where Derryberry & Associates, your trusted Antelope Valley real estate attorney, comes in. We specialize in residential and commercial evictions, representing landlords throughout the process of legal eviction.
We know you never want to find yourself in this position, so we’re happy to be of assistance throughout a stressful time. We’re also glad to help you draft a strong lease to use for current or future residential or commercial tenants, which can protect you against legal problems, loopholes, and lengthy eviction processes. Reach out today and let us help make your role as a landlord a little more enjoyable.
Failure to Disclose
When an industrial, commercial, or residential real estate buyer doesn’t receive all the necessary disclosures, the problem is termed “Failure to Disclose.” Of all the dreaded potential problems that can occur during a real estate transaction, failure to disclose is among the worst. Sometimes the seller simply unintentionally omits information, but other times, a seller may deliberately hide essential information that affects the desirability or value of the property. Essential information includes any material defects or potential problems that could affect the property value. This is a breach of contract by the seller, a serious real estate issue, and a law violation that must be handled by a skilled real estate attorney. Sellers must disclose:
Water damage
Property repair history
Potential hazards or sources of harm
Death in the home
Neighborhood or property nuisances
Any other material facts that do or could affect property value or desirability
Construction Defects
Defects or negligence that occur during the design or construction of a property and result in unusability, endangerment, or property devaluation are considered construction defects. Finding an attorney for real estate transactions is a smart idea, because we can help you avoid purchasing any defective properties and any resulting future problems, and we can also help you prove your case in the event that you’ve already purchased a defective property.
Construction defects can range from minor flaws to water intrusion, electrical issues to mechanical problems, and structural integrity problems to toxic mold. If you’ve decided to file a lawsuit, you’ll want to contact Derryberry & Associates, your dependable Antelope Valley real estate lawyer. Our housing attorneys will help you with the entire process, including proving negligence, determining liability, estimating the extent of the damages, filing the lawsuit itself, and defending your case.
Real Estate Fraud
Real estate fraud comes in many different forms. Landlords, sellers, brokers, or real estate agents can commit real estate fraud when they intentionally conceal or fail to disclose material facts from the buyer of the property. Legal proceedings will likely occur against the seller when this type of fraud takes place. If you’ve found yourself on either side of a real estate fraud case, you’ll need a competent and knowledgeable lawyer for real estate. Derryberry & Associates will help you determine the compensation required, the liabilities involved, and all the other details you need to support your case. Real estate fraud can include:
Foreclosure Fraud
Foreclosure fraud can occur when a scammer allows a homeowner to remain on the property as a renter, promising to pay off the mortgage and providing the renter with the option to repurchase the home at a later date. The homeowner is then required to deed the property to a second scammer, who takes the home’s equity and disappears, leaving the homeowner with a rent payment, no owned property, and eventual eviction. Another common type of foreclosure fraud takes place when the scammer agrees to take a fee in exchange for stopping the foreclosure, only to pocket the fee and give the homeowner nothing in return. As real estate lawyers, we’ve truly seen it all. These are just two of many potential foreclosure fraud schemes.
Title Transfer Fraud
Home title fraud takes place when the ownership of a property is involuntarily transferred without the knowledge or consent of the true homeowner. A nefarious schemer will try to transfer the title of the property to another person (or themselves), or to borrow money using another person’s property as their own collateral. Our property lawyers have the necessary experience to protect you against this would-be problem, or to help you if the fraudulent title transfer has already occurred.
Bait and Switch Fraud and Predatory Lending
This common retail sales tactic is frequently used to tempt customers to buy. The schemer will begin by offering a low-priced, but unavailable property, then using that potential buyer’s interest and attention to attempt to sell an available and similar, but higher-priced property. Some types of bait and switch are frowned upon, but not necessarily illegal. Other types are expressly illegal, and can result in a lawsuit. For example, predatory lending (when unjustified interest is charged to a first-time or vulnerable buyer) is grounds for a lawsuit. A mortgage attorney can help you determine whether or not the bait and switch tactics you encountered warrant a lawsuit.
Easement Disputes
An easement is an agreement that allows a person who is not the landowner to use that land for a specific purpose. Because reasons can vary so much, there are many kinds of easements. They can apply to just about anyone, including government officials, neighbors, previous landowners, and beyond. Easements fall under real property law, which means they are handled by property attorneys. If you are unduly burdened by an easement, or if the easement beneficiary has violated the terms of the agreement, punitive damages may be in order.
There are four types of easements:
Easement by Necessity:
A court-ordered easement that is created because the dominant tenement owner has to cross over the servient tenement to leave or enter the property.
Easement by Prescription:
Produced by inference and created by long-term use when the owner was aware of the easement but did not restrict its use. The state-mandated period of usage had to have been continuous and without the owner’s permission, but with the owner’s knowledge.
Easement by Condemnation:
Owners of the servient tenement must be compensated for giving the easement, which is usually for the greater good of the public.
Party Easement:
A common boundary, such as a shared road, fence, or wall, is defined by a formal agreement between parties.
Easements are further categorized into two classifications:
Appurtenant
It is said that appurtenant easements “run with the land,” implying that they are part of the land’s official ownership. The right to utilize the adjacent property passes together with the land. A prospective owner of the underlying property might discover an easement appurtenant through a title search.
In Gross
An “in gross” easement is a personal easement that does not pass with the property. It is a personal interest in using the land for the benefit of an organization or a person. An easement in gross would not show up in a title search.
How are easements established?
Easements can be made in a number of different ways. When a person is awarded an easement, they are given the legal permission to use the property, but the legal title to the land remains with the landowner. Easements can be established by adverse possession, by necessity, by implication, or by an express grant. Easements are transferable, and the dominating tenement is transferred as well. Furthermore, easements can be terminated. If the easement was formed out of need and that need no longer exists, if the land was abandoned, or if the land is destroyed, the easement may be terminated.
Eminent Domain
Few subjects elicit as much public resistance as the expropriation of private land for public use through eminent domain. You won’t be able to stop the government from taking your land in most situations, but you will be entitled to reasonable compensation under eminent domain legislation. The ability of the government to acquire private property and convert it to public use is known as eminent domain. The government may decide to take property to create a water supply, national park, highway transportation, or dam, or use it for another public purpose.
The government may only employ the power of eminent domain provided it gives reasonable recompense to the property owners, according to the Fifth Amendment. At Derryberry & Associates, your lawyer for real estate will help you with any type of eminent domain issue. In many cases, eminent domain cannot be stopped – but we can stand firmly alongside you and make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Don’t surrender your hard-earned property without a fight – let our housing lawyers support you every step of the way.
Mortgage Deed Disputes
Deed of trust and mortgage disputes are becoming increasingly widespread in today’s real estate market. Derryberry & Associates has noticed an uptick in conflicts between mortgage brokers, lenders, and clients in recent years. A real estate mortgage lawyer can represent both major national lenders and individuals who have lost money due to predatory lending practices by unethical mortgage lenders and brokers. We assist our clients in dealing with the following issues:
Mortgage Fraud
Breach of Contract
Discrimination
Predatory Lending
Foreclosure
We also provide proactive strategies to help our customers avoid future mortgage lawsuits. Our objective is to help our clients get the best possible results while also educating them on how to avoid disputes and problems in the future.
Quitclaim Issues
A quitclaim deed relieves an individual’s interest in a property without specifying the nature of that person’s rights to the property or interest therein, and without making any promises about that person’s rights or interest. A quitclaim deed does not specify or ensure that the person renouncing their claim to the property had legal title, but it does preclude that person (the grantor) from subsequently claiming ownership. Essentially, a quitclaim deed transfers interest in a property from one person to another. This type of deed is usually used between parties who know one another, such as family members or divorcing individuals. It is also commonly used alongside a trust to put real estate assets into the trust.
When you’re considering a quitclaim, it’s important to find an attorney for real estate. If you need help convincing a senior family member that a property transfer would be a financially sound option, we’re here to help you with that endeavor. We never take a high-pressure or threatening approach. Rather, we give the senior all the details on how a quitclaim deed can be beneficial. If you find yourself dealing with other quitclaim problems, you’ll need a lawyer all the more. Unfortunately, ill-intentioned individuals may use quitclaim deeds to scam or defraud others. Some of the quitclaim issues we often see include:
Predatory, high-pressure, or frightening convincing of a senior to transfer a deed
Threatening a family member with care withdrawal until the deed is transferred
Falsifying document information, including forged signatures and false notarization
Misidentifying the purpose of a quitclaim deed
If you’re dealing with these or any other quitclaim deed problems, give Derryberry & Associates a call today. We’ll help you identify any problems and work to find a solution that makes sense for you, your family, and your property.